EnvThes
nitrogen cycling
deprecated concept
[controlled by ] Tomas Staszevski , 2013-06-08" , "[source of definition ] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
US LTER controlled vocabulary
The circulation of nitrogen in nature, consisting of a cycle of chemical reactions in which atmospheric nitrogen is compounded, dissolved in rain, and deposited in the soil, where it is assimilated and metabolized by bacteria and plants, eventually returning to the atmosphere by bacterial decomposition of organic matter.