The nitrogen cycle connects the movement and chemical transformation of nitrogen in the atmosphere, organisms, soils and water. Nitrogen fixation converts molecular nitrogen into reduced forms; nitrogen assimilation incorporates available nitrogen into cellular compounds; ammonification returns organic nitrogen to ammonium during breakdown.
Nitrification and denitrification connect further oxidized and reduced forms under different environmental conditions. The distinction matters because a large atmospheric reservoir does not make all of its nitrogen directly available to every plant: biological access depends on the chemical form and on transformations carried out by other organisms.[ref]
The nitrogen cycle is a crucial ecological process that describes the movement and transformation of nitrogen through various environmental systems, including the atmosphere, soil, water bodies, and living organisms. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for all living things, as it is a key component of amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).
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