Bacteria and Lighting
Two forms of fixed nitrogen are ammonia (NH3) and nitrate (NO3-). Fixed nitrogen refers to nitrogen that has been converted from its inert atmospheric form (N2) into compounds that can be used by plants and other organisms.
The only forms of nitrogen compounds that living things can make use of are ammonia compounds and nitrate compounds.These are called "fixed nitrogen". Animals obtain the nitrogen they need from proteins in the plants and/or animals they eat. Proteins are amino acid polymers and amino acids are built around an ammonia group.
Nitrogen is changed into ammonia through a process called nitrogen fixation, typically carried out by soil bacteria or certain plants like legumes. Ammonia is then converted into other forms of nitrogen such as nitrites and nitrates that are taken up by plants for growth and utilized by other living organisms in the food chain.
Around 70-80% of nitrogen in the atmosphere is fixed by nitrogen fixing bacteria through a process called nitrogen fixation. This converted nitrogen is then made available for use by plants and other organisms in the environment.
Most nitrogen is fixed by microorganisms in the soil, such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria like Rhizobium and Azotobacter. These bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can use, helping to make nitrogen available for plant growth.
Nitrogen can be fixed in ecosystems through biological processes, like by nitrogen-fixing bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for plants. It can also be fixed through human activities, such as the use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture.
Why does atmospheric nitrogen need to be converted?
Two forms of fixed nitrogen are ammonia (NH3) and nitrate (NO3-). Fixed nitrogen refers to nitrogen that has been converted from its inert atmospheric form (N2) into compounds that can be used by plants and other organisms.
Nitrogen can be fixed through biological nitrogen fixation by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, through industrial processes like the Haber-Bosch process, and through lightning in the atmosphere which converts nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that can be used by plants.
Nitrogen can be fixed by lightning during thunderstorms, by industrial processes like the Haber-Bosch method, and through biological processes carried out by nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil.
OK well free nitrogen is fixed by bacteria that live in the soil. some bacteria live in nodules, or bumps , on certain plant roots. the bacteria get food from the plants, and plants absorb fixed nitrogen from the bacteria. animals get nitrogen by eating plants or by eating prey that have eaten plants. fixed nitrogen may enter the soil in other ways too. a small amount of free nitrogen in the air by lighting. it is carried to the ground by rainfall. fixed nitrogen also enters the soil because of decomposers. decomposers break down dead organisms, and fixed nitrogen is released in the soil. the fixed nitrogen can be absorbed by plant roots.
lightning & bacterial action (nitrogen fixers).
The only forms of nitrogen compounds that living things can make use of are ammonia compounds and nitrate compounds.These are called "fixed nitrogen". Animals obtain the nitrogen they need from proteins in the plants and/or animals they eat. Proteins are amino acid polymers and amino acids are built around an ammonia group.
Nitrogen is fixed
Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen gas in the atmosphere is converted into nitrogen compounds that plants can use. This can occur through biological nitrogen fixation, where certain bacteria convert nitrogen gas into ammonia, and through abiotic processes like lightning strikes, which convert nitrogen gas into nitrogen oxides that can be absorbed by rain and deposited in the soil.
The short answer is yes. I am not sure about the amount but there are only two ways nature converts N2 into a form of nitrogen that is usable by plants. The two ways are microorganisms and lightning. I believe bacteria are the main nitrogen fixers, but there might also be some algae that convert nitrogen as well. We have also mastered fixing N2, the process is the Haber- Bosh process.
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