Nitrogen Cycle

Biogeochemical cycle is any of the natural circulation pathways of the essential

elements of living matter. These elements in various forms flow from the nonliving
(abiotic) to the living (biotic) components of the biosphere and back to the nonliving
again. In order for the living components of a major ecosystem (e.g., a lake or forest) to
survive, all the chemical elements that make up living cells must be recycled
continuously.

Nitrogen gas is the most abundant element in the atmosphere and all the nitrogen
found in terrestrial ecosystems originate from the atmosphere. The nitrogen cycle is by
far the most important nutrient cycle for plant life.

All life requires nitrogen-compounds, e.g., proteins and nucleic acids.

Air, which is 79% nitrogen gas (N2), is the major reservoir of nitrogen.
But most organisms cannot use nitrogen in this form.
Plants must secure their nitrogen in "fixed" form, i.e., incorporated in compounds
such as:
nitrate ions (NO3)
ammonium ions (NH4+)
urea (NH2)2CO
Animals secure their nitrogen (and all other) compounds from plants (or animals
that have fed on plants).

Ecological function

Nitrogen is necessary for all known forms of life on Earth. It is a component in all amino
acids, as incorporated into proteins, and is present in the bases that make up nucleic
acids such as RNA and DNA. In plants, much of the nitrogen is used
in chlorophyll molecules, which are essential for photosynthesis and further
growth. Nitrogen gas (N2) is the largest constituent of the Earth's atmosphere, but this
form is relatively nonreactive and unusable by plants. Chemical processing or
natural fixation (through processes such as bacterial conversionsee rhizobium) are
necessary to convert gaseous nitrogen into compounds such as nitrate or ammonia
which can be used by plants. The abundance or scarcity of this "fixed" nitrogen (also
known as reactive nitrogen) frequently limits plant growth in both managed and wild
environments. The nitrogen cycle, like the carbon cycle, is an important part of every
ecosystem.
The processes of the nitrogen cycle
Four processes participate in the cycling of nitrogen through the biosphere:

nitrogen fixation
assimilation
ammonification
nitrification
denitrification

Nitrogen is present in the environment in a wide variety of chemical forms including

organic nitrogen, ammonium (NH4+),nitrite (NO2-), nitrate (NO3-), nitrous
oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO) or inorganic nitrogen gas (N2). Microorganisms play
major roles in all four of these processes.

Nitrogen Fixation

Atmospheric nitrogen must be processed, or "fixed", to be used by plants. The nitrogen

molecule (N2) is quite inert. To break it apart so that its atoms can combine with other
atoms requires the input of substantial amounts of energy.

Three processes are responsible for most of the nitrogen fixation in the biosphere:

atmospheric fixation by lightning

biological fixation by certain microbes alone or in a symbiotic relationship
with some plants and animals
industrial fixation

Atmospheric Fixation

The enormous energy of lightning breaks nitrogen molecules and enables their atoms to
combine with oxygen in the air forming nitrogen oxides. These dissolve in rain, forming
nitrates, that are carried to the earth.

Atmospheric nitrogen fixation probably contributes some 5 8% of the total nitrogen

fixed.

Industrial Fixation

Under great pressure, at a temperature of 600C, and with the use of a catalyst,
atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen (usually derived from natural gas or petroleum) can
be combined to form ammonia (NH3). Ammonia can be used directly as fertilizer, but
most of its is further processed to urea and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3).

Biological Fixation
The ability to fix nitrogen is found only in certain bacteria and archaea.
 Some live in a symbiotic relationship with plants of the legume family (e.g.,
soybeans, alfalfa).
Some establish symbiotic relationships with plants other than legumes (e.g.,
alders).
Some establish symbiotic relationships with animals, e.g., termites and
"shipworms" (wood-eating bivalves).
Some nitrogen-fixing bacteria live free in the soil.
Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria are essential to maintaining the fertility of semi-
aquatic environments like rice paddies.

Biological nitrogen fixation requires a complex set of enzymes and a huge expenditure
of ATP.

Although the first stable product of the process is ammonia, this is quickly incorporated
into protein and other organic nitrogen compounds.

The bacteria that are present during Nitrogen Fixation are:

Azotobacter
Clostridium
Rhizobium
Nostoc
Anabaena

Assimilation

Plants take nitrogen from the soil by absorption through their roots in the form of
either nitrate ions or ammonium ions. Most nitrogen obtained by terrestrial animals can
be traced back to the eating of plants at some stage of the food chain.

Plants can absorb nitrate or ammonium ions from the soil via their root hairs. If nitrate is
absorbed, it is first reduced to nitrite ions and then ammonium ions for incorporation into
amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll. In plants that have a symbiotic relationship
with rhizobia, some nitrogen is assimilated in the form of ammonium ions directly from
the nodules. It is now known that there is a more complex cycling of amino acids
between Rhizobia bacteroids and plants. The plant provides amino acids to the
bacteroids so ammonia assimilation is not required and the bacteroids pass amino acids
(with the newly fixed nitrogen) back to the plant, thus forming an interdependent
relationship. While many animals, fungi, and other heterotrophic organisms obtain
nitrogen by ingestion of amino acids, nucleotides and other small organic molecules,
other heterotrophs (including many bacteria) are able to utilize inorganic compounds,
such as ammonium as sole N sources. Utilization of various N sources is carefully
regulated in all organisms.

Ammonification

When a plant or animal dies or an animal expels waste, the initial form of nitrogen
is organic. Bacteria or fungi convert the organic nitrogen within the remains back into
ammonium (NH4+), a process called ammonification or mineralization.

Nitrification

Ammonia can be taken up directly by plants usually through their roots. However,
most of the ammonia produced by decay is converted into nitrates. This is
accomplished in two steps:

Bacteria of the genus Nitrosomonas oxidize NH3 to nitrites (NO2).

Bacteria of the genus Nitrobacter oxidize the nitrites to nitrates (NO3).

These two groups of autotrophic bacteria are called nitrifying bacteria. Through their
activities (which supply them with all their energy needs), nitrogen is made available to
the roots of plants.

Both soil and the ocean contain archaeal microbes, assigned to the Crenarchaeota, that
convert ammonia to nitrites. They are more abundant than the nitrifying bacteria and
may turn out to play an important role in the nitrogen cycle.

Many legumes, in addition to fixing atmospheric nitrogen, also perform nitrification

converting some of their organic nitrogen to nitrites and nitrates. These reach the soil
when they shed their leaves.

Denitrification

The three processes above remove nitrogen from the atmosphere and pass it through
ecosystems.

Denitrification reduces nitrates and nitrites to nitrogen gas, thus replenishing the
atmosphere. In the process several intermediates are formed:

nitric oxide (NO)

nitrous oxide (N2O)(a greenhouse gas 300 times as potent as CO2)
nitrous acid (HONO)
The bacteria that are present during Nitrogen Fixation are:

Thiobacillus denitrificans
Pseuodomonas denitrificans
Micrococcus dentrificans

Once again, bacteria are the agents. They live deep in soil and in aquatic sediments
where conditions are anaerobic. They use nitrates as an alternative to oxygen for the
final electron acceptor in their respiration.

The bacteria that are present during Denitrification are:

Thiobacillus denitrificans
Pseuodomonas denitrificans
Micrococcus denitrificans

Agriculture may now be responsible for one-half of the nitrogen fixation on earth
through

the use of fertilizers produced by industrial fixation

the growing of legumes like soybeans and alfalfa.

Human influences on the nitrogen cycle

As a result of extensive cultivation of legumes (particularly soy, alfalfa, and clover),

growing use of the HaberBosch process in the creation of chemical fertilizers, and
pollution emitted by vehicles and industrial plants, human beings have more than
doubled the annual transfer of nitrogen into biologically available forms. In addition,
humans have significantly contributed to the transfer of nitrogen trace gases from Earth
to the atmosphere and from the land to aquatic systems. Human alterations to the global
nitrogen cycle are most intense in developed countries and in Asia, where vehicle
emissions and industrial agriculture are highest.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) has risen in the atmosphere as a result of agricultural fertilization,
biomass burning, cattle and feedlots, and industrial sources. N2O has deleterious effects
in the stratosphere, where it breaks down and acts as a catalyst in the destruction of
atmospheric ozone. Nitrous oxide is also a greenhouse gas and is currently the third
largest contributor to global warming, after carbon dioxide and methane. While not as
abundant in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, it is, for an equivalent mass, nearly 300
times more potent in its ability to warm the planet.

Ammonia (NH3) in the atmosphere has tripled as the result of human activities. It is a
reactant in the atmosphere, where it acts as an aerosol, decreasing air quality and
clinging to water droplets, eventually resulting in nitric acid (HNO3) that produces acid
rain. Atmospheric ammonia and nitric acid also damage respiratory systems.

The very-high temperature of lightning naturally produces small amounts of NO x, NH3,

and HNO3, but high-temperature combustion has contributed to a 6 or 7 fold increase in
the flux of NOx to the atmosphere. Its production is a function of combustion temperature
- the higher the temperature, the more NOx is produced. Fossil fuel combustion is a
primary contributor, but so are biofuels and even the burning of hydrogen. The higher
combustion temperature of hydrogen produces more NOx than natural gas combustion.

Ammonia and nitrous oxides actively alter atmospheric chemistry. They are precursors
of tropospheric (lower atmosphere) ozone production, which contributes
to smog and acid rain, damages plants and increases nitrogen inputs to
ecosystems. Ecosystem processes can increase with nitrogen fertilization,
but anthropogenic input can also result in nitrogen saturation, which weakens
productivity and can damage the health of plants, animals, fish, and humans.

Decreases in biodiversity can also result of higher nitrogen availability increases

nitrogen-demanding grasses, causing a degradation of nitrogen-poor, species
diverseheathlands.

Environmental impacts

Additional risks posed by increased availability of inorganic nitrogen in aquatic

ecosystems include water acidification; eutrophication of fresh and saltwater systems;
and toxicity issues for animals, including humans. Eutrophication often leads to lower
dissolved oxygen levels in the water column, including hypoxic and anoxic conditions,
which can cause death of aquatic fauna. Relatively sessile benthos, or bottom-dwelling
creatures, is particularly vulnerable because of their lack of mobility, though large fish
kills are not uncommon. Oceanic dead zones near the mouth of the Mississippi in the
Gulf of Mexico are a well-known example of algal bloom-induced hypoxia. The New York
Adirondack Lakes, Catskills, Hudson Highlands, Rensselaer Plateau and parts of Long
Island display the impact of nitric acid rain deposition, resulting in the killing of fish and
many other aquatic species.

Ammonia (NH3) is highly toxic to fish and the level of ammonia discharged from
wastewater treatment facilities must be closely monitored. To prevent fish deaths,
nitrification viaaeration prior to discharge is often desirable. Land application can be an
attractive alternative to the aeration.

Problems with increase of Nitrogen

Acid rain formation

Acidification of soil and lakes
Increase in death of plants
 ESCI 313 2
Nitrogen Cycle
GROUP NUMBER: 2
Leader: Dacuyan, Shary Mae F.
Members: Ceriola II, Wilihardo D.
De Leon, Gabriel G.
Delmo, Sherome
Celebria, Jack Ryan

Engr. Julius Angelo M. Lozada

Instructor