nitrogen cycle
Element's environmental journey
The nitrogen cycle is the continuous movement of nitrogen through Earth's atmosphere, soil, water, and living organisms.
Atmospheric nitrogen gets converted by bacteria and lightning into forms plants can absorb, passes through the food chain as animals eat plants, then returns to soil through waste and decomposition, where other bacteria release it back to the atmosphere.
Microbial ammonia-to-nitrate conversion
- mineralizationConversion to mineral form
- cyanobacteriaPhotosynthetic bacteria producing oxygen
- decomposersOrganisms breaking down dead material
- archaeaThird domain of life
Soil nutrient supplement
- ammoniaAcrid nitrogen-hydrogen gas
- ureaNitrogenous metabolic waste compound
- crop rotationAlternating field plantings yearly
- legumesEdible pod-bearing plants
manure · soil health · cover crops · compost · yield · green manure · soil fertility · runoff
Organic compounds forming proteins
- proteinsAmino acid polymers
- nucleic acidsBiopolymers carrying genetic code
- ammoniaAcrid nitrogen-hydrogen gas
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
glutamine · reduction · oxidation · ATP · chlorophyll · DNA · RNA · biomolecules
- dinitrogenTwo-atom molecule, element seven
- fixationPersistent mental attachment
- volatilizationConversion to gaseous state
- nitrous oxideAnesthetic inhalant causing euphoria
greenhouse gases · gas exchange · air pollution · acid rain · ozone depletion · industrial emissions
Study of life-driven elemental cycles
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- eutrophicationExcess nutrients depleting oxygen
- leachingDissolving out by liquid
- runoffExcess water drainage
sedimentation · wetlands · dead zones · algal blooms · food web · detritus · organic matter · watershed
nitrification
Microbial ammonia-to-nitrate conversion
- mineralizationConversion to mineral form
- cyanobacteriaPhotosynthetic bacteria producing oxygen
- decomposersOrganisms breaking down dead material
fertilizer
Soil nutrient supplement
- ammoniaAcrid nitrogen-hydrogen gas
- ureaNitrogenous metabolic waste compound
- crop rotationAlternating field plantings yearly
legumes · manure · soil health · cover crops · compost · yield · green manure · soil fertility · runoff · leaching
amino acids
Organic compounds forming proteins
- proteinsAmino acid polymers
- nucleic acidsBiopolymers carrying genetic code
- ammoniaAcrid nitrogen-hydrogen gas
assimilation · glutamine · reduction · oxidation · ATP · chlorophyll · DNA · RNA · biomolecules
N2
- dinitrogenTwo-atom molecule, element seven
- fixationPersistent mental attachment
- volatilizationConversion to gaseous state
nitrous oxide · greenhouse gases · gas exchange · air pollution · acid rain · ozone depletion · industrial emissions
biogeochemistry
Study of life-driven elemental cycles
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- eutrophicationExcess nutrients depleting oxygen
- leachingDissolving out by liquid
runoff · sedimentation · wetlands · dead zones · algal blooms · food web · detritus · organic matter · watershed · coastal waters
- geochemistryisotope geochemistry, biogeochemistry, trace element, trace elements, isotopes
- freshwater sciencefreshwater lakes, lake management, lake depth, water chemistry, dissolved oxygen
- connectionslink, links, connect, connection, tie
- environmentair pollution, ecology, clean air, biosphere, air quality
- ecologyhabitat, ecosystem, balance, niche, food webs
- ecosystemecosystem, ecosystems, biome, habitat, food chain
nitrogen cyclecarbon sequestration
Removing and storing atmospheric CO2
nutrient depletion · denitrification · nitrogen fixation · eutrophication
cycle, nitrogen, nitrate, nitrile, nitrite, nitrates, nitric, nitrogenous, nitriles