5.2: Nitrogen cycle

Microbiology for Earth Scientists · LibreTexts

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    In the nitrogen cycle, microorganisms cycle nitrogen among compounds with oxidation states ranging from \(-3\) to \(+5\). As discussed in Chapter 14, high concentrations of nitrogen compounds, especially nitrate, are a major water quality concern worldwide (Bijay-Singh and Craswell, 2021; Burgin and Hamilton, 2007). Denitrification is one of the main pathways of nitrate removal from aqueous systems (Fig. \(5.3\)). As such, the pathway has received a lot of attention from the scientific community. However, to understand the fate of nitrogen in aqueous systems and improve water resource management, we need to consider the full range of microbial nitrogen transformations (Burgin and Hamilton, 2007).

    Microbial contributions to the nitrogen cycle. Microbial reactions identified include nitrification, denitrification, N fixation, ammonification, assimilation, anammox, disassimilatory nitrate reduction.
    Figure \(5.3\): Microbial contributions to the nitrogen cycle. Figure after Fig. 1 of Jetten (2008). Microbial reactions are identified in blue font. Norg represents nitrogen in organic compounds.
    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Microbial_nitrogen_cycle.png

    This page titled 5.2: Nitrogen cycle was last modified on Sun, 31 Mar 2024 22:36:54 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Matthew F Kirk via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.