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Article: The nitrogen cycle is out of balance.
- Article from:
- World Watch
- Article date:
- September 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Worldwatch Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As the prospect of climate change continues to bring attention to the global carbon cycle, scientists are beginning to voice concern about another key circuit: the global nitrogen cycle. Human activities are doubling the amount of nitrogen each year that is "fixed" (combined with hydrogen, oxygen, or carbon to form compounds that living things can use) on land. This large-scale intervention in the nitrogen cycle is already seriously altering ecosystems around the world, according to a panel of ecologists chaired by Stanford University's Peter Vitousek.
Nitrogen, the atmosphere's most abundant element, is an essential component of all life on earth. However, only a ...