Ecology And Adaptation

Carbon is the most abundant element in a plant's dry matter, forming the backbone of all major organic molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids). On average, carbon constitutes about 45% of a plant's total dry weight. The other major components are oxygen ( 45%) and hydrogen ( 6%).

Nitrification is a two-step biological process in which ammonia ( ) or ammonium ( ) is oxidized first to nitrite ( ) by bacteria like \textit{Nitrosomonas}, and then the nitrite is oxidized to nitrate ( ) by bacteria like \textit{Nitrobacter}. Nitrate is the primary form of nitrogen used by plants.