NITROGEN IS all pervasive. It is more abundant in the air than oxygen and constitutes 78 per cent of the atmosphere. Nitrogen is also vital to life-it is essential for plant nutrition and thus, sustains all the other beings. But plants cannot use atmospheric nitrogen directly the way they absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) for photosynthesis. For this, they depend on a biogeochemical cycle which, with the help of some bacteria or even lightning, combines the inert gas with other elements to form reactive compounds like ammonia and nitric oxide and "fix" them in the soil. Scientists have known for quite a while that this cycle is getting disrupted; as per a 2019 study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, the levels of reactive nitrogen have increased tenfold since the pre-industrial era due to rampant use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and burning of fossil fuels. This has caused algal blooms, created dead zones in oceans and accelerated biological diversity loss in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. A recent study, however, states that scientists have so far only partly understood the scale of this disruption and where it is unfolding.
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In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
