Nitrogen

1 – Around 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen.

2 – Nitrogen is also found in all living organisms and is indispensable for survival of life on Earth.

3 – The nitrogen cycle , in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into different organic compounds , is one the most crucial natural processes to sustain living organisms.

4 – For Nitrogen to be used by different life forms on Earth , it must change into different states. Nitrogen in the atmosphere , or air , is N2. Other important states of nitrogen include Nitrates (N03) , Nitrites (NO2) , and Ammonium (NH4).

The Processes in the Nitrogen Cycle are :-

5 – Fixation – Fixation is the first step in the process of making nitrogen usable by plants. Here bacteria change nitrogen into ammonium.

6 – Nitrification – This is the process by which ammonium gets changed into nitrates by bacteria. Nitrates are what the plants can then absorb.

7 – Assimilation – This is how plants get nitrogen. They absorb nitrates from the soil into their roots. Then the nitrogen gets used in amino acids , nucleic acids , and chlorophyll.

8 – Ammonification – This is part of the decaying process. When a plant or animal dies , decomposers like fungi and bacteria turn the nitrogen back into ammonium so it can reenter the nitrogen cycle.

9 – Denitrification – Extra nitrogen in the soil gets put back out into the air. There are special bacteria that perform this task as well.

10 – Why is nitrogen important to life? Plants and animals could not live without nitrogen. It is an important part of many cells and processes such as amino acids , proteins , and even our DNA. It is also needed to make chlorophyll in plants , which plants use in photosynthesis to make their food and energy.