Terms in this set (5)

• Weathering. Phosphorus is found in the rocks in abundance.
• Absorption by Plants. The phosphate salts dissolved in water are absorbed by the plants.
• Absorption by Animals. The animals absorb phosphorus from the plants or by consuming plant-eating animals.
• Return of Phosphorus Back to the Ecosystem.

Terms in this set (6)

• Weathering. Weathering of uplifted rocks contributes phosphates to the land.
• Fertilizer. Phosphate fertilizer applied to fields can run off directly into streams, become part of a soil pool, or be absorbed by plants.
• Excretion and Decomposition.
• Dissolved Phosphates.
• Geologic Uplift.
• Weathering.

Weathering. Since the main source of phosphorus is found in rocks, the first step of the phosphorus cycle involves the extraction of phosphorus from the rocks by weathering. Weather events, such as rain and other sources of erosion, result in phosphorus being washed into the soil.

• Weathering.
• Fertilizer. -Soil. -Direct Runoff.
• Excretion and Decomposition.
• Dissolved Phosphates (generally in ocean)
• Geologic Uplift.

Because most phosphorus doesn’t circulate from land to air, or vice versa, most phosphorus ends up in sedimentary rock, and only reappears via tectonic uplift over geological time scales. This makes the phosphorus cycle an extremely slow cycle.

This is because phosphorus is usually liquid at normal temperatures and pressures. Phosphorus moves slowly from deposits on land and in sediments, to living organisms, and than much more slowly back into the soil and water sediment. The phosphorus cycle is the slowest one of the matter cycles that are described here.

Over long periods of time, phosphorus-containing sedimentary rock may be moved from the ocean to the land by a geological process called uplift. However, this process is very slow, and the average phosphate ion has an oceanic residence time—time in the ocean—of 20,000 to 100,000 years.

Explanation: Phosphorous cycles through several components of the biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. However, it generally does not circulate through the atmosphere, unlike other biogeochemical cycles, like for example carbon or nitrogen.

As compared to nitrates & other macro elements, decomposers take longer time to decompose any dead biota into phosphates. Decomposers are organisms especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decompose organic material. These are the reasons for phosphorus cycle being the slowest biogeochemical cycle.

Humans affect the phosphorus cycle mainly by the use of fertilizers and raising livestock, especially hogs. Fertilizers and hog waste are high in phosphorus, which makes its way into the soil (where it is necessary in moderate amounts) and, due to runoff, in water.

Cite. Human actions—mining phosphorus (P) and transporting it in fertilizers, animal feeds, agricultural crops, and other products—are altering the global P cycle, causing P to accumulate in some of the world’s soil.

Synthetic fertilizers are a main way humans impact the phosphorus cycle. The phosphate in the fertilizer is not fully utilized by plants, and as a result leftover phosphates remain in the plants’ water supply. This remaining phosphate leaves as water run-off.

The transformation of the global phosphorus cycle is just one example. As another example, fossil fuels have enabled the industrial-scale production of nitrogen as fertilizer. For example, increased runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus into freshwater ecosystems and oceans causes a rapid rate of eutrophication.

Nitrogen is mainly used by humans as a fertilizer in farmlands, but its excessive usage can lead to serious problems (such as eutrophication). The phosphorus cycle involves the uptake of phosphorus by organisms. Phosphorus is used by humans as a fertilizer in farmlands and in detergents.

Which of the following is the best explanation for why there is such a small amount of phosphorus that moves into aquatic systems? Phosphorus is highly stable in the atmosphere and remains there for long periods of time.

how does the release of large amounts of phosphorus by humans cause problems? excess phosphorus can runoff, creating eutrophication, a phenomenon where algae flock to phosphorus rich bodies of water, depleting the oxygen and causing hypoxia. phosphorous released naturally when rocks are worn down by water or wind.

Which of the following best explains the reason for this steady movement? Readily available organic phosphorus in the soil is assimilated by plants. There is not a gaseous phase of the phosphorus cycle, and therefore the movement of phosphorus into oceanic reservoirs is very slow.

The phosphorus cycle is different from other biogeochemical cycles because atmosphere is not important in the transfer or movement of phosphorus. Phosphorous travels through the cycle from rock to omnivores by removing the phosphate from rocks when it rains.

The global phosphorus cycle has four major components: (i) tectonic uplift and exposure of phosphorus-bearing rocks to the forces of weathering; (ii) physical erosion and chemical weathering of rocks producing soils and providing dissolved and particulate phosphorus to rivers; (iii) riverine transport of phosphorus to …

Transformations or flows of materials from one pool to another in the cycle are described as fluxes; for example, the movement of water from the soil to the atmosphere resulting from evaporation is a flux.