As a constituent of cell proteins nitrogen is an indispensable nutrient for all living organisms, and although approximately three quarters of the atmosphere (about 386 × 10 13 t) is made up of dinitrogen gas (N 2) the element is always a limiting factor in the growth of plants and animals since it cannot be assimilated by most organisms in elemental form. Animals derive their nitrogen from plant sources, and plants manufacture their protein mostly from soil nitrogen. The latter is present in complex organic combinations, which, like nitrogen gas, cannot be used directly by plants. Only one to two percent of the total nitrogen in the soil is present in inorganic forms (mostly as ammonium or nitrate, occasionally as nitrite) and it is this that can be assimilated by plants. Nitrite, which at high levels is toxic to plants, has only a transitory existence in aerated soils, being readily oxidized to nitrate.
The path of nitrogen in the biosphere can be viewed as a cycle of reactions...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Baskin, V.N., 2002. Modern Biogeochemistry. London: Kluwer, 561 pp.
CENR, 2003. An Assessment of Coastal Hypoxia and Eutrophication in U.S. Waters. Washington, DC: National Science and Technology Council Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources, 82 pp.
Delwiche, C.C., 1981. The nitrogen cycle and nitrous oxide. In Delwiche, C.C., ed., Denitrification, Nitrification and Atmospheric Nitrous Oxide. New York: Wiley, pp. 1–15.
Galloway, J.N., Aber, J.D., Erisman, J.W., Seitzinger, S.P., Howarth, R.W., Cowling, E.B., and Cosby, B.J., 2003. The nitrogen cascade. BioScience, 53: 341–356.
Goolsby, D.A., 2000. Mississippi basin nitrogen flux believed to cause Gulf hypoxia. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 81: 325–327.
Goss, M.J., Barry, D.A.J., and Rudolph, D.L., 1998. Contamination in Ontario farmstead domestic wells and its association with agriculture: 1. Results from drinking water wells. J. Contam. Hydrol., 32: 267–293.
Jaffe, D.A., 1992. The nitrogen cycle. In Butcher, S.S., Charlson, R.J., Orians, G.H., and Wolfe, G.V., eds., Global Biogeochemical Cycles. New York: Academic Press, pp. 263–284.
Leigh, G.J., 2004. The World's Greatest Fix: A History of Nitrogen in Agriculture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 254 pp.
Mosier, A., Syers, J.K., and Freney, J.R., 2004. Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle: Assessing the Impacts of Fertilizer Use on Food Production and the Environment. International Council for Science. Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment; Washington, DC: Island Press, 296 pp.
Nosengo, N., 2003. Fertilized to death. Nature, 425: 894–895.
Smil, V., 1999. Detonator of the population explosion. Nature, 400: 415.
Smil, V., 2001. Enriching the Earth. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 338 pp.
Stevenson, F.J., 1986. Cycles of soil: Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Micronutrients. New York: Wiley, 380 pp.
Urio, A.P., Mongi, H.O., Chowdhury, M.S., Singh, B.R., and Semoka, J.M.R., 1979. Introductory Soil Science. Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House, 232 pp.
Vitousek, P.M., Aber, J., Howarth, R.W., Likens, G.E., Matson, P.A., Schindler, D.W., Schlesinger, W.H., and Tilman, G.D., 1997. Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: causes and consequences. Issues Ecol., 1: 1–17.
Wolstenholme, B.N., 2004. Nitrogen – The Manipulator Element: Managing Inputs and Outputs in Different Environments. South African Avocado Growers Association Yearbook, 27: 45–61.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer
About this entry
Cite this entry
Arbestain, M.C., Macías, F., Chesworth, W., Chesworth, W., Spaargaren, O., Semoka, J. (2008). Nitrogen Cycle. In: Chesworth, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Soil Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3995-9_381
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3995-9_381
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3994-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-3995-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences