biogeochemical cycle

American  

[bahy-oh-jee-oh-kem-i-kuhl sahy-kuhl] / ˌbaɪ oʊˌdʒi oʊˈkɛm ɪ kəl ˈsaɪ kəl /

noun

1. Ecology. the natural, continuous process in which chemical elements and compounds are recycled via life-sustaining transformation, which includes the circulation of elements and compounds throughout the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

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biogeochemical cycle Scientific  

/ bī′ō-jē′ō-kĕm′ĭ-kəl /

1. The flow of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms and the physical environment. Chemicals absorbed or ingested by organisms are passed through the food chain and returned to the soil, air, and water by such mechanisms as respiration, excretion, and decomposition. As an element moves through this cycle, it often forms compounds with other elements as a result of metabolic processes in living tissues and of natural reactions in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, or lithosphere.

2. See more at carbon cycle nitrogen cycle

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Example Sentences

Their findings, published in Limnology and Oceanography, focus attention on the role organic sulfur compounds play in this biogeochemical cycle.

From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2023

For the purpose of AP®, you do not need to know the details of every biogeochemical cycle, though some details of those cycles are covered in this section.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Which one of the following is not a biogeochemical cycle?

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018

Because geology and chemistry have major roles in the study of this process, the recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment is called a biogeochemical cycle.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Because geology and chemistry have major roles in the study of this process, the recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their nonliving environment is called a biogeochemical cycle.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013