Question: What is a nutrients cycle and how do oak trees help it?

Anna Gardner answered on 12 Jun 2019:

A nutrient cycle is how a specific nutrient (such as nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium) moves between plants, animals, bacteria, the atmosphere (the air), and soil in the ground.

It is important we understand how fast (or slow) these cycles are, and the different processes that are involved for several reasons. Firstly, it might help us identify why a plant is not growing properly (if it needs help). Secondly, knowing the different processes can help us in farming our plants for food. Lastly, we can predict what might happen in the future if a change to the nutrient cycle happens.

There are three main nutrient cycles in any ecosystem: The Nitrogen cycle, the water cycle and the carbon cycle.

Forests are very important in regulating these nutrient cycles. In the water cycle, trees help with intercepting the rain (using their leaves) and taking up a lot of water through their roots. Trees help regulate the amount of water and can slow water down through the ecosystem. If the trees were removed, it may cause flooding or mudslides.
In the nitrogen cycle, forests also have important roles. Nitrogen in the soil is taken up by the roots and delivered to the leaves of the tree. In the leaves, the nitrogen is used to help make food for the tree using the sunshine. Then when autumn arrives, these leaves will fall to the ground and the nitrogen is given back to the soil. Here the nitrogen sits until either bacteria eat it or roots again take it back up the tree in the spring.
And lastly, in the carbon cycle. Forests are hugely important in our carbon cycles. Forests help store over 30% of all the carbon on earth! The rest of the carbon is in us (humans and animals), in the soil, the ocean or in the air. We are seeing massive rises in carbon dioxide ( a gas form of carbon) due to deforestation and burning coal and oil. Carbon dioxide can lead to increased global temperatures and more extreme weather events, therefore trees are becoming even more important to us.
The leaves breathe in carbon dioxide from the air and convert it into sugar (glucose) using the sunshine and nitrogen. This carbon (now as a sugar) can then be used to help the tree grow upwards, outwards and downwards (as roots in the soil!). Again, as the leaves fall off in the autumn, this sugar is converted back into carbon which is used by bacteria, fungi, animals and other plants. Its just a big circle.

Nutrient cycles are very important to allow us to understand the functioning of ecosystems. You can also see how all the nutrient cycles interact with each other. Nutrient cycles are just fast and slow circles of life for different nutrients, but it does make you feel dizzy after while!