Cycles
Volcanic rock breaks down due to the moisture of the atmosphere surrounding it, before the orchids near it absorb the phosphate that comes off of it. Eventually, these plants die and release the chemical back into the environment.
What is the Phosphorous Cycle?
This organism grows on tree branches high in the canopy and serves the purpose as the base of many food chains by capturing sunlight and making its own food.
What is a producer (or bromeliad)?
This process occurs when fungi breaks down fallen leaves on the cloud forest floor, releasing CO2 back into the misty air.
What is decomposition in the carbon cycle?
This element is crucial for building proteins and nucleic acids; bacteria in the soil convert its atmospheric form into forms plants can use.
What is nitrogen?
When humans cut down trees for timber or farmland, they destroy habitat for cloud forest species and reduce carbon storage.
What is deforestation?
Fungi and bacteria break down fallen leaves on the forest floor, releasing carbon dioxide into the air for trees to use in photosynthesis.
What is decomposition in the carbon cycle?
These tiny insects feed on bromeliad leaves and serve as an important food source for frogs and birds in the cloud forest.
What are leafcutter ants (or herbivores)?
Constant rainfall and fog cause this process, where phosphate minerals are dissolved and carried away from the soil, sometimes all the way to rivers below.
What is leaching in the phosphorus cycle?
Found in DNA, RNA, and ATP, this element moves from weathered rocks into plants, then through animals, and back into the soil when organisms decompose.
What is phosphorus?
Pollution from nearby cities and farms can acidify rain and harm sensitive cloud forest plants and soil microorganisms.
What is acid rain?
This process moves water from fog, rain, and soil into plants, animals, and back to the atmosphere through transpiration and evaporation.
What is the water cycle?
This stealthy reptile hunts frogs and small mammals, transferring energy and nutrients up the food chain in the dense forest understory.
What is a cloud forest snake (or tertiary consumer)?
This reaction happens when epiphyte leaves take in water vapor directly from the surrounding fog — an adaptation to the cloud forest’s high humidity.
What is absorption in the water cycle?
This element is the backbone of organic molecules like carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, and cycles through plants, animals, and decomposers in the cloud forest.
What is carbon?
When tourists hike off designated paths or build lodges, this type of human activity damages fragile soil and plant life.
What is habitat disturbance / trampling?
When cloud forest soil bacteria convert ammonia into nitrites and then nitrates, they make nitrogen usable for plants.
What is nitrification in the nitrogen cycle?
This small predator sits on bromeliad leaves, eating insects and helping control their populations — a middle link in the food chain.
What is a tree frog (or secondary consumer)?
Through this process, towering cloud forest trees release oxygen into the atmosphere while using sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugars.
What is photosynthesis? (oxygen and carbon cycles)
This element helps regulate water balance in plant cells and is vital for enzyme activation; cloud forest plants absorb it from the soil for growth.
What is potassium?
Using fertilizers in nearby agricultural areas can wash excess nutrients into streams, causing algae blooms that affect cloud forest waterways.
What is eutrophication?
When decomposers break down fallen leaves and animal matter, sulfur is released into the soil as sulfate, which plants then absorb for protein and vitamin production.
What is sulfur recycling in the sulfur cycle?
When the snake dies, these organisms break down its body, returning essential nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen to the soil for plants to reuse.
What are decomposers (fungi, bacteria)?
When rainwater reacts with decaying organic matter on the forest floor, this process releases nutrients and forms humic acids that enrich the soil, fueling plant growth.
What is humification (carbon cycle)?
This element strengthens plant cell walls and bones of animals; tropical soils often need it replenished from decomposing organic matter.
What is calcium?
Hunting of monkeys, snakes, and birds reduces biodiversity and disrupts food chains in the cloud forest.
What is overhunting?