Effects of Pesticides, Temperature, Light, and Chemical Constituents of Soil on Nitrogen Fixation

Nitrogen is a vital component of atmosphere and plays important roles in the biochemistry of all life forms on the earth. Various mechanisms of biological nitrogen fixation and recycling in the environment have been evolved in all known ecosystems. For example, symbiotic nitrogen fixation is the major N2-fixing mechanism in the agroecosystems. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is dependent on the biotic factors, such as host plant genotypes and the microbial strains. However, the interaction of these biotic factors is influenced by abiotic factors, such as climate and environmental conditions. The effects of various environmental variables, such as pesticides, temperature, and light as well as acidity, alkalinity, salinity, phosphorus, and water content status of the soils on the nitrogen fixation have been discussed briefly in this chapter