MICROBIOLOGY - M.H. Serhiichuk - 2008

Chapter 9. THE ROLE OF MICROORGANISMS IN BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES IN NATURE

All chemical elements required by living organisms must undergo cyclic transformations. Otherwise, any given element would eventually be depleted, making life on the planet impossible in the form we know it. It has been estimated that the Earth's atmosphere contains nearly 600 billion metric tons of carbon in the form of CO2. Plants assimilate about 20 billion metric tons of this carbon form annually. Thus, with a one-way consumption, this gas would be completely exhausted within a mere 30 years. All atmospheric oxygen cycles through living organisms in approximately 2,000 years, while the entire volume of ocean and river Water is renewed in roughly 3 million years.



Last update: 13/08/2026

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