Question

The presence of nitrogen-fixing plants should benefit nearby individuals of other species, because nitrogen is a key nutrient--it is usually in very short supply. But nitrogen--fixing bacteria live inside tight nodules in the host plant's roots, and the host plant has to provide the bacteria with large quantities of sugar. Which of the following statements is correct?

Nitrogen will only become available to other, nearby plants when the nodules or the nitrogen-fixing plant itself dies.

Even when plants are young and nodules are just forming, huge quantities of nitrogen are being produced.

The nitrogen-fixing plant species has so much nitrogen that it readily leaks into the surrounding soil, making it available to nearby plants.

If nitrogen is released from the nodules into the surrounding soil, there is no cost to the host plant.

Answer 1

The correct answer is "Nitrogen will only become available to other, nearby plants when the nodules or the nitrogen-fixing plant itself dies".

Step-by-step explanation:

Nitrogen fixing bacteria maintain a symbiotic relationship with plants. Bacteria performs nitrogen fixation providing the plant with ammonia, while bacteria has a safe place and nutrients to prosper. This relationship is very intimate because it occurs at the root hair of the plant at structures called nodules. Therefore, nitrogen will only become available to other, nearby plants when the nodules or the nitrogen-fixing plant itself dies