JE #4: Nitrogen Passport Activity: How Nitrogen is Recycled within an Ecosystem
Part I: Record your “journey”. Record your stopping place in each box. You may add rows as needed.
Column 1: Where I went
(Copy the heading from the card)
1
Column 2: How I got there?
(Explain how you travelled to your current “station”.
Read the information on the card).
1. Starting Point
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Journal Entry #4, Part II
Analysis questions: Refer to your table, the Nitrogen cards, the Nitrogen Cycle Modeling
Activity, your notes in your journal (Sept. 21/Sept. 22) and page 78 in the textbook.
Answer these questions in complete sentences in your journal.
1) What is nitrogen and why is nitrogen important?
2) a) In what form is nitrogen found in the atmosphere?
b) In what form(s) is nitrogen found in the soil?
3) a) Was everyone’s journey the same or different?
b) How does nitrogen move from one place to the next? Give specific examples of how
both plants and animals receive their nitrogen.
4) Does the nitrogen cycle ever end? Explain.
5) a) Describe the significant role that legumes play in capturing atmospheric nitrogen (be
sure to include “Nitrogen fixation” and “bacteria”) in your answer. (See page 78 in the
textbook and your Nitrogen Cycle Modeling Activity).
b) Name and describe the process through which nitrogen is returned to the
atmosphere. Include the type of microorganisms involved in this process (Again refer
to p. 78 and your Nitrogen Cycle Modeling Activity).
6) What would happen if a farmer uses too much fertilizer (see page 80)? How can this
have an adverse effect on an ecosystem? Also, apply your knowledge of watersheds to
this question (Recall that we studied watersheds during the Ecological Address
assignment).
7) Read “Analyzing Data” on page 79 and answer questions 3 and 4.
Notes: Although nitrogen is essential for both plants and animals, too much can cause
problems. Runoff into waterways is not only caused by excess fertilizing (both
natural and commercial), but also by discharge of municipal sewage into waterways
which can upset the ecosystems by causing an “Algal bloom”. Air pollution can also be
caused by burning fossil fuels which emits excess nitric oxides (NO) and nitrous oxides
(N2O) into the atmosphere.
Nitrogen Sources (Nitrogen “cards”)
Atmosphere
Soil
Groundwater
Rainwater
Live Animals
Surface Water
Animal Waste
Ocean
Fertilizer
Dead Plants and Animals
Live Plants