nutrient

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-019230",
  "term": "nutrient",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. Element or compound needed for the survival, growth, and reproduction of a plant or animal.\n\n2. Any substance that is assimilated (taken in) by organisms and promotes growth. Nitrogen and phosphorous are nutrients which promote the growth of algae. There are other essential and trace elements which are also considered nutrients.\n\n3. Any substance assimilated by living things that promotes growth. The term is generally applied to nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater, but is also applied to other essential and trace elements.\n\n4. Chemicals that plants and animals need to grow and survive but, in excess amounts, can harm aquatic environments. Elevated levels of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus are the main cause of poor water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.\n\n5. Element or compound essential for animal and plant growth. Common nutrients in fertilizer include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. - U.S. Geological Survey, 2007\n\n6. Any substance assimilated by living things that promotes growth. Elements or compounds essential as raw materials for organism growth and development; for example, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus. The term is generally applied to nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater.\n\n7. Chemical elements and compounds found in the environment that plants and animals need to grow and survive. Nutrients include compounds of nitrogen (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, organic nitrogen) and phosphorus (orthophosphate and others), both natural and man-made.\n\n8. Major elements (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) and trace elements (including sulfur, potassium, calcium, and magnesium) that are essential for the growth of organisms.\n\n9. Nutrients are any substance, like nitrogen and phosphorus, assimilated by living things that promote growth.\n\n10. Any substance assimilated by living things that promotes growth. The term is generally applied to nitrogen and phosphorus but is also applied to other essential and trace elements.",
  "subject": "Water",
  "references": [
    "Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems Glossary",
    "Drinking Water Technical & Legal Terms",
    "Terms of Environment; Federal Land Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Glossary",
    "Chesapeake Bay Glossary",
    "USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program Definitions",
    "Aquatic Biodiversity Glossary",
    "NPDES Permit Writers Glossary",
    "UST Technical Terms",
    "How's My Waterway Glossary",
    "Report on the Environment (ROE) Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/nutrient/"
}