Nitrogen Cycle

Plants and animals return nitrogen-rich organic compounds to the environment as both wastes and cast off particles of tissues such as leaves, skin, or hair, and through their bodies when they die and are decomposed or eaten by detritus feeders. Vast armies of specialized decomposer bacteria convert this detritus into simpler nitrogen-containing inorganic compounds such as ammonia (NH3) and water-soluble salts containing ammonium ions (NH4+).