Nitrogen Cycle: Processes, Uses

and Impacts



Nitrogen
Critical for survival of living beings
Often acts as limiting factor in the primary
production in many ecosystems
79% of atmospheric gaseous volume
Inaccessible in this form to plants and animals
Needs to be transformed in to different states
to be accessible



Nitrogen cycle
Cyclic transformation of N
2
in to different
states and return to atmosphere
Gaseous bio-geochemical cycle
Main reservoir is atmosphere
Maintains amount of fixed N
2
in to ecosystem
Essential for the growth of plants and animals




Schematic representation of nitrogen cycle
Different Steps of Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrification
Denitrification
Ammonification

Nitrogen Fixation
Reduction of N
2
into biologically available
form (NH
4
+
)
N
2
+ 8H
+
+ 8e
-
+ 16 ATP 2 NH
4
+
+ 16 ADP + 16 Pi
High energy process
Requires 8 electrons and 16 ATP molecules
N
2
converted in to biologically active form
Now can be accessed by plants and animals


Different ways of nitrogen fixation
Abiotic Processes- lightening, Habers process
Biotic processes
Free living bacteria-
Aerobic (Acetobacter, Azatobacter)
Anaerobic (Clostridium, Rhodospirrilium)
Cyanobacteria (Anabaena, Nostoc)
Symbiosis (Rhizobium in legumes)

Nitrogenase
Enzyme for nitrogen fixation
Sensitive to oxygen
Oxygen need to be removed
Different strategies-
Presence of heterocyst in cyanobateria
Leghaemoglobin protein in Rhizobium

Nitrification
Oxidation of NH
4
+
into further oxidation states
Aerobic process
Mostly carried out by prokaryotes
NH
4
+
NO
2
-
NO
2
-
NO
3
-
Plants convert NO
3
-
into NH
4
+
for assimilation

Accumulated nitrites are toxic
Highly soluble, enter groundwater

Nitrosomas
Nitrobacter
Denitrification
Reduction of NH
4
+
and NO
3

back into N
2
Returns fixed N
2
back to atmosphere
Occur under anaerobic conditions and mostly
in soil
Pseudomonas and Clostridium
Use NO
3

as an electron acceptor in place of
O
2
during respiration
Ammonification
Conversion of organic nitrogen into NH
4
+
when
plant or animal die
Done by saprotrophs
Becomes available for uptake by palnts and
other organisms

Uses of Nitrogen Cycle

Human Impacts on Nitrogen Cycle

References
Bernhard, A. (2010) the nitrogen cycle:
processes, players and human impact. Nature
education knowledge 3 (10).25
E. P. Odum, G.W. Barrett; Fundamentals of
Ecology, 5e, 2005, p(143-149)