A Complete Overview of the Nitrogen Cycle
Through the process of nitrogen fixation, the first step in the nitrogen cycle, elemental nitrogen in the air is converted into nitrogen containing elements, such as ammonia (NH3), nitrates (NO2), and nitrites (NO3), which plants can use.
This process is completed within bacteria on certain plant roots, such as soybeans. The bacteria is able to fix the atmospheric nitrogen into their protoplasm, which is then converted into ammonia. Plants are able to utilize the nitrogen within ammonia for their growth. |