nitrogen fixation
Converting atmospheric gas
Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds that plants and other organisms can use.
Most plants cannot absorb nitrogen directly from the air, so they depend on bacteria—either free-living in soil or in symbiotic root nodules of legumes—to fix it into ammonia or related forms.
Industrial nitrogen fixation produces fertilizers through the Haber-Bosch process.
Crop rotation with nitrogen-fixing plants like clover reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Small rounded protuberances
- legumesEdible pod-bearing plants
- leghemoglobinLegume nodule oxygen-binding protein
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
- flavonoidsPolyphenolic plant metabolites
Microbe-containing growth promoter
- green manurePlants tilled into soil
- cover cropsPlants shielding fallow fields
- inoculantAgent introducing microorganisms
- crop yieldAgricultural production amount
soil fertility · organic farming · sustainable agriculture · intercropping · seed coating · food security · agroecology
Photosynthetic bacteria producing oxygen
- soil bacteriaMicroorganisms inhabiting dirt
- blue-green algaePhotosynthetic prokaryotes in water
- paddy fieldsIrrigated land for grain
Acrid nitrogen-hydrogen gas
- ATPCell's energy molecule
- molybdenumElement forty-two
- catalysisAccelerating reactions without consumption
- reductionMaking something smaller
Conversion to mineral form
- forest ecosystemsBiological communities in woods
- grasslandsOpen grassy terrain
Strong force per area
- catalystAgent enabling change
- natural gasSubterranean hydrocarbon fuel
- industrial processStandardized production technique
- hydrogen gasSimplest elemental molecule
nodules
Small rounded protuberances
- legumesEdible pod-bearing plants
- leghemoglobinLegume nodule oxygen-binding protein
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
flavonoids · pea · soybean · clover · alfalfa
biofertilizer
Microbe-containing growth promoter
- green manurePlants tilled into soil
- cover cropsPlants shielding fallow fields
- inoculantAgent introducing microorganisms
crop yield · soil fertility · organic farming · sustainable agriculture · intercropping · seed coating · food security · agroecology
cyanobacteria
Photosynthetic bacteria producing oxygen
- soil bacteriaMicroorganisms inhabiting dirt
- blue-green algaePhotosynthetic prokaryotes in water
- paddy fieldsIrrigated land for grain
ammonia
Acrid nitrogen-hydrogen gas
- ATPCell's energy molecule
- molybdenumElement forty-two
- catalysisAccelerating reactions without consumption
reduction · hydrogen · substrate · cofactor · activation energy
mineralization
Conversion to mineral form
- forest ecosystemsBiological communities in woods
- grasslandsOpen grassy terrain
high pressure
Strong force per area
- catalystAgent enabling change
- natural gasSubterranean hydrocarbon fuel
- industrial processStandardized production technique
nitrogen fixationdenitrification
Microbial nitrate-to-gas conversion
fixation, nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, nitrates, nitric, nitrogenous, nitrites, nitrification