Tallying nitrogen's increasing impact. (human activities' influence on the nitrogen cycle)

From: Science News | Date: February 15, 1997| Author: Mlot, Christine | Copyright information

Research indicates that the rate at which nitrogen is made available to the land has risen to the point that human beings have become the major force in the nitrogen cycle. The use of commercial fertilizer, global cultivation of legumes and clearing of wildlands provide most of the new nitrogen in the system.

For most of agricultural history, nitrogen has been a precious commodity. Only specialized bacteria and lightning could convert atmospheric nitrogen into biologically usable fo...

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