46.3D: The Nitrogen Cycle
- Describe the nitrogen cycle
Getting nitrogen into the living world is difficult. Plants and phytoplankton are not equipped to incorporate nitrogen from the atmosphere (which exists as tightly-bonded, triple-covalent N 2 ), even though this molecule comprises approximately 78 percent of the atmosphere. Nitrogen enters the living world via free-living and symbiotic bacteria, which incorporate nitrogen into their macromolecules through nitrogen fixation (conversion of N 2 ). Cyanobacteria live in most aquatic ecosystems where sunlight is present; they play a key role in nitrogen fixation. Cyanobacteria are able to use inorganic sources of nitrogen to “fix” nitrogen. Rhizobium bacteria live symbiotically in the root nodules of legumes (such as peas, beans, and peanuts), providing them with the organic nitrogen they need. Free-living bacteria, such as Azotobacter , are also important nitrogen fixers.
Organic nitrogen is especially important to the study of ecosystem dynamics as many ecosystem processes, such as primary production and decomposition, are limited by the available supply of nitrogen. The nitrogen that enters living systems by nitrogen fixation is successively converted from organic nitrogen back into nitrogen gas by bacteria. This process occurs in three steps in terrestrial systems: ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification. First, the ammonification process converts nitrogenous waste from living animals or from the remains of dead animals into ammonium (NH 4 + ) by certain bacteria and fungi. Second, the ammonium is converted to nitrites (NO 2 − ) by nitrifying bacteria, such as Nitrosomonas , through nitrification. Subsequently, nitrites are converted to nitrates (NO 3 − ) by similar organisms. Third, the process of denitrification occurs, whereby bacteria, such as Pseudomonas and Clostridium , convert the nitrates into nitrogen gas, allowing it to re-enter the atmosphere.
Human activity can release nitrogen into the environment by two primary means: the combustion of fossil fuels, which releases different nitrogen oxides, and the use of artificial fertilizers in agriculture, which are then washed into lakes, streams, and rivers by surface runoff. Atmospheric nitrogen is associated with several effects on earth’s ecosystems, including the production of acid rain (as nitric acid, HNO 3 ) and greenhouse gas (as nitrous oxide, N 2 O), potentially causing climate change. A major effect from fertilizer runoff is saltwater and freshwater eutrophication: a process whereby nutrient runoff causes the excess growth of microorganisms, depleting dissolved oxygen levels and killing ecosystem fauna.
A similar process occurs in the marine nitrogen cycle, where the ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification processes are performed by marine bacteria. Some of this nitrogen falls to the ocean floor as sediment, which can then be moved to land in geologic time by uplift of the earth’s surface, becoming incorporated into terrestrial rock. Although the movement of nitrogen from rock directly into living systems has been traditionally seen as insignificant compared with nitrogen fixed from the atmosphere, a recent study showed that this process may indeed be significant and should be included in any study of the global nitrogen cycle.
Key Points
- Bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, convert nitrogen into nitrogen gas via nitrogen fixation.
- Nitrogen fixation occurs in three steps: ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification.
- Human activity can release nitrogen into the environment by the combustion of fossil fuels and by the use of artificial fertilizers in agriculture.
- Atmospheric nitrogen is responsible for acid rain, the release of greenhouse gasses, and eutrophication.
- Nitrogen fixation can be performed by marine bacteria; nitrogen falls to the ocean floor as sediment and is then moved to land, becoming incorporated into terrestrial rock.
Key Terms
- denitrification : process of converting nitrates into nitrogen gas, especially by the action of bacteria
- nitrification : the conversion of ammonium into nitrites (NO2−) by nitrifying bacteria
- ammonification : the formation of ammonia or its compounds from nitrogenous compounds, especially as a result of bacterial decomposition