Nutrient biogeochemistry of coastal soils

The interface between land and ocean is termed as coastal zone and possesses specific features like highly dynamic nature, heterogeneity, diversity and productivity, fragile and sensitivity ecological sites as it belong to the transition zone. Coastal areas are rich in natural resources, which attract human settlement. The availability of light limits primary productivity here and is highly valuable as well vulnerable earth’s habitat. Bacterial denitrification is a significant process in the coastal zone that plays an important role in organic C degradation primarily occurring in muddy sediments. It necessitates a lot of organic matter, a limited supply of oxygen, and a nitrate source. It's difficult to correctly estimate the rate of denitrification in sediments, especially when it comes to coupled nitrification-denitrification, in which organic matter decomposes to ammonium, which is then oxidized to nitrate, which is then denitrified. This paper deals with biogeochemistry of different nutrients viz. carbon nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur and role of microbes in regulating different nutrient cycles.