How Does Burning Fossil Fuels Affect the Nitrogen Cycle?
Nitrogen helps sustain the diversity of plant life, the balance between grazing animals and predators, and the processes that control the production and cycling of carbon and various soil minerals. It is found in controlled concentrations in many ecosystems, both on land and in the sea. The burning of fossil fuels from various industrial processes adds nitrogen and nitrous oxide compounds to the atmosphere, which upsets the balance of natural nitrogen, polluting ecosystems and altering the ecology of entire regions. Increased concentrations of nitrous oxide globally add to the greenhouse affect, which is steadily warming the Earth. The release of nitric oxides into the air in large quantities causes smog and acid rain that pollutes the atmosphere, soil and water and affects plants and animals. The increase in nitrogen and nitrous oxide is caused by automobiles, power plants and a wide variety of industries. As nitrous oxides filter into soil, it loses nutrients like calcium and potassi
