My Journey as a Nitrogen

By Jeannel Joy Marie S.

Hi, I am Nitrogen! As you can see on my first
photo, I am a very strong triple bond shared
between its atoms and I am very difficult to break
; it requires extremely high amounts of energy
and one of these methods is the lightening
process which helps break my two atoms apart,
but that doesn’t always help.
Thank goodness! A bacteria helped me to my
journey through nitrogen fixation! Since
lightning process doesn’t always work, the
most common way for me to be made
available to organisms is when I am fixed by
bacteria, some of which live free in the soil
and others of which enjoy a symbiotic
relationship with certain plant species.
Legumes like peas, clover and peanuts have
little nodules on their roots that attract
bacteria that converts me into ammonia or
ammonium, which can then be used to power
the plant.
Specialized bacteria and archaea convert me into
nitrite NO2, and then pass me off to an entirely This is the most exciting part of my journey as

different set of prokaryotes that further oxidize me ammonia! My nitrification journey made me nervous

into nitrate NO3. Sheeesh I’m really slow at this but exciting at the same time!

part of my process, but it’s my way to built as a .

nutrient in soil and aquatic and marine

environments like terrestrial plants. 
 OMO this photo re
minds me when I
was taken by
the plants from th
e soil through the
ir roots and
used me in the fo
rmation of the pla
nt and animal
proteins. Animals
consume plant pro
tein where I
was taken and dig
ested it using spec
ific enzymes
and absorb the free
amino acids.
This is the saddest, yet helpful part of my journey- the

ammonification process . Since animals cannot store

excess protein in their bodies. They break it down and

turn it into waste products and excrete them from their

bodies. It is also the same when plants or animals die, I

am released back into the soil. The decomposers,

namely bacteria or fungi present in the soil, convert me

again back into ammonium. This process of

decomposition produces the ammonia version of me ,

which is further used for other biological processes.

Oh it’s the last part of my journey. It is where I make my
way back into atmosphere through denitrification
process

acteria
. A certain anaerobic b
that don’t need oxygen
gen gas,
convert me into nitro
ts up
which makes me floa
here.
back into the atmosp
 DID YOU ENJOY
VIEWING MY
NITROGEN
CYCLE JOURNEY?
IF YES, THANK Good Little Journey that will Cycle Forever

YOU FOR
APPRECIATING
IT!