Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrates are taken out of the soil by plants, they are washed out of the soil (leaching) and de-nitrifying bacteria turn nitrates back into nitrogen gas. This happens mostly in anaerobic conditions, e.g. waterlogged marshes. Nitrogen fixing bacteria are bacteria which are in the roots of legumes, and are used in crop rotation because they are very useful for turning nitrogen in the air. decomposers: breaks downs proteinsfrom dead animal and ureas. denitrifying bacteria: they are found on waterloggs and they converts back nitrates into nitrogen gas. nitrifying bacteria: turns ammonuim compounds into nitrates , so that it can be absorbed by plants.

Making nitrogen into compounds is called fixing. Fixing occurs naturally by the action of certain bacteria in soil. Lightning can cause nitrogen to react with oxygen in the air forming nitrous oxides. This also occurs in petrol engine pollution. More than half of nitrogen fixing occurs through natural processes. The Haber Process accounts for about 30%. Nitrogen compounds in the soil are essential for plant growth see fertilisers.

Nitrogen - higher only Plants and animals need nitrogen to make proteins. But they cannot get nitrogen directly from the air because, as a gas, nitrogen is fairly unreactive. Plants are able to take up nitrogen compounds such as nitrates and ammonium salts from the soil. Nitrogen fixation Making nitrogen compounds from nitrogen in the air is called nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation happens in three ways:

The energy in lightning splits nitrogen molecules into individual nitrogen atoms. These react with oxygen to form nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen oxides are washed to the ground by rain, where they form nitrates in the soil.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria found in the soil and in the root nodules of leguminous plants, such as peas, beans and clover, fix nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds. The Haber process is used by industry to produce ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen. Ammonia is used to make nitrogen compounds that are used as fertiliser by farmers.

Nitrogen compounds Nitrogen compounds in living things are returned to the soil through: excretion and egestion by animals the decay of dead plants and animals Denitrifying bacteria present in soil break down nitrogen compounds and release nitrogen gas into the air.

The Nitrogen Cycle As a result of these processes, nitrogen is cycled continually through the air, soil and living things. This is called The Nitrogen Cycle. This animation summarises the main features of the nitrogen cycle.

Carbon cycle

Plants take the CO2 in the air and turn it into fats carbohydrates and proteins. These are then used for respiration in the plant (by which they are turned into CO2 ). The fats, proteins and carbohydrates can then either decay when the plant dies, be turned into products by humans or be eaten by animals. If they are eaten then some of the carbon compounds are used in respiration by the animal which has eaten the plant (which gives off carbon dioxide). The rest are then brought into the soil when the animal dies, and the CO2 is released by microbes and fungi when the animal decomposes. Sometimes however, this carbon dioxide is not released and fossil fuels are formed

If they are turned into a product this product is then burnt which releases carbon dioxide, and if the tree dies the carbon dioxide is created by decomposers.