Carbon cycle One of the ways that nature recycles matter is through the carbon cycle. The carbon cycle is carbon cycling through the global environment. Carbon is a chemical element and a key component of many systems in the biosphere, from acting as part of the earth's thermostat to being one of the key elements in photosynthesis, which is when plants make sugars for energy. In order for the ecosystem to function properly, all parts need an adequate supply of carbon. This is usually not a problem since nature is efficient at carbon cycling. Since the process is a cycle, we need to pick some place to begin.
Carbon Cycle Steps
The carbon cycle is basically a three step process involving photosynthesis and respiration. Green plants …show more content…
Although we usually think only of breathing oxygen when we hear the word "respiration," it has a broader meaning that involves oxygen. To a biologist, respiration is the process in which oxygen is used to break down organic compounds into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). For an animal then, respiration is both taking in oxygen (and releasing carbon dioxide) and oxidizing its food (or burning it with oxygen) in order to release the energy the food contains. In both cases, carbon is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Carbon atoms that started out as components of carbon dioxide molecules have passed through the body of living organisms and been returned to the atmosphere, ready to be recycled …show more content…
Nitrifying bacteria like Nitrosomonas convert ammonia to nitrite and another bacterium called
Nitrobacter converts nitrate to nitrate.
Nitrate Assimilation
The nitrate present in the soil is absorbed by plants through the root system in the form of NO3 - ions. But it cannot be used by plants directly. So it is first reduced to nitrite by the enzyme nitrate reductase. Nitrite is then converted to Ammonia by the enzyme nitrite reductase series of steps requiring a total of eight electrons provided by reduced NAD and Ferredoxin (Fd). This reduction of Nitrate to Ammonia and its incorporation into cellular proteins by aerobic micro organisms and higher plants is called Nitrate assimilation.
Denitrification The process of conversion of nitrate and nitrite into ammonia, nitrogen gas and nitrous oxide (N2O) is called denitrification. This process ends in the release of gaseous nitrogen into the atmosphere and thus completes the nitrogen cycle. A number of bacteria such as Pseudomonas denitrificans, Bacillus subtilis and Thiobacillus dentrificans are involved in this
Carbon Cycle Steps
The carbon cycle is basically a three step process involving photosynthesis and respiration. Green plants …show more content…
Although we usually think only of breathing oxygen when we hear the word "respiration," it has a broader meaning that involves oxygen. To a biologist, respiration is the process in which oxygen is used to break down organic compounds into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). For an animal then, respiration is both taking in oxygen (and releasing carbon dioxide) and oxidizing its food (or burning it with oxygen) in order to release the energy the food contains. In both cases, carbon is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Carbon atoms that started out as components of carbon dioxide molecules have passed through the body of living organisms and been returned to the atmosphere, ready to be recycled …show more content…
Nitrifying bacteria like Nitrosomonas convert ammonia to nitrite and another bacterium called
Nitrobacter converts nitrate to nitrate.
Nitrate Assimilation
The nitrate present in the soil is absorbed by plants through the root system in the form of NO3 - ions. But it cannot be used by plants directly. So it is first reduced to nitrite by the enzyme nitrate reductase. Nitrite is then converted to Ammonia by the enzyme nitrite reductase series of steps requiring a total of eight electrons provided by reduced NAD and Ferredoxin (Fd). This reduction of Nitrate to Ammonia and its incorporation into cellular proteins by aerobic micro organisms and higher plants is called Nitrate assimilation.
Denitrification The process of conversion of nitrate and nitrite into ammonia, nitrogen gas and nitrous oxide (N2O) is called denitrification. This process ends in the release of gaseous nitrogen into the atmosphere and thus completes the nitrogen cycle. A number of bacteria such as Pseudomonas denitrificans, Bacillus subtilis and Thiobacillus dentrificans are involved in this