Nitrate (NO3) is a compound that is comprised of nitrogen and
oxygen. Nitrogen comes from decomposing organic materials like
manure, plants, and human wastes. Often the nitrogen (N) is
derived from ammonia (NH3) or ammonium (NH4). Plant species need
nitrogen to form amino acids and proteins, which are essential
for plant cell growth, but plants cannot use organic nitrogen
directly. Microorganisms in the soil convert the nitrogen locked
in crop residues, human and animal wastes, and compost to
ammonium (NH4). Another specific group of microorganisms convert
ammonium to nitrate (NO3), and since nitrate is water soluble,
excess nitrate not used by plants can leach through the soil and
into the groundwater. Nitrate is also present wherever biotic
biproducts are breaking down or decomposing like animal waste,
and septic system absorption fields or mounds. On Friday,
October 12th, our class took a trip out to the Municipal
Wetlands in Springfield, Ohio for various sampling procedures;
one of which involved the conc