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These flashcards cover key terminology and processes related to the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
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Photoautotrophs
Organisms that fix CO2 into organic matter using energy from sunlight.
Chemoheterotrophs
Organisms that use organic matter for energy.
Decomposers
Organisms that oxidize organic compounds from dead plants and animals.
Global warming
The release of CO2 into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.
Nitrogen fixation
The bacterial process that converts nitrogen gas (N2) to ammonia (NH3).
Nitrification
The oxidation of ammonium ions to produce nitrite, which is then oxidized to nitrate.
Denitrification
The process where nitrate is used as an electron acceptor by microbes in the absence of oxygen, producing nitrogen gas.
Ammonification
The release of ammonia by bacteria and fungi during the breakdown of organic matter.
Bacteroids
Bacteria that change into modified forms packed in root cells within nodules.
Heterocysts
Specialized cells in cyanobacteria that provide anaerobic conditions for nitrogen fixation.
Rhizobia
Symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria that form root nodules in leguminous plants.
Deamination
The process where amino groups are removed from amino acids and converted to ammonia.