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The Nitrogen Cycles

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The Natural Environment and the Biogeochemical Cycles

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC1,volume 1 / 1B))

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle. The importance of nitrogen derives mainly from its fundamental nutritional role, but is also due to the fact that nitrogenous substances are important environmental pollutants. The possible effect of the interaction between nitrogen oxides and the stratospheric ozone layer is a global concern. There are also environmental problems, of local to regional character, in relation to nitrogen that deserve attention, such as the contamination of ground water by heavy applications of nitrogen fertilizer, thus making drinking-water from these sources unfit for human consumption. Increased levels of nitrogen in air and precipitation are creating changes in the atmospheric chemical climate, one result of which being eutrophication of the environment. The acidification of rain-water by nitrogen oxides is another example of the environmental consequences of nitrogen use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Meteorology, University of Stockholm, S-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    R. Söderlund

  2. SCOPE/UNEP International Nitrogen Unit, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Box 50005, S-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden

    T. Rosswall

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  1. R. Söderlund
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  2. T. Rosswall
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© 1982 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Söderlund, R., Rosswall, T. (1982). The Nitrogen Cycles. In: The Natural Environment and the Biogeochemical Cycles. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 1 / 1B. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38597-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-38597-4_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-15324-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-38597-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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