Describe the phosphorus cycle in an ecosystem.
1. The natural reservoir of phosphorus is rock, which contains phosphorus in the form of phosphates.
2. When rocks are weathered, minute amounts of these phosphates dissolve in soil solution and are absorbed by the roots of the plants .
3. Herbivores and other animals obtain this element from plants.
4. The waste products and the dead organisms are decomposed by phosphate-solubilising bacteria releasing phosphorus.