Four fifths of the atmosphere is Nitrogen, existing in free form. It can be used by living things in a combined form only, to meet essential needs. Only plants belonging to Legumes family are capable of utilizing nitrogen in a free state.
Nitrogen is found in quantity within all plant and animal bodies, not as elemental nitrogen but as essential part of proteins and certain other types of organic molecules.
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Plants and animals, along with their waste products, eventually undergo decomposition. Nitrogen may become temporarily unavailable at some point of the cycle. Nitrogen of waste products and dead bodies finally appears in the form of ammonia. Further bacterial action makes possible, the formation of nitrites and nitrates. In the latter form, nitrogen becomes available to green plants, which combine it with photosynthetic products in the synthesis of plant proteins.
It should be noted that a lesser cycle occurs between nitrates and atmospheric nitrogen; nitrates may be decomposed by certain bacteria in soil and water, to release gaseous nitrogen to the atmosphere, which is of a loss to the main cycle.
However this loss is compensated for, by the phenomenon that lighting converts gaseous nitrogen to nitric acid. Nitrogen get deposited in the soil, by the ability of certain bacteria and algae, to fix gaseous nitrogen in the form of organic compounds. Nitrate nitrogen become incorporated into plant proteins and thus complete the nitrogen cycle.
Plants get simple nitrogen compounds from the soil and unite them with carbon to make proteins. Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating the plants.
Nitrogen is found in quantity within all plant and animal bodies, not as elemental nitrogen but as essential part of proteins and certain other types of organic molecules.
It should be noted that a lesser cycle occurs between nitrates and atmospheric nitrogen; nitrates may be decomposed by certain bacteria in soil and water, to release gaseous nitrogen to the atmosphere, which is of a loss to the main cycle.
However this loss is compensated for, by the phenomenon that lighting converts gaseous nitrogen to nitric acid. Nitrogen get deposited in the soil, by the ability of certain bacteria and algae, to fix gaseous nitrogen in the form of organic compounds. Nitrate nitrogen become incorporated into plant proteins and thus complete the nitrogen cycle.
Plants get simple nitrogen compounds from the soil and unite them with carbon to make proteins. Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating the plants.
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