click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
18.4 Terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Biogeochemical cycle | the ciculation of substances through living organisms and their enviroment |
| groundwater | water in the soil or formations of porous underground rock |
| water cycle | the continuous movement of water between land, the atmosphere and the oceans |
| transpiration | the process by which organisms release water into the air |
| carbon cycle | the movement of carbon between living and nonliving things and back |
| nitrogen cycle | the complex cycle nitrogen goes through in an ecosystem |
| nitrogen fixation | the process of converting N2 gas in to nitrate |
| nitrogen-fixing bacteria | bacteria that converts nitrogen into a usable form |
| ammonification | when decomposers break down dead organisms and waste, making the soil ammonium |
| nitrification | how soil bacteria make ammonium become nitrate |
| dentrification | how nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere |
| phospherous cycle | the movement of phospherous from the enviroment to organisms and back |