How does phosphorus cycle restart?

Question

Vivian Ahern · Accepted Answer

As far as we know, the phosphorous cycle has gone on since the early oceans and atmosphere eformed, some 4.0 billion years or so.

The phosphorous cycle has probably gone on for about 4 billion years and started shortly after the oceans and atmosphere formed. It may have accelerated when life really got going about 500 million years ago and then again about 350 million years ago when land plants evolved on the land. Human activities in recent decades have dramatically accelerated the phosphorus cycle, by the use of fertilizers and grazing animals.

There was a time in the pre-Cambrian era, about 700 million years ago, when the entire Earth froze over and it is possible that the phosphorous cycle slowed down or perhaps shut-down at that time. But it would have re-started naturally once this cold spell was over.

To read more about changes in the phosphorous cycle over time, check out this link and to read about the phosphorous cycle in more detail, see here.

Clara Addison · Answer

undefined The phosphorus cycle restarts when weathering and erosion of rocks release phosphorus into the soil. This phosphorus is then taken up by plants through their roots. When plants are consumed by animals, phosphorus enters the food chain. Upon death and decomposition, phosphorus is returned to the soil where it can be used again by plants. Additionally, phosphorus can also be washed into bodies of water where it settles in sediment and eventually forms new rock formations over geological time scales.