Does the use of fertilizer affect the nitrogen cycle?
Yes it has a huge impact on the nitrogen cycle. When we cause nitrogen overload in an ecosystem, there are many drastic effects. Dumping of raw sewage contains nitrogenous wastes, along with urban runoff. When large amounts of nitrogen collect in a water body, eutrophication can result. This is an accumulation of excess nutrients which causes an algae bloom. The algae rapidly deplete all of the oxygen in the water, making it inhospitable for fish and other aquatic organisms. Eutrophication also brings about the deadly red tides. When plant communities are saturated with nitrogen, the soil can become acidified. This makes the soil inhospitable. Burning fossil fuels and wood contributes to a large amount of nitric oxide in the atmosphere. Nitric oxide can combine with oxygen gas to for nitrogen dioxide, which reacts with water vapor to form a strong acid (nitric acid). This can precipitate out of the atmosphere in the form of the deadly acid rain. The acid can damage trees and kill fish.
