Nitrogen saturation

Between half of the last century and the present, the use of fertilizers increased by 800%, a use that caused a whirlwind in the natural cycle of nitrogen in the environment. The balance that existed until the "green revolution" was violated.

Nitrogen is the most common gas in the atmosphere (77%), tasteless, odorless and colorless and chemically inactive (inert) and yet one of the most important elements in life processes as a component of amino acids.

As an element found in proteins and as an important component for the process of assimilation (photosynthesis). Despite its reality in the atmosphere and its importance in life processes, due to its chemical "indifference" its availability to living beings is maintained mainly by plants that have "learned" to fix nitrogen from the air with the help of anaerobic bacteria/bacteria. Plant eaters "process" the nitrogen and emit it in their secretions, and as such it has been used as a natural fertilizer since the development of agriculture.

The Incas were probably the first to fertilize their fields with guano (bird droppings) which contains a high concentration of phosphorus nitrate. According to a publication in "Science" since the "prebiotic" era (before life) there has been a nitrogen cycle at different levels when the main factors were volcanic eruptions and lightning.

About 2.5 billion years ago, "available" nitrogen molecules appear, an "appearance" that is linked to the activity of anaerobic organisms... This is how a cycle begins, the main point of which is the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by plants that are eaten and excreted, creating the cycle that combines the activities of plants - microorganisms and animals, the nitrogen cycle.

The amount of nitrogen increased with the green revolution when artificial (mineral) fertilizers, potassium nitrate, phosphorus nitrate and ammonia (which is extracted from the air) began to be widely used. Until the green/agricultural revolution, there was a balance, plants that fixed atmospheric nitrogen were eaten by animals that released the nitrogen compounds into the soil or atmosphere.

It is important to clarify that nitrogen compounds in minerals in the soil were not available and therefore did not "participate" in the global nitrogen cycle. The revolution, the main part of which was the use of mineral fertilizers, (nitrogen-containing fertilizers that until the "revolution" were out of circulation) enabled the expansion of agricultural areas and the increase of crops by dozens of meters.

Between half of the last century and the present, the use of fertilizers increased by 800%, a use that caused a whirlwind in the natural cycle of nitrogen in the environment. The balance that existed until the "green revolution" was violated.

Since the green revolution, there is three times more nitrogen in the global cycle that is fixed by bacteria, feeding plants and animals (and enabling the explosion of the human population). Human activity makes it possible to use about 50% of all the nitrogen that is "produced" every year.

Although nitrogen is essential to life, at high levels nitrogen is a double-edged sword for the natural environment. According to studies - (the latest of which is published in Science) human activity causes excess nitrogen that "contributes" to the pollution of water basins all over the world, most nitrogen fertilization is done inefficiently and with great waste, as a result of the inefficiency about 60% of the nitrogen in fertilizers is not used by the plants. The excess nitrogen is washed away and flows into rivers, lakes, water-bearing layers (aquifer) and coastal waters in the seas and oceans.

Nitrogen accumulation (and other nutrients) constitutes an excess of nutrients in the environment (Eutrophication), a saturation/excess that causes an "algal bloom" The "bloom" takes oxygen from the water, a lack of oxygen leads to mass death. On top of that, processes develop that create nitrogen oxide that is released into the atmosphere, nitrogen oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas as well as a gas that damages the ozone layer. In other words, human activity adds to the cycle huge amounts of nitrogen that causes environmental hazards.

It can be assumed that over time (a long time) a balance will be created again in the nitrogen cycle, but in the meantime the growing demand to create food for a growing population causes more and more nitrogen to flow into the suffering and damaged environment.

so what are we doing? Unlike in other cases, the solution here is in our hands and the change can be almost immediate.
The flooding/pollution of the environment with nitrogen can be prevented in several ways, of course, first of all, smart and economical fertilization methods must be implemented that will prevent "over-fertilization". (The use of drip systems for irrigation allows for maximum control of the amounts of fertilizers that will only reach the roots to be used by the plants and will not be dispersed in the soil).

- A return to traditional agricultural methods such as ensuring seed rotation, improving (genetically) the ability of crops such as vegetables, grains and fruit trees to absorb nitrogen, - developing plants that will be more effective in fixing nitrogen. These are only a small part of the possibilities to prevent the flow of excess nitrogen into the environment.

The phenomenon of saturation with nitrogen (and other nutrients) and the negative reactions that accompany it have been known for a long time, but only recently have researchers begun to understand the biochemical cycle as it occurs on a global/wide scale, an understanding that enables activity to prevent environmental damage.