Helpful Terms
Macronutrients - The six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts. These include: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.
Limiting Nutrient - Organisms need Nitrogen, the most abundant element in the atmosphere. Because so much is required, nitrogen, a limiting nutrient, constrains the growth of the organism. Nitrogen Fixation - The process where nitrogen gas is converted directly into ammonia. This process is the first step in the nitrogen cycle. Organisms that include cyanobacteria, and live on the roots of certain plants, are nitrogen-fixing. Assimilation - When organisms take in nitrogen by consuming producers Ammonification - Nitrogen containing waste is used as food and consumed by plants, and converted into ammonium. Nitrification - Bacteria convert ammonium into Nitrite, which is then turned into nitrate. Denitrification - Bacteria which convert nitrates into atmospheric nitrogen gas, which signifies the end of the nitrogen cycle. Leaching - The process where nitrogen is transported through the soil, through the use of water. |
Nitrogen-fixing organisms which live on the roots of plants, as seen above, are called nodules.
Nitrifying bacteria converts ammonium into nitrite, which is then converted into nitrate.
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