The biogenic migration of atoms is a special type of cycle in the nature of chemicals that occurs due to the vital processes of living organisms. Vital activities are understood as their respiration, nutrition, reproduction, accumulation and breakdown of organic elements.
What is the biosphere?
The world-famous academician V.I. Vernadsky first introduced the concept of the biosphere. He deciphered it as a living shell of the earth. This area of life appeared as a result of the interaction of living and nonliving substances. Moreover, all living organisms are the main function of the biosphere and are associated with it in all possible ways.
Living organisms are the totality of all living substances on the planet that currently exist. Each of them has its own weight, energy and elementary chemical composition.
According to Vernadsky, all living matter is connected with the environment by currents of atoms, the biogenic migration of which occurs as a result of exposure to solar energy.
The main functions of the biosphere are the reproduction, growth and metabolism of living organisms.
The basics of nutrient migration
The biogenic migration of atoms is manifested in the form of a cycle of substances in nature. Biogens are the elements that are involved in this process. These include substances such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, iron, manganese, zinc, calcium, potassium and many other inorganic compounds.
In fact, in nature there are a huge number of isotopes of chemical elements, but not all of them are part of living organisms.
It is known that all living organisms have a unique feature of accumulating chemical elements and their compounds. Moreover, in the composition of the living one can find not only widespread elements, but also very rare ones. What is very interesting, their concentration in living matter is much higher than just in the surrounding space. For example, plants contain two hundred times more carbon than the earth’s crust contains, and thirty times more nitrogen.
Moreover, each species of living organisms has a different amount of chemical elements. For example, iron bacteria accumulate in themselves just a huge amount of iron, while the roots grow calcium, and algae - iodine.
The biogenic migration of atoms leads to the fact that the valency of chemical elements can change under the influence of living organisms . And also new types of chemicals are being formed. About forty of the most famous trace elements are actively involved in such a process as the biogenic migration of atoms. And man is a direct confirmation of this.
The law of biogenic migration of atoms
This law was introduced by academician Vernadsky and has a very important theoretical and practical value. According to him, all chemical processes taking place on our planet are closely interconnected with the present and past activities of microorganisms and are impossible without taking into account biogenic and biotic factors. It also includes the influence of evolutionary processes.
It is worth considering that people have a very big influence on the biosphere of the Earth, in particular on its entire living population, therefore they are able to make significant changes for such a process as the biogenic migration of atoms in the biosphere.
According to this law, every living creature is an intermediary between the Sun and the Earth. Moreover, given the constant solar flux, as well as the relative invariability of the planet’s energy, it can be concluded that the amount of living matter must be constant. Such a pattern was described by Vernadsky in his writings.
About biogeochemical cycles
Biogeochemical cycles are a special circulation of chemicals in the biosphere. Here, living organisms play a decisive role. For the life of all living organisms, certain nutrients are needed that can give life. There are two groups of such elements: macrotrophs and microtrophs.
Macrotrophic substances include those components that create the chemical basis of all tissues in living organisms. These include potassium, calcium, phosphorus, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, magnesium and other elements.
But microtrophic substances include trace elements and their compounds, necessary for the existence of living organisms in very small quantities. Trace elements include zinc, copper, manganese, chlorine, and iron.
In addition, all nutrients or nutrients can be used repeatedly in the biosphere. After all, stocks of nutrients are not constant. Some of them are connected and are part of living biomass. And this, in turn, significantly reduces the number of elements remaining in the ecosystem.
If plants and other living organisms did not participate in the processes of decomposition, then the supply of all the nutrients in the world would have long been exhausted, which means that life on planet Earth would have long ceased.
Consider how the biogeochemical cycles of some elements go.
Carbon cycle
One of the most important sources of carbon is carbon dioxide, which is contained in the atmosphere, as well as dissolved in water. This substance is used by plants for the synthesis of organic compounds.
During the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is able to turn plants into nutrient organic substances that serve as the main food for animals.
Processes such as fuel combustion, fermentation and respiration are able to return this substance to the environment. According to scientists, the atmosphere contains about seven hundred billion tons of this substance, while the hydrosphere contains about fifty thousand billion tons. As a result of the photosynthesis process, the increase in plant mass in water and on land is one hundred eighty and fifty billion tons, respectively.
Nitrogen cycle
Biogeochemical nitrogen cycles occur under the influence of various chemical and biological influences. For example, nitrate nitrogen can be converted to protein nitrogen, then converted to urea, converted to ammonia and returned to its nitrate form.
Phosphorus cycle
The simplest biogeochemical cycle in nature is the phosphorus cycle. Its main reserves are found in rocks, which, under the influence of erosion, give up their phosphates to various ecosystems.
Plants use such phosphates, and with their help they synthesize organic substances. Other organisms feed on plants. So, when they die and decompose, phosphates again return to the soil and again serve as fertilizers for plants.
The biogenic principles of Vernadsky
Under the biogenic migration of atoms is understood the movement of substances, as well as their connection along the nutrition chains of the ecosystem. According to Academician Vernadsky, biogenic migration obeys three very important principles. Consider what the scientist was talking about:
- Biogenic migration always strives for its maximum manifestation.
- All living substances of the biosphere are in constant and continuous chemical exchange with space. And also they are created and supported by the energy of the sun.
- The evolution of species, contributing to the emergence of new stable forms of living organisms, leads to an acceleration of the biogenic migration of atoms in the biosphere. Contributes to this accelerated conversion of chemical elements.
The concept of the biological cycle
In order for life on Earth to continue indefinitely, all organic substances must rotate in a closed curve.
The biological cycle is the only way to organize life. Due to the decay of all organisms, other organisms get their nutrition. Therefore, every living organism, regardless of its type, is a link in the food chain. Decaying, all living beings give their elements to other forms of life. Do not underestimate the role of microorganisms. It is they who turn the remains of animals and plants into elementary organic substances used by green plants for the synthesis of new organics.
The biological cycle of substances is provided by the decay results. Complex compounds begin to decay, releasing energy and losing information reserves, and the formed new inorganic substances begin the whole chain anew. Thanks to microorganisms, the biosphere is capable of natural self-regulation.
The links of the biological cycle are living organisms belonging to different systematic groups. They are able to interact with each other due to a large number of diverse relationships. It should be borne in mind that all living substances of the biosphere participate in the cycle due to food chains.
What are the functions of living substances in the biosphere
The biogenic migration of atoms is based on the movement of substances. So, scientists, having analyzed all the properties of such migration, were able to draw conclusions about what functions are performed by all living substances on planet Earth. Consider them:
- Energy. Living organisms are able to accumulate nutrients derived from food through trophic chains.
- Transport. Every organism is capable of carrying organics.
- Concentration - organisms accumulate nutrients in the course of their life and use them in the construction of their bodies.
- Environment-forming. All living things can transform the chemical and physical parameters of the environment.
- Destructive. Participate in the mineralization process of inorganic substances.
The evolutionary theory of the origin of life on Earth
Irreversible processes of historical changes in life can be called evolution. This theory is based on four principles:
- Excessive offspring. All biological species of living organisms reproduce very quickly. However, not all offspring survive, therefore, all populations are stable.
- The struggle for survival also helps control population size.
- The presence of minor differences. Since all living individuals are individual, some species are more likely to survive, while others are less.
- Heredity. Hereditary information is transmitted through parents to offspring. So, thanks to some hereditary differences, some individuals are more capable of survival than others.
conclusions
Under the biogenic migration of atoms is understood the movement of substances. This process is endless and cyclical, so life on Earth exists to this day. As a result of human activity, all creative processes on Earth begin to collapse.