Question: On the wetland, crows excrete a lot of uric acid, releasing ammonia in

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Question: On the wetland, crows excrete a lot of uric acid, releasing ammonia into the soil. How do you think this affects carbon and nitrogen in the wetland soils under the crow roost? (please read the instructions at the bottom of this page befor answering this question) ***

Here is my initial answer: Excretory products, urea and uric acid, are converted to ammonia by microorganism transformers. If ammonia is present in the environment, it can be used as a nitrogen source by plants. Ammonia will neutralize acid and be oxidized in the atmosphere. Plants that use excretory nitrogen are favored in aquatic environments with excessive consumer waste. Ammonification begins when organisms produce nitrogen-containing waste products such as urea and uric acid. These substances are decomposed, releasing nitrogen into the abiotic environment. A small portion of phosphate in the aquatic food web finds its way back to the land in the manure of sea birds. A tiny fraction of the global sulfur is present in living organisms. Plant roots absorb sulfate and assimilate it by incorporating the sulfur into plant proteins. Animals assimilate sulfur when they consume plant proteins and convert then to animal proteins. Sulfur is returned to the atmosphere by bacteria which convert sulfates to hydrogen sulfide gas. Increasing carbon dioxide levels within the atmosphere will influence global nutrient cycling. There are indications that increased fertilization of soils with nitrogen causes a decrease in carbon sequestration. the carbon cycle involves microbial respiration in anoxic (without oxygen) environments (e.g., wetland soils, or cow guts), resulting in the production of methane gas. This implies that an expansion in rice fields or the number of cattle would increase methane, a greenhouse gas that has more of an impact on increasing earth's atmospheric temperature per molecule than carbon dioxide.

*** PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION POSTED AT THE TOP***

MY initial ANSWER HAS TO BE REVISED IN 1. A SHORTER/ DIRECT SIMPLE EXPLANATION AS WEL AS IT HAS TO INCLUDE" 2. WHAT HAPPENS IF I ADD TOO MUCH NH3?

Explanation / Answer

The ammonia released by the crows into the soil raises the soil nitrogen levels, which impairs carbon sequestration. Impaired carbon sequestration affects long term storage of carbon and trigger the accumulation of greenhouse gases such as methane in the environment. Adding too much ammonia to the soil will further impair the carbon sequestering and results in the accumulation of greenhouse gases.

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