Dietetic Technician Practice Test 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

Nutrient cycling refers to the movement of nutrients through various components of the ecosystem, including living organisms, soil, water, and air. This process is essential because it ensures that essential nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and others, are continuously replenished and made available for use by plants, animals, and microorganisms.

In ecosystems, nutrients are taken up by plants from the soil, passed on to herbivores when they eat the plants, and further passed on to carnivores when they consume herbivores. Decomposers break down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the soil, where they can be absorbed by plants again. This cycling maintains the balance and health of ecosystems, allowing for sustainability and the ongoing productivity of the environment.

Other options, while related to nutrient management or agriculture, do not accurately capture the broad and dynamic process that encompasses nutrient cycling in its ecological context. Recycling food waste focuses specifically on waste management, storage pertains to the accumulation of nutrients within an organism, and crop rotation involves agricultural practices aimed at maintaining soil health and nutrient levels rather than the overall cycling of nutrients in the environment.