Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Living Edition
| Editors: William M. White

Nutrients

Living reference work entry
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_151-1
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Synonyms

Bioessential compounds; Essential elements

Definition

Nutrients are elements or compounds used by organisms in the production of biomass, cellular function, or related structural material.

Introduction

Nutrients are elements or compounds used by organisms in the production of biomass, cellular function, or related structural material (Odum 1959). Nutrients that are required for proper cellular functioning are described as essential nutrients . Traditionally, major essential nutrients (utilized by organisms in approximate percentage or greater abundances in biomass) have been considered to be N, P, and S. However, essential trace nutrients are also required for growth and proper cellular function; these include Fe, Co, Zn, Ni, V, and many others (see Fig. 1). Part of what defines an element as a nutrient is its potential for limitation, which is the reason that O and H are not typically defined as nutrients, even though they are required for the production of biomass, and...
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and Department of Marine ScienceUniversity of Georgia5 SavannahUSA