Nitrogen Levels On A Decline In ‘Nitrogen-Rich World’, Plants And Animals May Face Consequences.

Why in news?

• As per a new study, an imbalance in nitrogen availability has been reported across the globe, with some places having an excess and others a shortage.
• Nitrogen (N) is one of the building blocks of life and is essential for all plants and animals to survive.
• Without nitrogen plants grow slowly and produce smaller flowers and fruits.
• Nitrogen is also a core component of amino acids (building blocks of proteins) and of nucleic acids (building blocks of genetic material RNA and DNA).
• When excessive nitrogen accumulates in the streams, inland lakes and coastal bodies of water, it could result in eutrophication, leading to harmful algal blooms, dead zones and fish kills.

Nitrogen Cycle

• Movement of nitrogen between the atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere in different forms is called the nitrogen cycle.
• Bacteria in the soil “fix” atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which plants need in order to grow. > Other bacteria convert the ammonia into amino acids and proteins. Then animals eat the plants and consume the protein.
• Nitrogen compounds return to the soil through animal waste. Bacteria convert the waste nitrogen back to nitrogen gas, which returns to the atmosphere.

About Nitrogen

• Earth’s atmosphere constitutes 78 percent of Nitrogen gas. In its gaseous form, nitrogen is colorless, odorless and generally considered as inert at normal temperatures and pressures.
• In liquid form it looks similar to water.