New source of global nitrogen discovered: Earth’s bedrock

For centuries, the thinking has been that all the nitrogen available for plant growth worldwide comes from the atmosphere. But a new study by National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded researchers at the University of California (UC), Davis, shows that more than a quarter of that nitrogen is derived from the weathering of Earth's bedrock.
The results, published this week in the journal Science, demonstrate that up to 26 percent of the nitrogen in ecosystems is sourced from ... More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=244968&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click
This is an NSF News item.

Source: NSF News - April 5, 2018 Category: Science Source Type: news