1) The phosphorus cycle begins with phosphorus being released from rocks through weathering processes like rain and wind.
2) Phosphorus enters the soil and is absorbed by plants through their roots, and then moves up the food chain as herbivores eat plants and carnivores eat herbivores.
3) Decomposers like mushrooms and bacteria feed on dead organisms and waste, releasing phosphorus back into the soil to be reabsorbed by plants, completing the cycle.
4) However, human use of phosphorus fertilizers is disrupting the natural cycle by adding excess phosphorus to soils, which is then washed into waterways by rain and causes harmful algal blooms by