Which process involves the oxidation of ammonium compounds in dead organic material into nitrates and nitrites?

Which process involves the oxidation of ammonium compounds in dead organic material into nitrates and nitrites?

• A. Denitrifying Bacteria
• B. Population
• C. Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria
• D. Nitrification

Answer: (D)

Nitrification is the microbial oxidation of ammonium compounds released during the decomposition of dead organic material, first to nitrite and then to nitrate. This two-step process happens under aerobic conditions and involves distinct groups of microbes: ammonia-oxidizing organisms convert ammonium to nitrite, and nitrite-oxidizing organisms then convert nitrite to nitrate. The result is a form of nitrogen that plants can take up, though in some environments nitrate can be lost by leaching or, in low-oxygen zones, by denitrification back to gases. This distinguishes nitrification from denitrifying bacteria (which reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas) and from nitrogen-fixing bacteria (which convert atmospheric N2 into ammonia), and it isn’t simply a population phenomenon.

Nitrification is the microbial oxidation of ammonium compounds released during the decomposition of dead organic material, first to nitrite and then to nitrate. This two-step process happens under aerobic conditions and involves distinct groups of microbes: ammonia-oxidizing organisms convert ammonium to nitrite, and nitrite-oxidizing organisms then convert nitrite to nitrate. The result is a form of nitrogen that plants can take up, though in some environments nitrate can be lost by leaching or, in low-oxygen zones, by denitrification back to gases. This distinguishes nitrification from denitrifying bacteria (which reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas) and from nitrogen-fixing bacteria (which convert atmospheric N2 into ammonia), and it isn’t simply a population phenomenon.