The nitrogen cycle is a biogeochemical process encompassing the biologically mediated and abiotic transformations of nitrogen between atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic reservoirs, enabling its assimilation into and release from living organisms. Key microbial processes include nitrogen fixation (conversion of N₂ to bioavailable ammonia), nitrification (oxidation of ammonia to nitrite and nitrate), assimilatory and dissimilatory nitrate reduction, ammonification (mineralization of organic nitrogen to ammonium), and denitrification and anammox, which return nitrogen to gaseous forms (N₂, N₂O). This cycle regulates nitrogen availability, constrains primary productivity, and is tightly coupled to carbon and oxygen cycles in ecosystems.
Climate warming can increase plant growth in permafrost regions by lengthening the growing season, speeding up plant metabolic processes, and allowing deeper root penetration as permafrost thaws. However, the capacity for ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 20, 2026
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When winter sets in and food becomes scarce, some mammals hibernate, entering a state of deep rest that slashes their energy needs and allows them to fast for months. However, fasting deprives them of essential nutrients, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 12, 2026
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Deep-sea waters are warming due to heat waves and climate change, and it could spell trouble for the oceans' delicate chemical and biological balance. However, a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 9, 2026
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Despite decades of industrial deposition, nitrogen availability in the boreal forest is steadily declining. In a new study published in Nature, researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences using decades ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 19, 2026
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A research team from the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has clarified how deposited nitrogen is retained in forest ecosystems and how this process contributes to carbon sequestration ...
Environment
Feb 11, 2026
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A research team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has introduced a soil amendment called humic acid-modified bentonite (HAMB). This amendment effectively enhances a soil's ability ...
Ecology
Feb 11, 2026
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When snow blankets the landscape, it may seem like life slows down. But beneath the surface, an entire world of activity is unfolding.
Earth Sciences
Feb 3, 2026
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Cats—unlike humans—are true carnivores: they must eat meat to survive because their bodies can't draw some essential nutrients from plants. By looking at tissues, researchers can get a good understanding of what foods animals ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 3, 2026
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135
Nitrogen pollution is a serious concern for the agriculture industry. Agricultural fertilizers contain nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant health. However, these fertilizers also produce nitrogen runoff, which occurs ...
Ecology
Jan 26, 2026
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Human activities add large quantities of nitrogen to the environment, much of which gets washed into streams and rivers. These waterways transport some of that nitrogen to the oceans, but they also remove a significant portion ...
Ecology
Jan 19, 2026
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