A chemical process wherein nitrates found in soil are reduced to molecular nitrogen, liberated into the atmosphere is denitrification.
The process of anaerobic oxidation of ammonium releases nitrogen into the atmosphere.
Denitrification is the reduction step in the nitrogen cycle. In this step, biological conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas, nitric oxide or nitrous oxide takes place.
These compounds are gaseous compounds and are not readily available for microbial growth; therefore they are typically released to the atmosphere.
Denitrification is done by:
This process is carried out by denitrifying bacteria, such as Pseudomonas denitrificans.
Denitrifiers belong to several genera such as Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Spirillum, Cornebacterium, Cytophata, etc.