Nitrogen Cycle Notes

Biogeochemical Cycles Nitrogen Cycle, Carbon Cycle, Water Cycle, Phosphorous Cycle…. All nutrients flow from nonliving (abiotic) to living (biotic) and back to nonliving (abiotic) in what is called a biogeochemical cycle.

Importance of Nitrogen (N) Nitrogen is a part of all living cells and is a necessary part of all proteins, enzymes and metabolic processes involved in the synthesis and transfer of energy. Nitrogen is a part of chlorophyll, the green pigment of the plant that is responsible for photosynthesis.

Importance of Nitrogen (N) Helps plants with rapid growth, increasing seed and fruit production and improving the quality of leaf and forage crops. Nitrogen often comes from the air (legumes get their N from the atmosphere, water or rainfall contributes very little nitrogen)

Nitrogen Cycle (N) is the enrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, or both.

The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen is used by living organisms to produce a number of complex organic molecules like amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids. 78% of the world’s atmosphere is nitrogen Despite its abundance in the atmosphere, nitrogen is often the most limiting nutrient for plant growth. This problem occurs because most plants can only take up nitrogen in two solid forms: ammonium ion (NH4+ ) and the ion nitrate (NO3- ) and CONNOT use raw atmospheric nitrogen

Four processes participate in the cycling of nitrogen through the biosphere: nitrogen fixation atmospheric fixation by lightning biological fixation by certain microbes industrial fixation – making ammonia decay (ammonification) – bacteria convert dead matter and wastes into ammonia nitrification – bacteria convert ammonia into nitrates and nitrites denitrification – bacteria return nitrogen to the atmosphere