The interaction of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere can only occur with the temperatures and pressures associated with lightning, however, and is not the primary means of converting nitrogen to a usable form (Elmhurst 2009). Instead, nitrogen fixing (as the process is known) is carried out by certain bacteria in the soil, which convert nitrogen gas and other forms of nitrogen waste in the soil to usable form of nitrogen, especially ammonia (NH4). Plants then absorb these usable forms of nitrogen and integrate the element into their own structure through growth. When animals -- like human beings -- eat these plants (or eat other animals that have eaten these plants), the nitrogen moves from the plant body to the animal body. When these higher organisms die, the nitrogen they have stored is broken down by other bacteria and fungi into nitrites (NO2) and nitrates (NO3) through a process known as nitrification (Pidwirny 2006). The...
In the natural nitrogen cycle, however, these substances are wither further broken down and returned to the atmosphere as nitrogen gas, or are reabsorbed by plants and bacteria, entering the cycle again immediately.
When organisms higher on the food chain -- like human beings -- eat plants and other organisms lower on the food chain, they absorb and utilize the nitrogen that was originally fixed by these bacteria (Harrison 2003). In this way, the nitrogen from the atmosphere is able to make it through the entire biosphere. The cycle is not complete, however, until the nitrogen is returned back to the atmosphere.
microorganism, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, displays a symbiotic relationship with soybean plants. There are different factors that may affect the relationship of this microorganism with plant biomass. These factors may be pH, temperature, the nutrition status and density of soil. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different soil treatments, in different soil types, on nodule formation and the dry weight of the plant. For this purpose,
Riparian Buffer Management Current Knowledge and Standards Most bodies of water, both running and standing, have a flood plain known as a riparian area. Whether the waterway is a large river or a small, intermittent creek, the water directly affects and is affected by this adjacent land. The riparian area serves as a transition between aquatic and land habitats. It is the link between land and water. When this area is planted
The current construction of World-Systems analysis holds that core countries, including America, Europe's thriving economies, and developed nations in Africa and Asia, derive enormous economic and political power from "the axial division of labor of a capitalist world-economy (that) divides production into core-like products and peripheral products" (Wallerstein 28). Madagascar's relative abundance of untapped natural resources, in the form of massive "old-growth" tropical rainforests, and deposits of minerals like
Tropical Rainforest Depletion Tropical rainforests are arguably the most precious natural resource on our Earth and constitute the world's most diverse biological eco-system. They are the home to 70% of the world's plants and animals, containing more than 13 million species (Roper, 1999-"Importance of ... "); provide high quality wood for a number of every-day and industrial uses such as for furniture, shipbuilding, and paper; are a repository of almost one-fourth
Despite the significance or importance of the microbes, they remain unseen in the context of daily activities or human experiences. They grow and live almost everywhere through application of wide range of resources in comparison to the plants and animals with reference to the lifestyles. Two factors are essential in the growth, development, and operation of the microbes in the marine environment. One of the essential factor is the
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