Nitrogen Cycle

How does the human impact of fertilizers impact the nitrogen cycle?

Humans' use of burning fossil fuels goes back into the atmosphere and increases the amount of nitrogen which affects the nitrogen cycle.

How is nitrogen important in our lives?

Nitrogen is important in our lives because it contains proteins and nucleic acids that are essential for many forms of life. Nitrogen is a key nutrient for plants that if not managed carefully, can lead to serious environmental problems. Amino acids contain nitrogen which make up the proteins in our skin, tissues, muscles, and hair.

Explain how animals get their needed amounts of nitrogen.

When organisms decompose, they put nitrogen into the soil on land or into the water in our oceans. Animals then eat the nitrogen by eating plants or consuming animals that contain nitrogen.

Why are nitrogen-fixing bacteria contributions to the nitrogen cycle so important?

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria is important to the nitrogen cycle because this bacteria is present in the soil that organisms convert the nitrogen to ammonia which the plants can use and take.

Once in plants and animals, explain how does nitrogen return to the atmosphere?

Once nitrogen is in plants, animals are able to eat the plant. Then, when the animal decomposes, it decomposes a waste that will return into the atmosphere.

Explain how nitrogen cycles through the land and ocean ecosystems.

The nitrogen cycles through the land ecosystem is by the nitrogen in the atmosphere goes to bacteria in the soil. Then the bacteria can convert into ammonia, nitrogen fixation, to nitrate which the plants can use. The nitrogen cycles through the ocean ecosystem is when the bacteria in the oceans take the nitrogen and convert it into ammonium then into nitrate which will be used by primary producers, eaten by primary consumers and so on. Then the decomposers can decompose the waste, and can later release nitrogen into the air.