Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Human impact on the nitrogen cycle is diverse. Agricultural and industrial nitrogen (N) inputs to the environment currently exceed inputs from natural N fixation . [ 1 ] As a consequence of anthropogenic inputs, the global nitrogen cycle (Fig. 1) has been significantly altered over the past century.
Even though nitrogen is a necessary element for life, too much of it in water can have negative effects on aquatic ecosystems and endanger human health. Agricultural runoff, where fertilizers containing nitrogen compounds can seep into rivers, lakes, and groundwater, is one of the main sources of nitrogen in water.
A biogeochemical cycle, or more generally a cycle of matter, [1] is the movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth's crust. Major biogeochemical cycles include the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. In each cycle, the chemical element or molecule is ...
In addition, humans have significantly contributed to the transfer of nitrogen trace gases from Earth to the atmosphere and from the land to aquatic systems. Human alterations to the global nitrogen cycle are most intense in developed countries and in Asia, where vehicle emissions and industrial agriculture are highest. [46]
Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion, use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, and release of nitrogen in wastewater have dramatically altered the global nitrogen cycle. [40] [41] [42] Human modification of the global nitrogen cycle can negatively affect the natural environment system and also human health. [43] [44]
The diagram on the right shows some human impacts on the marine nitrogen cycle. Bioavailable nitrogen (Nb) is introduced into marine ecosystems by runoff or atmospheric deposition, causing eutrophication , the formation of dead zones and the expansion of the oxygen minimum zones (OMZs).
Nitrogen cycle – Biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into various chemical forms Trophic state index – Measure of the ability of water to sustain biological productivity Upland and lowland (freshwater ecology) – Types of plain Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Reactive nitrogen ("Nr"), also known as fixed nitrogen [1], refers to all forms of nitrogen present in the environment except for molecular nitrogen (N 2 ). [ 2 ] While nitrogen is an essential element for life on Earth, molecular nitrogen is comparatively unreactive, and must be converted to other chemical forms via nitrogen fixation before it ...