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Nitrogen is a fundamental chemical component of amino acids, the molecular building blocks of protein. As such, nitrogen balance may be used as an index of protein metabolism. [1] When more nitrogen is gained than lost by an individual, they are considered to have a positive nitrogen balance and be in a state of overall protein anabolism.
Metabolism (/ m ə ˈ t æ b ə l ɪ z ə m /, from Greek: μεταβολή metabolē, "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms.The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the ...
Metabolic water refers to water created inside a living organism through metabolism, by oxidizing energy-containing substances in food and adipose tissue. Animal metabolism produces about 107–110 grams of water per 100 grams of fat, [1] 41–42 grams of water per 100 g of protein, and 60 grams of water per 100 g of carbohydrate.
The term nutrient recycling appears in a 1964 paper on the food ecology of the wood stork: "While the periodic drying up and reflooding of the marshes creates special survival problems for organisms in the community, the fluctuating water levels favor rapid nutrient recycling and subsequent high rates of primary and secondary production" [47]: 97
Soil pH and texture are both factors that can moderate denitrification, with higher pH levels driving the reaction more to completion. [22] Nutrient composition, particularly the ratio of carbon to nitrogen, is a strong contributor to complete denitrification, [ 23 ] with a 2:1 ratio of C:N being able to facilitate full nitrate reduction ...
Nitrogen can be fixed by lightning converting nitrogen gas (N 2) and oxygen gas (O 2) in the atmosphere into NO x (nitrogen oxides). The N 2 molecule is highly stable and nonreactive due to the triple bond between the nitrogen atoms. [75] Lightning produces enough energy and heat to break this bond [75] allowing nitrogen atoms to react with ...
A heterotroph (/ ˈ h ɛ t ər ə ˌ t r oʊ f,-ˌ t r ɒ f /; [1] [2] from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros) 'other' and τροφή (trophḗ) 'nutrition') is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are ...
In fact, due to long-term impacts on food webs, Nr inputs are widely considered the most critical pollution problem in marine systems. [8] In both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, responses to N enrichment vary; however, a general re-occurring theme is the importance of thresholds (e.g., nitrogen saturation ) in system nutrient retention ...