The Nitrogen Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is everywhere! In fact, nitrogen gas (N2) makes up about 78% of Earth's atmosphere by
volume, far surpassing the oxygen we often think of as ‘air’.

But having nitrogen around and being able to make use of it are two different things. Atmospheric
Nitrogen or N2(g) is made up of two nitrogen atoms held together by a triple covalent bond, which
makes it highly unreactive. When we breath in air, this N2 passes into and out of our bodies
unchanged. Similarly, plants cannot use N2 gas, it enters and exits the leaf unchanged.

This is because our bodies and the bodies of other plants and animals, cannot convert atmospheric
nitrogen into a useable form because we lack the enzymes to do so. Still, your DNA and proteins
contain quite a bit of nitrogen. Where does that nitrogen come from? In the natural world, it comes
from bacteria and lightning.

N2 in air

Denitrifying bacteria
Root Nodules (NFB)

Nitrogen Fixation:

Denitrification:
Nitrogen Fixation

Nitrogen Fixation:

Haber Process
THE NITROGEN CYCLE

Lightning
Nitrogen Fixation: Soil (Nitrogen fixing bacteria)

Feeding Assimilation Nitrates in soil

Ammonium Animals Plants
(NH4+) (No3-)

Nitrifying bacteria
(Nitrobacter)
Nitrification:

Death and decay

Ammonification
Decomposers
in soil

Ammonia (NH3)/ Nitrification:

Nitrites in soil
Ammonium (NH4+)
Nitrifying bacteria (No2-)
in soil
(Nitrosomonas)

Leaching
 The Nitrogen Cycle

(1) Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen gas in the air is converted into a form that
plants can use. There are four ways this occurs in the nitrogen cycle:

o Nitrogen fixation in root nodules: Rhizobium is a nitrogen fixing bacteria (NFB) that
lives in the root nodules of legumes (peas and beans). There, the nitrogen gas is
converted into ammonium (NH4+) which is transported out of the root nodule and
distributed to all parts of the plant to make proteins.

N2 gas → Ammonium (NH4-) in root nodules

o Nitrogen fixation in soil: Rhizobium also lives freely in soil and converts atmospheric
nitrogen into ammonia (NH3) or ammonium ions (NH4+). Soil ammonia/ammonium is
often converted to soil nitrates during the process of nitrification. Plants can absorb the
ammonia/ammonium directly, or the nitrates.
N2 gas → Ammonia (NH3)/ Ammonium (NH4-) in soil

o Nitrogen fixation by lightning: Lightning converts nitrogen to nitrogen oxides (NO or

NO2). The lightning provides a large quantity of energy that breaks the triple covalent
bond, and causes nitrogen to react with oxygen in the air to form the nitrogen oxides.
These gases dissolve in rain droplets to form nitrates (NO3-) which fall to the earth and
enter the soil where plants absorb it through their roots.

N2 gas → Nitrogen oxides → Nitrates in soil

o Nitrogen fixation by the Haber Process: The Haber process is one carried out by
industries to create nitrogen fertilizers. During this process, a large amount of energy is
used to combine nitrogen gas and hydrogen to produce ammonia. Once the ammonia
is produced, it is converted into ammonium nitrate, the most widely used inorganic
fertilizer in the world.

N2 gas → Ammonia (NH3) → Ammonium Nitrate (NH4NO3)

(2) Nitrification: This is the two-step process by which ammonium in the soil is converted into
nitrates. The nitrifying bacteria, Nitrosomonas first converts ammonium into nitrites, then
Nitrobacter, another nitrifying bacterium, converts nitrites into nitrates. Plants take up nitrate ions
from the soil to make proteins.
NH3/ NH4+ (Ammonia/ Ammonium) NO2- (Nitrites) NO3- (Nitrates)
Nitrosomonas Nitrobacter
 The Nitrogen Cycle

(3) Assimilation by Plants: Legumes get ammonium directly from the NFB in their root nodules. The
ammonium is used to make amino acids which are moved out of the nodules, into the xylem and
distributed to all parts of the plant to use is protein synthesis.
In other plants, the nitrates from the soil are absorbed by the root hairs via active transport. In the
roots, the nitrates are converted back into nitrites, then ammonium. The ammonium is broken
down to form amino acids which move into the xylem and is transported to different parts of the
plant for protein synthesis. In some plants the nitrates are transported to the leaves as is, before
being converted into amino acids.

Nitrates (NO3-) → Nitrites (NO2-) → Ammonium (NH4+) → Amino acids → Proteins

(4) Assimilation by animals: Animals, including humans cannot absorb ammonia or nitrates directly
from the soil, instead, they obtain their nitrogen compounds from the protein in their diet, through
eating plants or other animals. During digestion, the proteins are broken down into amino acids
and transported to cells where they are used to build growing muscles, make DNA, enzymes, and
other proteins. Excess amino acids are converted to urea during the process of deaminated in the
liver. Urea is excreted in urine.

Plant Proteins → Amino acids → Animal Proteins

(5) Ammonification: When plants and animals die, the proteins in their bodies are broken down into
amino acids by decomposers in the soil using an enzyme called protease. Some amino acids are
used by the decomposers, but some are broken down into ammonia and released into the soil.
Animal waste like faeces and urine are also decomposed by bacteria living freely in the soil.
Some of this ammonia is directly absorbed by some plants while some is converted into nitrates
during nitrification.

Plant Proteins → Amino acids → Ammonia (NH3) in soil

(6) Denitrification: The nitrogen cycle is completed by denitrifying bacteria. They convert nitrates
in the soil back to nitrogen gas to gain energy. The activities of these bacteria reduce soil fertility,
since they take nitrates out of the soil which the plants need to grow well.

Nitrates (NO3-) in soil → N2 gas

** The equations included are not balanced equations.

 The Nitrogen Cycle

Human Impact on the Nitrogen Cycle:

• Human activities are greatly increasing the amount of nitrogen cycling between the living
world and the soil, water, and atmosphere.
• In fact, humans have already doubled the rate of nitrogen entering the land-based nitrogen
cycle, and that rate is continuing to climb.
• Excessive nitrogen additions can pollute ecosystems and alter both their ecological
functioning and the living communities they support.
• Most of the human activities responsible for the increase in global nitrogen are:
o The production and use of nitrogen fertilizers
o The burning of fossil fuels in automobiles, power generation plants, and
industries.
o Cultivation of leguminous crops such as soybeans, peas, and other crops that
host symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

• The activities can be linked to the following:

o Global climate change/overall global warming (Nitrogen oxides from fossil fuels)
o Eutrophication (Runoff from excess fertilizers)
o Stratospheric ozone depletion (When nitrogen oxides rise into stratosphere)
o Regional smog (visibility degradation)
o Acid rain (Nitrogen oxides reacting with water to form nitric acid)
o Water-use impairment (Pollutes water bodies/Eutrophication)
o Altered water quality Pollutes water bodies/Eutrophication)
o Accelerated losses of biological diversity -especially among plants adapted to low-
nitrogen soils