Nutrient Cycling

This page shares the different cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and water, specifically in the desert.

Carbon

Carbon is taken in by plants from the atmosphere. Animals eat the plants. The animals emit C02 back into the atmosphere when they breathe. The animals die and then decay, adding carbon back into the soil.

Nitrogen

Nitrogen from the atmosphere is changed by bacteria from nitrogen to nitrates. Plants then take in the nitrates from the soil. Animals eat the plants. Animal die and deposit nitrates back into the soil.

Phosphorous

Phosphorus is eroded out of and into rocks that eventually turns into minerals through erosion and are then absorbed by plants. Animals eat the plants and then die, depositing phosphorus back into the soil, which eventually turns into rocks.

Water

Water precipitates from the atmosphere, and is then absorbed by the soil. Plants take in the water from the soil, and some of the water transpires out of the plant and into the atmosphere. The rest of the water either evaporates from the ocean or drains to tributaries.