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EnvThes - Thesaurus for long term ecological research, monitoring and experiments

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... > entity > process > biogeochemical process > nutrient cycling > nitrogen cycling > nitrogen fixation

Preferred term

nitrogen fixation  

Definition

  • [Henderson's] the process whereby atmospheric elemental nitrogen (dinitro­gen, N2) is reduced to ammonia (NH3), and which is carried out in the living world only by some free-living bacteria and cyanobacteria and by a few groups of bac­teria in symbiotic association with plants (the Rhizobium–legume association and the actinomycete–non-legume associations). The reaction is catalysed by the enzyme nitrogenase. Biological nitrogen fixation is the chief process by which atmospheric nitrogen enters the biosphere and becomes available as a nutrient to other organisms, although industrial nitrogen fixation is now of considerable significance. A smaller amount of atmospheric nitrogen is also fixed by conversion into nitrogen oxides by the action of lightning. see also nitrogen cycle.

Broader concept

Entry terms

  • N2 fixation

Note

  • [controlled by ] Staszewski 08.06.2013

Scope note

  • US LTER controlled vocabulary

Creator

  • herbert.schentz@umweltbundesamt.at

In other languages

URI

http://vocabs.lter-europe.net/EnvThes/20971

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