Please Help. Briefly describe the nitrogen cycle.?

Question

Include in this discussion the role of various types of organisms.

Answer 1

think of the nitrogen cycle as this... There are bacteria in the soil. The bacteria in the soil produce the nitrogen from the decaying matter in on the ground. The plants take in this nitrogen through their roots. Herbivores eat the plants and take in the nitrogen that was in the plants. Then, naturally the animal releases it's wastes. The wastes contain the nitrogen that was in the plants and returns it to the soil

Answer 2

Because N2 is so stable, most  nitrogen is in this form. Small geochemical fluxes occur because lightning discharges cause the  formation of nitrogen oxides.

More significant are the biochemical fluxes. The  reactions catalyzed by micro-organisms are:

N2 --> NH3 --> NO2– --> NO3– --> amino acids --> proteins    

The formation of proteins depends on the amide linkages formed by condensation of the amino group  of one amino acid with the acid group of the next. Nitrogen in proteins is also important for forming  metal coordination complexes that control the activity of vital metals such as iron in hemoglobin and  magnesium in chlorophyll.    

Human activity impacts the nitrogen cycle primarily through the production and use of fertilizer  and through emissions from combustion engines. Although fertilizer is applied on  land, it is often applied in excess and is carried by rain into the hydrosphere.

I hope that helps :)

Answer 3

Most nitrogen is found in the atmosphere. The nitrogen cycle is the process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted to ammonia or nitrates.

          Nitrogen is essential to all living systems. To become a part of an organism, nitrogen must first be fixed or combined with oxygen or hydrogen. Nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere by lightening and nitrogen fixing bacteria. During electrical storms, large amounts of nitrogen are oxidized and united with water to produce an acid which is carried to the earth in rain producing nitrates. Nitrates are taken up by plants and are converted to proteins.

          Then the nitrogen passes through the food chain from plants to herbivores to carnivores. When plants and animals eventually die, the nitrogen compounds are broken down giving ammonia (ammonification). Some of the ammonia is taken up by the plants; some is dissolved in water or held in the soil where bacteria convert it to nitrates (nitrification). Nitrates may be stored in humus or leached from the soil and carried to lakes and streams. It may also be converted to free nitrogen (denitrification) and returned to the atmosphere.