Abstract
Elements that comprise the major portion of biomass (C, H, O, N, P, and S) exist in many different forms. Molecules of these forms are transient, appearing when converted from one form and disappearing when converted into another. Many of the transformations involve changes in oxidation-reduction (redox) state. For the most part these transformations proceed very slowly by abiotic chemical reactions. Organisms, however, possess enzyme systems that both catalyze the reactions and couple them to cellular biochemistry, producing energy for chemical and mechanical work (synthesis and movement). Element cycle transformation rates depend upon the concentration of organisms as well as upon concentrations of reactants, but generally, biotically-catalyzed rates are orders of magnitude faster than corresponding abiotic chemical reaction rates.
This paper has been reviewed in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s peer and administrative review policies and approved for presentation and publication The work on which this report is based was partially supported through the Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia and was conducted while the author was in residence there during 1981–1982
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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Lassiter, R.R. (1986). A Theoretical Basis for Modeling Element Cycling. In: Hallam, T.G., Levin, S.A. (eds) Mathematical Ecology. Biomathematics, vol 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69888-0_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69888-0_14
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