Science ecosystems

• Animals are able to obtain nitrogen through eating plants and animals.

• Plants have much harder time obtaining nitrogen as they can only absorb nitrogen when it is mixed with oxygen or hydrogen. 

• Nitrogen is mixed with oxygen or hydrogen through a process called nitrogen fixation.

• There are two ways nitrogen can be fixated:

1.  Lightening

2. Bacteria in the soil or bacteria found in nodules of legumes

• Nitrogen is a necessary component of life as plants need it to grow and animals need it to create DNA.  

• The speed of decomposition is the key to keeping the nitrogen cycle moving as the majority of fixated nitrogen comes from bacteria breaking down dead matter and feces.

• The warmer an area is the faster decomposition will occur.

 Processes in the Nitrogen Cycle

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

• Nitrification - this is the process by which ammonium gets changed into nitrates by bacteria. Nitrates are what the plants can then absorb.

• 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.

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

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