Question

Phosphorus is a sedimentary nutrient. This means it:
A. cycles very slowly.
B. never enters the atmosphere.
C. settles as sediment in the ocean.
D. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The movement of substance and energy between living things and the environment's non-living components happens through a system called the nutrient cycle.This occurs because as plants and animals die and decompose, they release the nutrients they ingested from the soil back into the environment.


Complete step by step solution:
A nutrition cycle is referred to as either a Perfect Cycle or an Imperfect Cycle depending on the replacement period.
A perfect nutrition cycle involves replacing nutrients as quickly as they are used up. Most Cycles that involve gas are regarded as ideal cycles.
Because certain nutrients are lost from the cycle and become trapped in sediments, making them unavailable for immediate cycling, sedimentary cycles are viewed as being incomplete.

There are two different sorts of cycles depending on the reservoir:
-Gaseous cycle: the hydrosphere or the atmosphere as the reservoir
-Sedimentary cycle, where the Earth's crust serves as the reservoir

A form of biogeochemical cycle called a sedimentary cycle uses the Earth's crust as its reservoir.

Cycle of phosphorus
In a cycle, phosphorus travels via rocks, water, soil, sediments, and living things.
Phosphate ions and other minerals are released from rocks over time by weathering and precipitation. Then, the inorganic phosphate is dispersed in the soil and water.
Inorganic phosphate from the soil is absorbed by plants. Animals may then consume the plants. The phosphate gets integrated into organic molecules like DNA once it has reached the plant or animal. When an animal or plant dies, its remains decompose, returning organic phosphate to the soil.


Therefore option D is the correct answer i.e., All of the above

Note:
Bacteria that convert organic materials to inorganic forms of phosphorus in the soil can make organic forms of phosphate accessible to plants.
Soil phosphorus may end up in rivers, lakes, and ultimately oceans. Once there, it may gradually mix with the sediments there.