Reduction of hazardous levels of the agricultural application of nitrogen and phosphorus relative to toxic ground water and toxic levels in the soil.

This paper proposes the hypothesis that microbial life chemically reduces levels of nitrogen (N(2)) and phosphorus (P) that are toxic and threaten human health and safety. Bio-remediation uses microorganisms to decontaminate a polluted system, in situ, requiring a minimal amount of space and equipment. Data strongly suggest that bio-stimulation can assist one microbe to multiply up to one billion microorganisms in 24 hours. Biochemical literature postulates that microbial life chemically biodegrades nitrates by one of two methods: (1) assimilative reduction; or (2) dissimilative reduction, also known as denitrification. Assimilative reduction results in construction of microbial cell walls, cell membranes and various forms of amino acids. It is proposed that denitrification includes the venting-off of the excess amounts of N(2)not required by the soil or needed for additional microbial development. Nitrate reduction by way of denitrification is a functional part of anaerobic respiration. Alternatively, the denitrification process supports oxidative phosphorylation, a mechanism similar to aerobic respiration. Thus, denitrification and phosphorylation may be considered as forms of respiration. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.