Glossary N

The Environmental Glossary. Letter N +++ Popular Articles: 'Nitrogen', 'Nutrient', 'Noise'

A Nitrification is the biochemical oxidation of ammonium to nitrate, predominantly by autotrophic bacteria.

Deutsch: Stickstoff / Español: Nitrógeno / Português: Azoto / Français: Azote / Italiano: Azoto
Nitrogen, symbol N, is the chemical element of atomic number 7. At room temperature, it is a gas of diatomic molecules and is colorless and odorless. Nitrogen is a common element in the universe, estimated at about seventh in total abundance in our galaxy and the Solar System. On Earth, the element is primarily found as the free element; it forms about 80% of the Earth's atmosphere.

A Nitrogen cycle is Cyclic movement of nitrogen in different chemical forms from the environment, to organisms, and then back to the environment.

Deutsch: Stickstofffixierung / Español: Fijación de nitrógeno / Português: Fixação de nitrogênio / Français: Fixation de l'azote / Italiano: Fissazione dell'azoto /

A nitrogen fixation is the process in which Bacteria convert biologically unusable nitrogen gas (N2) into biologically usable ammonia (NH3) and Nitrates (NO3-).

Deutsch: Stickoxide / Español: Óxidos de nitrógeno / Português: Óxidos de nitrogênio / Français: Oxydes d'azote / Italiano: Ossidi di azoto /

Nitrogen oxides are harmful gases (which contribute to Acid rain and global warming) emitted as a Byproduct of fossil fuel combustion.

A Nitrogen oxides (NOx) is Compounds of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) in ambient air; i.e., nitric oxide (NO) and others with a higher oxidation state of N, of which NO2 is the most important toxicologically.

A Nitrogen Oxides (NOx): is NOx is the collective term for nitrogen compounds such as NO and NO2.

A Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is a powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential most recently evaluated at 310. Major sources of nitrous oxide include soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.

A No-Tillage is Crop production system in which the soil is left undisturbed from harvest to planting.

A NOCT is Nominal Operating Cell Temperature, the temperature at which Cells in a Module operate under Standard Operating Conditions (SOC), which are: irradiance of 0.8 kW/m2, 20_C ambient temperature, and average windspeed of 1 m/s, with the wind oriented parallel to the plane of the array, and all sides of the array fully exposed to the wind.