8-4: Ammonification

In this experiment we

- put soil sample in peptone tubes and incubate - spin the microtubes - add ammonia reagent 1 and 2 - observe the color with the ammonia card (ml/L)

This test allows for

rapid determination of ammonia production in soil

Ammonification is a byproduct of

amino acid deamination in cells.

ammonia is an important soil component because of its

availability to plants as a source of nitrogen and their ability to incorporate it into organic nitrogen again.

ammonia is the product of

decomposition of nitrogenous organic compounds.

Ammonification is a consequence of

decomposition or organic nitrogen from dead animal and plant protein, and nitrogenous wastes from animals

What happens to the ammonia?

it can be recycled through uptake by plants, - oxidized by ammonia oxidizing bacteria

Deamination of an amino acid

look at page 605 for the formula.

Who is capable of ammonification?

most bacteria and fungi

In an ecosystem, much of the nitrogen is in

organic molecules