Let’s start with the good stuff. Nitrogen is the life of the party for plants. It’s the key ingredient in proteins and DNA, and the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen gas. But plants can’t use that gas directly—they need it “fixed” into a form called nitrate (NO3-). Think of nitrate as a plant’s favorite energy drink.
So, nature has a system: lightning zaps the air, soil bacteria get busy, and decomposing leaves release nitrogen. That’s the natural way nitrate sneaks into water—a tiny, slow leak. Cute, right?
