NUTRIENT
CYCLING
GEC E1-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
NATURAL CAPITAL
• Natural resources are materials and energy in nature that
are essential or useful to humans (Renewable or
nonrenewable)
• Natural services are processes in nature such as purification
of air and water, which support life and human economies
• The Earth’s biodiversity of species, ecosystems, and
interacting components provide us with these essential
services at no cost. We can use technology to enhance such
services but there are no substitutes for them
NATURAL
SERVICES
• Nutrient cycling is one
vital natural service, which
deals with the circulation
of chemicals necessary for
life, from the environment
(mostly from soil and
water) through organisms
and back to the
environment
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• Natural capital is supported by energy from the sun. Take
away solar energy and natural capital, and the life it
supports would collapse. Solar energy warms the planet
and supports photosynthesis—a complex chemical
process that plants use to provide food for themselves
and for us and most other animals
• This direct input of solar energy also produces indirect
forms of solar energy such as wind, flowing water, and
biofuels made from plants and plant residues
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• Complex process that takes
place in cells of green
plants. Radiant energy from
the sun is used to combine
carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O) to produce
oxygen (O2), carbohydrates
(such as glucose, C6H12O6),
and other nutrient molecules
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
CARBON CYCLE
NITROGEN CYCLE
E C OS Y ST E M CHAN GE
• Ecological succession is the process by which the
structure of a biological community evolves over
time
• Two different types of succession are primary
and secondary ecological succession
E C OS Y ST E M CHAN GE
• Primary succession occurs in essentially lifeless
areas regions in which the soil is incapable of
sustaining life as a result of such factors: as
lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks
left from a retreating glacier
P R I M A RY S UCCE SSI ON
• The first species to arrive
are fast-growing “weedy
species,” such as lichens
or small annual plants,
which create the first
layers of soil as they
decompose
P R I M A RY S UCCE SSI ON
• Lava from an erupting volcano
forms new land that is made from
inorganic material. While it is rich in
minerals, the land cannot support a
varied and complex ecosystem
• Its capacity to sustain a stable
ecosystem is limited. Pioneer
species that colonize areas after
volcanic eruptions include sword
fern and green algae
PRIMARY
SUCCESSION
• A few small invertebrate animals may also venture
into this territory, followed by crickets and spiders
• In the case of volcanic eruptions in the ocean, the
atolls formed are isolated from other terrestrial
ecosystems and have unique food chains and webs
• Pioneer species often arise from spores carried
through ocean currents
P R I M A RY S UCCE SSI ON
P R I M A RY S UCCE SSI ON
Primary succession can occur after a variety of events:
• Volcanic eruptions
• Retreat of glaciers
• Flooding accompanied by severe soil erosion
• Landslides
• Nuclear explosions
• Oil spills
• Abandonment of a manmade structure, such as a paved
parking lot
E C OS Y ST E M CHAN GE
• Secondary succession occurs in areas where a
community that previously existed has been
removed; it is typified by smaller-scale
disturbances that do not eliminate all life and
nutrients from the environment
S E C O N D A RY S U C C E S S I O N
S E C O N D A RY S U C C E S S I O N
• The renewal of a forest after a fire: The fire itself
destroys a majority of different types of trees and
plant life.
• Because seeds and roots and other plant and tree
parts remain in and on the soil, gradually the plants
and trees begin to grow again and eventually
returns to the state of the original ecosystem
S E C O N D A RY S U C C E S S I O N
• The renewal of a crop after harvesting: A crop is
completed harvested when it becomes ripe.
Without new seeds being planted, the crop can
regenerate the following year due to the plants
and seeds that remained after harvesting
S E C O N D A RY S U C C E S S I O N
• In some environments, succession reaches a
climax, which produces a stable community
dominated by a small number of prominent
species
HOMEWORK 3
1. DISCUSS THE MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
IN YOUR BARANGAY. SUPPORT YOUR DISCUSSION
WITH IMAGES AND INFORMATIONS.
Note: Images and discussion should be
based on your barangay’s
environmental problems not from the
internet.
