Nitrogen Assimilation

Nitrogen assimilation is specific to the nitrogen cycle. The soil is full of different nitrogenous compounds, but not all of these are readily available for plants and must be fixed or nitrified first. Plants can absorb ammonium (NH₄^-) and nitrates (NO₃^-) from the soil through root hairs. Nitrogen is vital as it is a major component of chlorophyll, the pigment plants use to absorb energy from the sun for photosynthesis. It is also a major component of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, and nucleic acids which make up DNA.

NH₄^- / NO₃^- → Plants

Other organisms obtain nitrogen through eating plants, and this nitrogen is then transferred through the trophic levels (food chain).

Figure 1: An overview of nitrogen assimilation