explain the importance of bio gio chemical cycles
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A biogeochemical cycle or inorganic-organic cycle is a circulating or repeatable pathway by which either a chemical element or a molecule moves through both biotic ("bio-") and abiotic ("geo-") compartments of an ecosystem. In effect, an element is chemically recycled, although in some cycles there may be places (called "sinks") where the element accumulates and is held for a long period of time. In considering a specific biogeochemical cycle, we focus on a particular element and how that element participates in chemical reactions, moving between various molecular configurations. Of the 90-odd elements known to occur in nature, some 30 or 40 are thought to be required by living organisms (Odum, 1959). We will be considering only a few of these, mainly those utilized in fairly large quantities by living organisms. The principal elements of life are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. However, a number of others are certainly important to understand as well, notably phosphorus and sulfur. Some "non-essential" elements participate in biogeochemical cycles, entering organism tissues because of chemical similarity to essential elements. For example, strontium can behave like calcium in the body.