Nitrogen Cycle

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Nitrogen Cycle

The series of processes by which nitrogen and its different forms


are circulated and interconverted in nature with the help of living
organisms is called the nitrogen cycle.
Thus, Nitrogen Cycle is a biogeochemical process
through which nitrogen is converted into many forms, consecutively
passing from the atmosphere to the soil to organism and back into
the atmosphere.

 Nitrogen exists in both organic and inorganic forms:


• Organic nitrogen exists in living organisms, and they get passed
through the food chain by the consumption of other living
organisms.
• Inorganic forms of nitrogen are found in abundance in the
atmosphere. This nitrogen is made available to plants by
microorganisms like bacteria which can convert the inert nitrogen
into a usable form – such as nitrites and nitrates.
• Significance of Nitrogen – Nitrogen is essential
component of amino acids, proteins, enzymes and
nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) of the protoplasm.
• Major Source of Nitrogen – Atmosphere (78.62 %)
• Nitrogen is the most abundant element in the Earth’s
atmosphere (78%).
• Nitrogen cannot be absorbed directly by the plants
and animals until it is converted into compounds they
can use.
The entire process of the Nitrogen Cycle takes place in six stages:
1) Nitrogen Fixation – Converting inert atmospheric nitrogen (N2)into
biologically available forms such as ammonia (NH3), nitrates, or nitrites.
• It occurs in following ways –
(i) Biological nitrogen fixation: Performed by two different groups of
bacteria –
a) symbiotic nitrogen fixers like Rhizobium, which keep a close association
with the host leguminous plant, and
 b) free-living, non-symbiotic bacteria like Azotobacter, Anabaena.
Both these group of bacteria use specific enzymes to complete the
biological nitrogen fixation process by the following reaction –  
N2 + 8 H+ + 8 e− → 2 NH3 + H2
(ii) Atmospheric nitrogen fixation by the help of lightening and
thunderstorm. The energy of lightning breaks atmospheric nitrogen into
nitrogen oxides which can then be utilized by plants for assimilation.
2) Nitrification –  Converting ammonia to nitrite and
then to nitrate. Performed by nitrifying bacteria in
two steps–
i) Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria such as
Nitrosomonas species perform oxidation of ammonia
to nitrite by the following reaction–
2NH4+ + 3O2 + 8 e− → 2 NO2– + 4H2 + 2H2O
ii) Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria such as Nitrobacter
species perform oxidation of nitrite (NO2–) to nitrate
(NO3–) by the following reaction–
2 NO3– + O2 → 2 NO3–
3) Assimilation by Plants – Absorbing nitrogen from the
soil and incorporating them in the plant and animal bodies
and utilizing it for making proteins.
4) Ammonification by Decomposers –Decomposers such
as fungi and ammonifying bacteria like Bacillus ramosuns
present in the soil convert the dead organic matter of
plants or animals back into ammonia (NH3) or ammonium
ions (NH4+).
5) Denitrification by Denitrifiers – Conversion of nitrites
and nitrates into molecular nitrogen in the presence of
denitrifying bacteria likeThiobacillus, pseudomonas and
clostridium.
6) Sedimentation- sometimes after death of organism
nitrogenous compounds are accumulated in rocks etc.
Importance of Nitrogen Cycle:
• Helps plants to synthesise chlorophyll from the nitrogen
compounds.
• Helps in converting inert nitrogen gas into a usable form for the
plants through the biochemical process.
• In the process of ammonification, the bacteria help in decomposing
the animal and plant matter, which indirectly helps to clean up the
environment.
• Nitrates and nitrites are released into the soil, which helps in
enriching the soil with the necessary nutrients required for
cultivation.
• Nitrogen is an integral component of the cell and it forms many
crucial compounds and important biomolecules.
• Nitrogen is also cycled by human activities such as the combustion
of fuels and the use of nitrogen fertilisers. These processes, increase
the levels of nitrogen-containing compounds in the atmosphere. The
fertilisers containing nitrogen are washed away in lakes and rivers
and results in eutrophication.
Humans impact on the nitrogen cycle:
• Human activities release excess nitrogen into the
environment, eventually disturbing the balance of
nitrogen in its different reservoirs in two possible ways:
• Burning of Fossil Fuels
• Use of Nitrogen-Containing Fertilizers
• Burning fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas
releases excess nitrogen into the environment that
accumulates over time. An increase in the concentration
of nitrogen is found to affect the climate of the earth by
gradually increasing its temperature, causing
greenhouse effect and global warming. 
• When artificial fertilizers containing nitrogen
as one of the components are washed away
from the agricultural fields, it contaminates
the nearby water bodies and also the
groundwater making it more difficult for the
plants to absorb the nitrogen both for the
terrestrial and aquatic plants. Since nitrogen
fixation by plants is affected, it affects the
nitrogen cycle.

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