A biogeochemical cycle is a natural process that recycles nutrients in various forms from the non-living environment to living organisms and back again. This cycle involves the transformation and movement of elements and compounds between biological (biotic) and geological (abiotic) components of the Earth.

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Biogeochemical cycle by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-31 Updated 2026-11-05
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A biogeochemical cycle is movement and transformation of a chemical element through living organisms and the nonliving environment. Uptake, feeding, decay and geological processes connect reservoirs such as the atmosphere, soils and oceans. The nitrogen cycle is an example in which transformations between chemical forms determine biological availability.
A cycle describes recycling of matter, not creation of new matter. Its reservoirs also need not remain constant: a change in the rates of entry and exit can increase one store while reducing another. This distinction links ecology to a quantitative mass conservation.
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