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Is organic nitrogen available to plants?

Published in Plant Nutrition 2 mins read

No, organic nitrogen is not directly available to plants; plants can only absorb inorganic forms of nitrogen.

While plants cannot directly use organic nitrogen compounds, organic nitrogen plays a crucial role in plant nutrition. Here's a breakdown of the process:

  • Organic Nitrogen in Soil: Organic nitrogen exists in the soil as part of complex molecules like proteins, amino acids, and nucleic acids, primarily from decaying organic matter, plant residues, and microbial biomass.

  • Mineralization: The Key Process: Before plants can utilize nitrogen from organic sources, it must be converted into inorganic forms through a process called mineralization. This process is carried out by soil microorganisms.

  • Ammonification: The first stage of mineralization is ammonification, where microorganisms break down organic nitrogen into ammonia (NH3). Ammonia in the soil quickly converts to ammonium (NH4+).

  • Nitrification: Ammonium (NH4+) is then converted to nitrite (NO2-) and subsequently to nitrate (NO3-) by nitrifying bacteria. This process is called nitrification.

  • Plant Uptake: Plants primarily absorb nitrogen in two inorganic forms: ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-). Nitrate is the more commonly absorbed form in most agricultural soils.

  • Nitrogen Transformation: Importantly, all forms of nitrogen in the soil can be converted to nitrate (NO3-) over time.

In summary, while plants can only take up inorganic forms of nitrogen, the organic nitrogen present in the soil serves as a reservoir that is gradually converted into plant-available inorganic forms by microbial activity. Therefore, managing soil organic matter is crucial for long-term nitrogen availability to plants.