Module - 1

 Key environmental problems and their basic

causes
 Ecosystem, earth – life support system and
ecosystem components
 Energy flow in ecosystem
 Ecological succession
 Nutrient, water, carbon and nitrogen cycles
 Effect of human activities on these cycles
Key environmental problems and their
basic causes
Our major Environmental Problems????
 Overpopulation
 Water Shortages
 Climate Changes
 Biodiversity Loss
 Poverty
 Health Issues/Diseases
 Malnutrition
Goal of environmental science is to learn
about these complex interactions
 Ecosystems

• Ecology
• Ecosystem
• Types of Ecosystem
• Structure of Ecosystem
• Functions of Ecosystem
 Ecology

•Ecology is the study of interactions among

organisms or group of organisms with their
environment.
environment

•The environment consists of both biotic

components (living organisms) and abiotic
components (non-living organisms).
 Ecosystem

• The term ecosystem was first coined by A.G.

Tansley 1935.
• ‘eco’ means environment and ‘system’ implies a
complex of co-ordinated units.
• An ecosystem is a community of different species
interacting with one another and with their non-
living environment exchanging energy and matter.
matter
• An ecosystem is a set of organisms within a
defined area or volume that interact with one
another and with and their environment of
nonliving matter and energy.
 Definition
Environment - Surroundings.
• Study of our surroundings
• We concentrate more on the study of surroundings of
human beings.
beings
What is meant by surroundings?
Things or conditions around a person or place - which
include materials (non living), non-materials and living
things.
What are the components of our environment?
One way of classification of our surroundings is into
Chemical, Physical and Biological components.
Chemical – all material things
Physical – mainly concerned with energy processes
Biological – both flora and fauna, as well as their
interactions.
Schematic representation of Environment

Air

Living organism
Water Human Soil

Materials
 Environmental studies
Environmental education Environmental engineering
Environmental science

Environmental science
•It is an interdisciplinary study that uses information from
the physical sciences and social sciences to learn how the
earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how to
deal with environmental problems.
•It involves integrating ideas from the natural world
(biosphere) and our cultural world (culture sphere).
 e s,
n c hy
M B s ie ap
ic iol L ce s gr
c
o
ro o if ien rth an
bi gy e sc Ea oce
ol , b sc l
og io ie ca ry, s,
y, ch nc y si ist nce
Bi em es Ph em cie
ot is
ec tr , Ch ic s
hn y, i cs her
ol
og h ys osp
y Basic & applied P m
Studies At
e s,
nc tic

Ci ic te
Ch Na
ie is

vi al ch
em no
sc at

Environmental

le e n
r st

ng ng olo
te s,

science

i n in e g y
pu ic

ee e
Modelling
m at

Technology

ri rin
Co em

ng g
h

Management &
at
M

awareness
Economics, social laws
Education, Management,
Mass communications etc
 Ecology
Ecology: Science that focuses on how organisms
interact with one another and with their non living
environment of matter and energy.
Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Cell
O
H H Molecule
H O Atoms
 Parts of the Ecosystem
Biomes - In ecology, Biome is a major regional group of
distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the
region's physical natural environment, latitude, elevation and
terrain.
Classified as
Terrestrial (land) biomes
Aquatic biomes ( Freshwater biomes and marine biomes)

15
Types of Ecosystem
 Types of Ecosystem
A. Terrestrial Ecosystem
Forest
Grassland
Desert

B. Aquatic Ecosystem

Pond
Lake
Stream
River
Marine
 Components of Ecosystem
Ecosystem

Biotic Abiotic

Physical Chemical
Autotropic Heterotropic
components components
(Producers) (Consumers)
Air
Water
Macro Micro Sunlight
consumers consumers
Organic Inorganic
Primary Decomposers
substances substances
Secondary
Tertiary
Quartenary
Proteins, Micro and macro
Carbohydrates elements
Ecosystem Characteristics
 Ecosystems: Fundamental
Characteristics
• Structure:
 Living (biotic)
 Nonliving (abiotic)
• Process:
 Energy flow
 Cycling of matter (chemicals)
• Change:
 Dynamic (not static)
 Succession, etc.
 Biotic Structure
• Producers – Green plants which can synthesize
their food themselves (Plants)

• Consumers – All organisms which get their

organic food by feeding upon other organisms
(Rabbit, man)

• Decomposer – They derive their nutrition by

breaking down the complex organic molecule to
simpler organic compound (earthworms, ants)
Biotic structure of ecosystem
 Consumers
• Herbivores – Plant eaters, They feed directly on
producers known as primary consumers (e.g. Rabbit,
human)
• Carnivores – Meat eaters, They feed on other
consumers
» If they feed on herbivores they are called secondary
consumers (Frog)
» If they feed on other carnivores they known as
tertiary consumers (snake, big fish)
• Omnivores – They feed on both plants and animals.
(humans, rat)
• Detritivores – (Detritus Feeders) They feed on the
parts of dead organisms (ants, earthworm) 24
 Decomposer
They derive their nutrition by breaking down the
complex organic molecules to simpler organic
compounds and finally into inorganic nutrients
(bacteria and fungi)
 Abiotic Structure
Physical factors:
– The sunlight, average temp. annual rainfall, wind,
soil type, water availability etc. are some of the
important physical features which have strong
influence on the ecosystem

Chemical factors:
– Availability of major essential nutrients like
carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium,
hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur largely influence
the functioning of the ecosystem
Abiotic
 Functions of an Ecosystem
• In the ecosystem, biotic components and other
materials like N, C, H2O circulated within and
outside of the system.
• The energy is transferred from one trophic level to
the other in the form of a chain called as food
chain. 
• Important source of energy is the Sun.
• Climatic changes.  
Broad examples include:
• Regulating climate, floods, nutrient balance, water
filtration.
• Provisioning food, medicine, fur etc..
• Cultural (science, spiritual, ceremonial, recreation,
aesthetic)
• Supporting nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, soil
formation.
 Ecosystem: Functions
Major functional attributes of an ecosystems are as
follows

Food chain, Food webs and tropic structure.

Energy flow

Cycling of nutrients (Biogeochemical cycles)

Primary and secondary production

Ecosystem development and regulation.

Trophic Level
 Each organism in an ecosystem
is assigned to a feeding level –
trophic level

 The amount of living matter

available at each trophic level
at a given time – standing crop
or standing biomass

 Flow of energy is mediated

through feeding relationships

 The definite arrangement of

trophic level along with
population size – trophic
structure
 Food Chains
The transfer of energy from the source in plants through
series of organisms that consume and are being consumed
is called the ‘food chain’.

Sun Light

Plants

Herbivores

Carnivores
33
 What is Food Chain
• A food chain is a way to describe the feeding
relationships between different organisms such as a
plant or animal.

• It is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological

community (an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition.

• Food chains and food webs are representations of the

predator-prey relationships between species within an
ecosystem or habitat.

• Every organism needs to obtain energy in order to live.

For example, Plants get energy from the sun, Some
animals eat plants, and some animals eat other animals.
 Types of Food Chains
• Food chains are classified as Grazing and Detritus

Components of Grazing Food Chain:

• Plants - 'base' of the food chain
• Herbivores - feed on plants; many are adapted to live on
a diet high in cellulose
• Carnivores - feed on herbivores, omnivores, & other
carnivores
– lst level carnivore - feeds on herbivores
– 2nd level carnivore - feeds on 1st level carnivores and
so on
• Omnivores - feed on both plants and animals
• Decomposers the 'final' consumer group :
– use energy available in dead plants and animals
– transform organic material into inorganic material
Grazing food
chain

Eagle

Snake

Rabbit

Grass
36
Detritus food
chain

Fish

Crab

Algae

Dead leaf
 Comparison between the two types of food
chains
Detritus Grazing
• Starts with dead organic • Starts with producers
matter • Derives energy from sun
• Detritivores derive energy and producers
from biomass ( do not start • Organisms of all sizes are
with producers) present
• The organisms making it up • All organisms can be
are generally smaller (like categorized into different
algae, insects, & trophic levels as producers,
centipedes) consumers and
• the functional roles of the decomposers.
different organisms do not
fall as neatly into
categories like the grazing
food chain's trophic levels.
 Food web
 The interlocking pattern of various food chains in an
ecosystem is known as food web

 In a food web, many food chains are interconnected,

where different types of organisms are connected at
different tropic levels, so that there are a number of
opportunities of eating and being eaten at each tropic
level.

 Example: Insects, rats, deer’s, etc. may eat Grass;

these may be eaten by carnivores (Snake, tiger). Thus,
there is an interlocking of various food chains called
food webs.
Advantages of Food web over food chain
• In a food chain if one
species in the chain is
lost, all other species
dependent on that will
be lost
• The species lower in
the series will
increase in number
• But in food web even
if one species in the
chain is lost, the
animals above in the
chain survive because
of the other chains.
Importance of food chains and food webs
• They are responsible for the energy flow and nutrient flow in
the ecosystem

• Help maintaining and regulating the population size of

different animals

• Help maintain the ecological balance

– Eg: Deer controls the extent of growth of grass. Tigers

control the number of deer.
– If deer are not present too much of grass grows and
nutrients from the soil are lost. Then no further grass
growth.
– If no grass is present deer cannot survive. Tigers cannot
survive
– If instead, No tiger is present the number of deer
increases and they ultimately eat all the grass and cannot
survive further after all the grass is lost.
 Earth’s Life-Support System: Four
Major Components
Four Major Components
The atmosphere (air): Troposphere, Stratosphere,
The hydrosphere (water)
The geosphere (rock, soil, and sediment) and
The biosphere (living things)
The atmosphere is a thin spherical envelope of gases
surrounding the earth’s surface.  
1.Troposphere: Atmosphere’s inner layer extends only about 17
kilometres above sea level. It contains air that we breathe,
consisting mostly of Nitrogen (78% of the total volume) and
Oxygen (21%).The remaining 1% of the air includes water
vapour, carbon dioxide, and methane. These absorb and
release energy that warms the lower atmosphere.
atmosphere Without
these gases, the earth would be too cold for the existence of
life.
2. Stratosphere: The next layer, stretching 17–50 kilometers
above the sea level. Its lower portion holds enough ozone (O3)
gas to filter out about 95 % of the sun’s harmful UV radiation.
radiation
This global sunscreen allows life to exist on land and in the
surface layers of bodies of water.
3. Hydrosphere: The hydrosphere consists of all of the water
on or near the earth’s surface. It is found as water vapour in
the atmosphere, liquid water on the surface and underground,
and ice—polar ice, icebergs, glaciers, and ice in frozen soil
layers called permafrost.
 Energy flow in the Ecosystem
• Energy is needed for every biological activity
• Solar energy is transformed into chemical energy by a
process of photosynthesis. This energy is stored in plant
tissue, and then transformed into mechanical and heat during
metabolic activities
• In biological world, the energy flows from sun to plants and
then to all heterotrophic organisms like nitro-organisms,
animals and man i.e. from producers to consumers. 1 % of
the total sunlight falling on the green plants is utilized in
photosynthesis
• This is sufficient to maintain all life on this earth. There is
no 100% flow of energy from producers to consumers. Some
is always lost to environment. Because of this, energy cannot
be recycled in an ecosystem ‘it can only flow one way’
Progressive Loss of Energy in Food Chain
 The flow of energy follows the two laws
of thermodynamics
Ist law of thermodynamics: The law states that energy
can neither be created nor be destroyed but it can be
transformed from one form to another. Similarly, solar
energy utilized by green plants (producers) in
photosynthesis converted into biochemical energy of
plants and later into that of consumers

IInd law of thermodynamics: The law states that energy

transformation involves degradation or dissipation of
energy from a concentrated to a dispersed form. We
have seen dissipation of energy occurs at every trophic
level. There is loss of 90% energy, only 10% is
transferred from one trophic level to the other.
• 1st Law: Energy is neither created or destroyed
• Energy in ecosystem only flows in a single direction

• 2nd Law: When energy is converted from one form

to another, a part of it is dissipated.
• In ecosystem not all energy taken from sun is
converted to biomass and transferred
• some of it is lost as heat at every stage.
 Energy Flow Models

1. Universal Energy Flow Model

2. Single channel Energy flow model

3. Double channel or Y-Shaped energy flow

model
Universal Energy Flow Model

50
Single channel Energy flow model
Double channel or Y-Shaped energy flow
model
 Ecological Succession
Ecological succession is the gradual process by which
ecosystems change and develop over time. time Nothing
remains the same and habitats are constantly changing

The gradual and continuous replacement of plant and

animal species by other species until eventually the
community is replaced by another type of community

It occurs in stages called Seral stages or Seres that can

be recognized by the collection of species that dominate
at that point in the succession
 Ecological Succession
Ecological successions are named differently – based on
the nature of their originating area
Hydrarch or Hydrosere: Starting in watery area like
pond, Swamp, bog
Mesarch: Starting in an area of adequate moisture
Xerarch or xerosere: Starting in a dry area with little
moisture such as bare rock, sand and saline soil
Lithosere: Starting on a bare rock
Psammosere:
Psammosere Starting on sand
Halosere: Starting on saline soil
 Why and How ?
Ecological Succession
• Begins when an area is made partially or completely
devoid of vegetation because of a disturbance.

• Some common mechanisms of disturbance are fires,

wind storms, volcanic eruptions, logging, climate
change, severe flooding, disease, and pest
infestation.

• Stops when species composition no longer changes

with time, and this community is called the a climax
community.
Primary succession
Primary succession vs.
Secondary succession:

•Primary succession -
occurs on an area of
newly exposed rock or
sand or lava or any
area that has not
been occupied
previously by a living
(biotic) community.

•Secondary
succession - takes
place where a
community has been
removed, e.g., in a
ploughed field or a
Secondary succession clear-cut forest
 Steps / Stages in ecological succession

1. Nudation: Development of bare

area caused by
• Land slides
• Volcanic eruptions
• Forest fires etc
 Stages in ecological succession
2. Invasion: Involves Establishment of
one or two species on bare area.
These first species arrived are called
Pioneer species. They do not require
soil
Ex: Lichens (are composite organisms
consisting of a symbiotic association of
a fungus) (the mycobiont)
 Stages in ecological succession

• Soil starts to form as

lichens and the forces
of weather and erosion
help break down rocks
into smaller pieces

• When lichens die, they

add humus

• This helps in growing

small plants
 Stages in ecological succession
• As the plants die they add more humus to soil
• Now bigger plants and trees can grow.
 Stages in ecological succession

3. Competition and coaction:

• As the number of individual species grow, there

is competition for space, water, nutrients etc.

• They influence each other, called coaction

 Stages in ecological succession
4. Reaction:
When vegetation grows, living organisms move in and
influence the environment. Some species sustain, some
are lost in the process
 Stages in ecological succession
5. Stabilization

It need not be a forest

It can be Grasslands with grass and shrubs
Dates, Cacti etc. in desserts…
 Stages in ecological succession
5. Stabilization

One or more communities will finally succeed in

stabilizing.
This community is called climax community.
 How do Ecosystems work?

• Ecosystem - structures and functions

• Living and non-living interactions
• Energy flow
• Nutrients
• Chemical Cycles
• Water, Carbon, Nitrogen

Major Problems: Human effects on cycles

What happens to the matter in an
ecosystem?
 What is support system

The four major components of the earth’s life-

support system are

the atmosphere (air), (O2 and CO2)

the hydrosphere (water) – Hydrological cycle

the geosphere (rock, soil, sediment)

the biosphere (living things)

The atmosphere is a thin spherical envelope of gases
surrounding the earth’s surface.
Its inner layer, the troposphere, extends only about 17
kilometers (11 miles) above sea level at the tropics.
It contains air that we breathe, consisting mostly of
nitrogen (78% of the total volume) and oxygen (21%).
Almost all of the earth’s weather occurs within this layer.

Atmospheric gases
•Protective blanket of gases (ozone), surrounding the
earth.
•Sustains (support) life on the earth.
•Protect from high energy cosmic rays. Transmits only
low energy, UV, visible and IR radiations.
Hydrosphere: Presence of water (ocean, lake & polar
icecaps)

• 97.5 % of earth’s water - from ocean

• 1.97 % from polar icecaps and glaciers- moving
large ice
• 0.53 % fresh surface water - river, lake, ground
water etc.)

Lithosphere: Solid earth crust

Presence of minerals and multiple imaginary
classification
Earth's lithosphere includes the crust and the
uppermost mantle, which constitute the hard and
rigid outer layer of the Earth
The biosphere consists of the parts of the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, and geosphere where life is found. If the
earth were an apple, the biosphere would be no thicker
than the apple’s skin.
The geosphere consists of the earth’s intensely hot core,
a thick mantle composed mostly of rock, and a thin outer
crust. Most of the geosphere is located in the earth’s
interior.

Its upper portion contains non-renewable fossil fuels and

minerals that we use, as well as renewable soil chemicals
(nutrients) that organisms need in order to live, grow, and
reproduce.

One important goal of environmental science is to

understand the interactions that occur within this thin
layer of air, water, soil, and organisms.
 Three Factors Sustain the Earth’s Life
Life on earth depends on three interconnected
factors
1. The one-way flow of high-quality energy from the
sun - through feeding interactions. No round trips
are allowed because high-quality energy cannot be
recycled.
2. The cycling of nutrients - earth is a closed system,
- round trips in the biosphere, can take from
seconds to centuries to complete. The law of
conservation of Matter governs this nutrient
cycling process.
3. Gravity,
Gravity which allows the planet to hold onto its
atmosphere - movement and cycling of chemicals
through air, water, soil and organisms.
 Nutrient cycle
Nutrient - A substance that provides nourishment -
essential for the maintenance of life and growth.

What is the effect of human activity on nutrient

cycle?
 Nutrient Cycle
Nutrient – A substance (element or compound) that
promotes growth and health in living things

Plants and animals absorb nutrients from gas or

soluble salts

Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen and Hydrogen are needed

in large quantities – Macronutrients

Trace elements such as Iron, Copper, Manganese,

etc- Micronutrients
 Types of Essential Nutrients

• Nine essential nutrients, called macronutrients, are

needed in very large amounts

• Eight other essential nutrients, called

micronutrients, are needed only in small amounts.
 Essential Nutrients to Most Plants
% Dry
Macronutrient Component/Function
Weight
Carbon (C ) 45.0 Organic compounds
Oxygen (O) 45.0 Organic compounds
Hydrogen (H) 6.0 Organic compounds
Amino acids; nucleic acids,
Nitrogen (N) 1.0-4.0
chlorophyll
Amino acids; regulates stomata
Potassium (K) 1.0
opening/closing
Enzyme cofactor; influences cell
Calcium (Ca) 0.5
permeability
ATP; proteins; nucleic acids;
Phosphorus (P) 0.2
phosphoplipids
Magnesium (Mg) 0.2 Chlorophyll; enzyme activator
Sulfur (S) 0.1 CoA; amino acids
 Essential Nutrients to Most Plants
Micronutrient Component/Function
Iron (Fe) Cytochromes; chlorophyll synthesis
Osmosis; water-splitting in
Chlorine (Cl)
photosynthesis
Copper (Cu) Plastocyanin; enzyme activator
Enzyme activator; component of
Manganese (Mn)
chlorophyll
Zinc (Zn) Enzyme activator
Molybdenum(Mo) Nitrogen fixation
Boron (B) Cofactor in chlorophyll synthesis
Cofactor for enzyme functioning in
Nickel (Ni)
nitrogen metabolism
Basics of nutrient cycling
 Dynamics of recycled nutrients

organisms

uptake

death
available
(mineralized)

decomposition/
mineralization
unavailable
(organic)

• Fast cycling can be good for organisms (lots of

available nutrient), but can also lead to long-term
nutrient losses
 Nutrient cycle – within and among
ecosystems
• Nutrients move continually through air, water, soil, rock
and living organisms within ecosystems in cycles called
biogeochemical cycles - nutrient cycles
• These cycles are driven directly by, sun, gravity, water,
carbon, nitrogen, sulphur cycles.
• Nutrients move through biogeochemical cycles and
tends to accumulate in one portion of the cycle and
remain for a different periods of time .
• These temporary storage sites such as atmospheres,
ocean or underground deposits - Reservoirs
 ‘Fundamentals’of Biogeochemical Cycles

• All matter cycles...it is neither created nor

destroyed...

• As the Earth is essentially a closed system with

respect to matter, we can say that all matter on
Earth cycles .

• Biogeochemical cycles: the movement (or cycling) of

matter through a system
 The Hydrological cycle

• Water goes through biological systems on essentially a

one-way trip
• Cycle is fairly quick (except for aquifers, deep ocean
circulation)
salt water = 97.5%

freshwater = 2.5 %

oceans ice caps ground- lakes, atmosphere

and water rivers, 0.001%
glaciers 0.5% and soil
1.97% 0.03%
 Water cycle or Hydrological cycle
• The water cycle also known as the hydrological cycle
• Water is an amazing and unique substance that is
necessary for life on the earth.
• It describes the continuous movement of water on
above and below the surface of the Earth
• Water we use keeps on cycling endlessly through the
environment is called hydrocycle or hydrological cycle
• Water can change states among liquid, vapor and ice
at various places in the water cycle.
• Water dissolves many nutrient compounds, it is a
major medium for transporting nutrients within and
between ecosystems
Water cycle
 Main Processes of the Hydrologic Cycle
1. Evaporation – conversion of water into water vapor
2. Transpiration – evaporation from leaves of water extracted
from soil by roots
3. Condensation – conversion of water vapor into droplets of
liquid water
4. Precipitation – rain, sleet, hail, and snow
5. Infiltration – movement of water into soil
6. Percolation – downward flow of water through soil and
permeable rock formations to groundwater storage areas
called aquifers
7. Runoff – downslope surface movement back to the sea to
resume cycle
8. Sublimation- a change directly from the solid to the
gaseous state without becoming liquid
 Human Impact on Water cycle
- How are we threatening it?
 Withdraw large quantities of freshwater - The rate of
consumption is greater than rate of recharge.
 Clear vegetation from land for agriculture, mining, road
building, pavement and other activities.
activities
 Destruction of water sponges: Increase flooding when we
drain and fill wetlands for farming and urban
development. Left undisturbed, wetlands provide the
natural service of flood control.
• Throughout the hydrologic cycle, many natural
processes purify water.
water Evaporation and subsequent
precipitation act as a natural distillation process
that removes impurities dissolved in water. Water
flowing above ground through streams and lakes and
below ground in aquifers is naturally filtered and
partially purified by chemical and biological
processes mostly by the actions of bacteria—as long
as these natural processes are not overloaded. Thus,
the hydrologic cycle can be viewed as a cycle of
natural renewal of water quality.
quality
 CO2 in Atmosphere
Burning of
Fossil Fuels

Cellular Respiration
Photosynthesis

Coal and Petroleum Decomposition of

dead organisms
 Primary Productivity
Heat
Energy

Solar Energy Chemical

Energy (ATP)
CO2

Photosynthesis Respiration
GPP

C6H12O6
O2

Available to Consumers
NPP

Biomass
 Carbon cycle
• Carbon is the basic building block of the carbohydrates,
fats, proteins, DNA.
• The carbon cycle is based on carbon dioxide (CO2) gas
which is a key component of the atmosphere’s
thermostat.

• Removal of to much CO2 from the atmosphere will cool

it, and if it generates too much CO2, the atmosphere will
get warmer. Thus, even slight changes in this cycle
caused by natural or human factors can affect climate
and ultimately help to determine the types of life in
various places.
• Terrestrial producers remove CO2.

• This linkage between photosynthesis in producers

and aerobic respiration in producers, consumers, and
decomposers circulates carbon in the biosphere.
 Effect of human on carbon cycle
• Extract and burn huge quantities of fossil fuels that
took millions of years to form.
• Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources.
• Burning fossil fuels and wood releases more CO2 than
natural processes
• Deforestation reduces the amount of vegetation to
remove CO2 - Put more CO2 in the atmosphere
• Increased concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and other
gases are very likely to warm the atmosphere by
enhancing the planet’s natural greenhouse effect, and
thus to change the earth’s climate – Global Warming
 Forms of Nitrogen
• Urea  CO(NH2)2
• Ammonia  NH3 (gaseous)
• Ammonium  NH4
• Nitrate  NO3
• Nitrite  NO2
• Atmospheric Dinitrogen N2
• Organic N
 Nitrogen cycle
• The major reservoir for nitrogen is atmosphere (78%)

• Nitrogen is a crucial component of proteins, many

vitamins, and nucleic acids such as DNA.

• N2 cannot be absorbed and used directly as a nutrient

by multicellular plants or animals.

• Two natural processes convert or fix N2 into compounds

that can be used as nutrients by plants and animals. One
is electrical discharges, or lightning, taking place in the
atmosphere. The other takes place in aquatic systems,
soil, and the roots of some plants, where specialized
bacteria called nitrogen-fixing bacteria, complete this
conversion as part of the nitrogen cycle.
• The nitrogen cycle consists of several major steps.
In nitrogen fixation, specialized bacteria in soil and
bluegreen algae in aquatic environments combine
gaseous N2 with hydrogen to make ammonia(NH3).
The bacteria use some of the ammonia they
produce as a nutrient and excrete the rest to the
soil or water.
• Some of the ammonia is converted to ammonium
ions NH4+ that can be used as a nutrient by plants.
• In this process, specialized soil bacteria convert
most of the NH3 and NH4+ in soil to nitrate ions,
which are easily taken up by the roots of plants.
• The plants then use these forms of nitrogen to
produce various amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids
The nitrogen cycle consists of several major steps
Ecosystem Nitrogen Cycle
Gaseous N2
Nitrogen Fixation
Ammonification
Ammonia: NH3, NH4+

1. Nitrification
Food Web Nitrogenous
Nitrite: NO2- Waste
2. Nitrification

Nitrate: NO3-
Denitrification
Loss by
Leaching
 Nitrogen Cycling Processes
 Nitrogen Fixation – bacteria convert nitrogen gas (N2) to
ammonia (NH3).
 Decomposition – dead nitrogen fixers release N-containing
compounds.
 Ammonification – bacteria and fungi decompose dead plants
and animals and release excess NH3 and ammonium ions
(NH4+).
 Nitrification – type of chemosynthesis where NH3 or NH4+ is
converted to nitrite (NO2-); other bacteria convert NO2- to
nitrate (NO3-).
 Denitrification – bacteria convert NO2- and NO3- to N2.
 The plants then use these forms of nitrogen to produce
various amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, and vitamins.
 Animals that eat plants eventually consume these nitrogen-
containing compounds, as do detritus feeders, and
decomposers.
Nitrogen Fixation

The nodules on the

roots of this bean
plant contain bacteria
called Rhizobium that
help convert nitrogen
in the soil to a form
the plant can utilize.
 Effect of human on nitrogen cycle
 According to the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment, since 1950, human activities have more
than doubled the annual release of nitrogen from
the land into the rest of the environment.
 Most of this is from the greatly increased use of
inorganic fertilizer to grow crops, and the amount
released is projected to double again by 2050.
 This excessive input of nitrogen into the air and
water contributes to pollution and other problems
disturbing the ecosystems
 Nitrogen overload is a serious and growing local,
regional, and global environmental problem that has
attracted little attention.
 Emit nitric oxide (NO) when burning fuels; leads to acid
rain
 Emit heat-trapping nitrous oxide (NO2) into the
atmosphere
 Remove nitrogen from the earth’s crust for fertilizers,
harvesting nitrogen-rich biomass, and increase leaching
through irrigation
 Remove nitrogen from topsoil when burning grasslands and
clearing forests; also emits nitrous oxides
 Add excess through runoff and sewage – promotes
overgrowth of algae, which dies, breaks down, and
decomposition by bacteria depletes the water of oxygen;
disrupts aquatic systems; reduces aquatic biodiversity
 Add excess nitrogen to atmosphere; allowing weedy plants
to outcompete other plants, reducing biodiversity