23. PhosphorusCycle
is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the
movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere,
hydrosphere, and biosphere. Unlike many other
biogeochemical cycles, the atmosphere does not play a
significant role in the movements of phosphorus,
because phosphorus and phosphorus-based compounds
are usually solids at the typical ranges of temperature
and pressure found on Earth.
enters the environment from rocks or deposits laid down
on the earth many years ago. The phosphate rock is
commercially available form is called apatite. Other
deposits may be from fossilized bone or bird droppings
called guano. Weathering and erosion of rocks gradually
releases phosphorus as phosphate ions which are
soluble in water. Land plants need phosphate as a
fertilizer or nutrient.
24. The aquatic phosphorus cycle
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plants and animals in the form of ions
PO43- and HPO42-. It is a part of DNA-molecules, of molecules that store
energy (ATP and ADP) and of fats of cell membranes. Phosphorus is also a
building block of certain parts of the human and animal body, such as the
bones and teeth.
25. Phosphorus normally occurs in nature as part of a phosphate ion, consisting of
a phosphorus atom and some number of oxygen atoms, the most abundant
form (called orthophosphate) having four oxygens: PO4-. Most phosphates
are found as salts in ocean sediments or in rocks. Over time, geologic
processes can bring ocean sediments to land, and weathering will carry
terrestrial . Plants absorb phosphates from the soil. The plants may then be
consumed by herbivores who in turn may be consumed by carnivores. After
death, the animal or plant decays, and the phosphates are returned to the
soil. Runoff may carry them back to the ocean or they may be reincorporated
into rock.
26. The pr imar y biological impor t ance of
phosphat es is as a component of
nucleot ides, which ser ve as ener gy
st or age wit hin cells (ATP) or when
linked t oget her , f or m t he nucleic
acids DNA and RNA. Phosphorus is
also f ound in bones, whose st r engt h
is der ived f r om calcium phosphat e,
and in phospholipids (f ound in all
biological membr anes).
Phosphat es move quickly t hr ough
plant s and animals; however , t he
pr ocesses t hat move t hem t hrough
t he soil or ocean ar e ver y slow,
making t he phosphor us cycle overall
27. Unlike other cycles of matter compounds, phosphorus cannot
be found in air in the as a gas. This is because at normal
temperature and circumstances, it is a liquid. It usually
cycles through water, soil and sediments. In the atmosphere
phosphorus is mainly small dust particles.
Phosphorous is one of the longest cycles, and takes a long
time to move from sediments to living organisms and back
to sediments.