The nitrogen cycle describes how nitrogen is converted between different chemical forms and circulates between the atmosphere, terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Nitrogen can be fixed from the unreactive N2 gas in the atmosphere into biologically usable forms through biological nitrogen fixation by bacteria or high-energy physical processes. Fixed nitrogen enters the soil through decay and is used by plants through assimilation, entering the food chain when consumed by animals.
The nitrogen cycle describes how nitrogen is converted between different chemical forms and circulates between the atmosphere, terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Nitrogen can be fixed from the unreactive N2 gas in the atmosphere into biologically usable forms through biological nitrogen fixation by bacteria or high-energy physical processes. Fixed nitrogen enters the soil through decay and is used by plants through assimilation, entering the food chain when consumed by animals.
The nitrogen cycle describes how nitrogen is converted between different chemical forms and circulates between the atmosphere, terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Nitrogen can be fixed from the unreactive N2 gas in the atmosphere into biologically usable forms through biological nitrogen fixation by bacteria or high-energy physical processes. Fixed nitrogen enters the soil through decay and is used by plants through assimilation, entering the food chain when consumed by animals.
The nitrogen cycle describes how nitrogen is converted between different chemical forms and circulates between the atmosphere, terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Nitrogen can be fixed from the unreactive N2 gas in the atmosphere into biologically usable forms through biological nitrogen fixation by bacteria or high-energy physical processes. Fixed nitrogen enters the soil through decay and is used by plants through assimilation, entering the food chain when consumed by animals.
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The nitrogen cycle describes how nitrogen is converted between different chemical forms and circulates between terrestrial and marine ecosystems through both biological and physical processes.
The main processes in the nitrogen cycle are nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification.
Nitrogen is fixed into a biologically available form mainly through nitrogen-fixing bacteria that are able to break the strong bonds between nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere and combine it with hydrogen through the enzyme nitrogenase.
NITROGEN CYCLE
The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical
cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmosphere terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biological and physical processes. NITROGEN FIXATION
Nitrogen fixation is the process by which gaseous nitrogen
(N2) is converted to ammonia (NH3 OR NH4+) via biological fixation or nitrate (NO3-) through high energy physical processes. N2 is extremely stable and a great deal of energy is required to break the bonds that join the two N atoms. N2 can be converted directly into NO3- through processes that exert a tremendous amount of heat,pressure,and energy. such as processes include combustion,volcanic action,lightning discharges,and industrial means.however,a greater amount of biologically available nitrogen is naturally generated via the biologically available nitrogen is naturally generated via the biological conversion of N2 to NH3/NH4+.A small group group of bacteria and cyanobacteria are capable using the enzyme nitrogenase to break the bonds among the molecular nitrogen and combine it with hydrogen. nitrogenase only functions in the absence of oxgen. the exclusion of oxygen. The exclusion of oxygen is accomplished by many means.some bacteria live beneath layers of oxygen-excluding slime on the roots of certain plants. the most important soil dwelling bacteria rhizobium,live in oxygen freezones is nodules on the roots of legumes and some other woody plants. aquatic filamentous cyanobacteria utilize oxygen excluding cells called heterocysts. NITRIFICATION nitrification is a two-step process in which NH3/NH4+ is converted to NO3.first,the soil bacteria nitrococcus convert NH3 to NO2 and then another soil bacterium, nitrobacter,oxidizes NO2 to NO3.these bacteria gain energy through these conversions both of which require oxygen to occur. ASSIMILATION assimilation is the process by which plants
and animals incorporate the NO3-and
ammonia formed through nitrogen fixation and nitrification.plants take up these forms of nitrogen through their roots and incorporate them into plant proteins and nucleic acids.animals are then able to utilize nitrogen from the plants tissues. AMMONIFICATION assimilation produces large quantities of organic nitrogen,including proteins,amino acids, and nucleic acids.ammonification is the conversion of organic nitrogen into ammonia.the ammonia produced by this process is excreted into the environment and is then available for either nitrification or assimilation. DENITRIFICATION Denitrification is the reduction of NO3- to
gaseous N2 by anaerobic bacteria. This
process only occurs where there is little to no oxygen,such as deep in the soil near the water table. Hence,areas such as wetlands provide a valuable place for reducing excess nitrogen levels via denitrification processes. COMMON FORMS OF NITROGEN The most common forms of inorganic nitrogen in the environment are diatomic nitrogen gas (N2), nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-), ammonia (NH3), and ammonium (NH4+). The species that predominate depend on the chemical, physical, and biological environment. In aquatic evironments, the presence of nitrogen as unionized ammonia (NH3) or ammonium (NH4+) is dependent on the pH temperature. When the pH is below 8.75, NH4+ predominates. Increases in pH signify increases in the hydroxyl ion (OH-) concentration of the water, meaning the above reaction will shift to the left in order to reach equilibrium. Above a pH of 9.75, NH3 predominates (Hem, 1985). NH3 is a more toxic to aquatic life. If biological assimilation of NH3 is not occuring at a sufficient rate, NH3 may accumulate and cause detrimental effects to aquatic life. In soils, NH4+ ions are strongly sorbed by clay particles and organic matter, which have a net negative surface charge. In alkaline soils, NH4+ will be converted to NH3 gas, and lost to the atmosphere. Under warm growing conditions, NH4+ in the soil will be transformed to NO3- via nitrification. NO3- is very solouble, and can easily be leached from soils under wet conditions. WHY IS NITROGEN IMPORTANT TO LIFE? plants and animals could not live without nitrogen it is an important part of many cells and processes such as amino acids protens,and even your DNA.it is also needed to make chlorophyll in plants,which plants use in photosynthesis to make their food and energy.