Nitrogen Cycling
Biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen through atmosphere, soils, and organisms, disrupted by anthropogenic nitrogen inputs.
Formula
N2 + 3H2 → 2NH3 (Haber–Bosch process)
Real World
The Haber–Bosch process, scaled globally by companies like BASF, now fixes more nitrogen artificially (~120 Tg N/year) than all natural terrestrial fixation combined, fundamentally altering the global nitrogen cycle and driving eutrophication worldwide.
Exam Focus
Sequence the full cycle steps (fixation → nitrification → assimilation → denitrification) in order — mark schemes award points for each correct stage.
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