Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Nitrogen is an element vital to many environmental processes. Nitrogen plays a vital role in the nitrogen cycle, a complex biogeochemical process that involves the transformation of nitrogen between different chemical forms and its movement through various environmental compartments such as the atmosphere, soil, water, and living organisms. [1]
Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients.It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters (lakes, rivers and coastal waters), in which excess nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, stimulate algal growth. [1]
Leakage of Nr (reactive nitrogen) from human activities can cause nitrate accumulation in the natural water environment, which can create harmful impacts on human health. Excessive use of N-fertilizer in agriculture has been a significant source of nitrate pollution in groundwater and surface water.
Nitrates are produced by a number of species of nitrifying bacteria in the natural environment using ammonia or urea as a source of nitrogen and source of free energy. Nitrate compounds for gunpowder were historically produced, in the absence of mineral nitrate sources, by means of various fermentation processes using urine and dung.
Nitrification inhibitors are also of interest from an environmental standpoint because of the production of nitrates and nitrous oxide from the nitrification process. Nitrous oxide (N 2 O), although its atmospheric concentration is much lower than that of CO 2, has a global warming potential of about 300 times greater than carbon dioxide and ...
Human health effects of eutrophication derive from two main issues excess nitrate in drinking water and exposure to toxic algae. [50] Nitrates in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome in infants and can react with chemicals used to treat water to create disinfection by-products in drinking water. [ 51 ]
A nitrate vulnerable zone is a conservation designation of the Environment Agency for areas of land that drain into nitrate polluted waters, or waterways that could become polluted by nitrates due to environmental and health threats. A nitrate vulnerable zone can be designated as a response to an increase in nitrate leaching or increased use of ...
The other product, nitrate (NO 3 −), is a key nutrient for plant growth. This excess nitrate from ammonia nitrification favors nitrophilous plants (those that prefer high nitrate concentrations) and disadvantages others. For example, an increase in nitrophilous plant populations shade other plants from necessary sunlight.