Nutrient cycle

• Leaching - nutrients being washed out of the soil by heavy rainfall
• Nutrient cycle - the circulation of nutrients between biotic and abiotic
• Biomass - all the producers and consumers (biotic)
• Litter - any dead producers and/or consumers
• Nutrient cycle:

  1. Tree sheds leaves, turn brown and litter will build up over time
  2. Then animals will also die, so there is a layer of dead material over the soil
  3. Decomposers start to breakdown dead material
  4. This means that nutrients are put back into the soil
  5. These nutrients will be used by producer to grow
  6. And the cycle happens again
• Inputs & Outputs of the nutrient cycle:

  INPUTS: nutrients can be dissolved in precipitation and from weathered rock

  OUTPUTS: nutrients lost through run-off and leaching
• Nutrient cycle

  
• Tropical rainforest - Nutrient cycle:

  • Large biomass ~ lots of plants and animals
  • Small soil and litter
  • Lots of weathered rock and rainfall ~ as input
  • Lots of runoff and leaching (due to heavy rain) ~ as output
• Desert - Nutrient cycle

  • Small biomass ~ few plants and animals can survive
  • Large soil but small litter
  • Little input ~ due to lack of rainfall and weathering
  • Little output ~ lack of run-off and leaching (due to little rain)