i) Macro nutrients:
These nutrients that are required in relatively large quantities by all organisms e.g. carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and sulphur (S). The macro nutrients combine in various ways to make up more than 95% of all living things.
ii) Micro nutrients.
These are required in relatively small amounts, by some organisms or as coenzymes or for very specific purposes.
Elements such as carbon, nitrogen, or phosphorous enter living organisms in a variety of ways; absorption and diffusion by the plants from the surroundings (water, soil, atmosphere) and consumption by animals. These materials are transformed biochemically within the bodies of organisms and sooner or later returned into the environment in their inorganic state via respiration, excretion or decomposition. Often bacteria complete this process, through decomposition. The two major functions of decomposition within the ecosystems are:
a). The mineralization of essential elements
b). The formation of soil organic matter to inorganic form.
During decomposition these materials are not destroyed or lost, but rather returned back into circulation. With respect to nutrients, the earth is therefore considered as a closed system. The fundamental feature of the flow of nutrients /materials in ecosystems is their cyclic flow. Maintenance of the necessary requirements that support life requires a continuous cycling of materials between the biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components of the ecosystem
marto answered the question on March 20, 2019 at 07:27
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