How does electricity affect the phosphorus cycle?

1 Answer
Feb 19, 2016

I don't think that electricity affects the phosphorus cycle, but it does impact the oxygen and nitrogen cycles.

Explanation:

Electrical storms, as lightening, do impact the oxygen cycle by splitting O2 molecules up such that they reform as O3 or ozone. After a thunderstorm, that fresh smell you often get is the ozone that is formed.

The nitrogen cycle can also be impacted by lightening. Plants need nitrogen to be converted into nitrate, either by lightning strike or by nitrifying bacteria, in order to use it. http://broadviewcollaborative.com/2014/05/29/flushing-away-a-phd-where-ecology-and-sanitation-meet/ image source here