From a Star to a Mushroom — Fixed Gradient Overlay (Final)

Key processes: CNO cycle, shell burning, supernova ejection.

~billions of years ago

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Molecular clouds, dust grains, and ice chemistry.

later

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Reservoirs: atmosphere (N2), crustal NH4+, mantle.

~4.5 billion years ago

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Fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, denitrification.

ongoing

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Terrestrial plants, marine phytoplankton, decomposers.

continuous

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Saprotrophic and mycorrhizal strategies for nitrogen acquisition.

now

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How stellar origins and Earth cycles connect to life.

relevance

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Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2025). Stellar nucleosynthesis. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/stellar-nucleosynthesis
Fogel, M. L. (2015). Nitrogen in extraterrestrial environments and interstellar medium. Elements, 11(6), 423-431.
Li, Y., et al. (2024). The origin and evolution of Earth's nitrogen. National Science Review, 11(6), nwae201. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwae201
Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2025). Nitrogen cycle. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/biosphere/The-nitrogen-cycle
University of California, Berkeley. Nitrogen. Understanding Global Change. https://ugc.berkeley.edu/background-content/nitrogen/
Jennings, D. H. (2009). Nitrogen. In The Physiology of Fungal Nutrition. Cambridge University Press.
Tudzynski, B. (2014). Nitrogen regulation of fungal secondary metabolism. Frontiers in Microbiology, 5, 656. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00656