Biosphere Contents

1. Organic Matter

In terrestrial higher plants (e.g. flowering plants, conifers and ferns), uptake of nutrient elements (except carbon) occurs mainly through the roots. In lower plants (e.g. mosses) and aquatic higher plants uptake occurs through cell walls directly from the hydrosphere

Once inside a plant the ions taken up are either assimilated, similarly to how carbon dioxide is assimilated into sugar molecules, or are used in metabolism in their original form. For example, plants take up nitrogen either as the nitrate or ammonium ion, but the nitrogen is incorporated into groups of amino acids. By contrast, the potassium ion remains in its original form in plants and it is not assimilated.

Cycles of an ion that is not assimilated

Where do plants take up nutrient elements?