Hypertext Webster Gateway: "nitrification"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Nitrification \Ni`tri*fi*ca"tion\, n. [Cf. F. nitrification. see
{Nitrify}.]
1. (Chem.)
(a) The act, process, or result of combining with nitrogen
or some of its compounds.
(b) The act or process of oxidizing nitrogen or its
compounds so as to form nitrous or nitric acid.
2. A process of oxidation, in which nitrogenous vegetable and
animal matter in the presence of air, moisture, and some
basic substances, as lime or alkali carbonate, is
converted into nitrates.
Note: The process is going on at all times in porous soils
and in water contaminated with nitrogenous matter, and
is supposed to be due to the presence of an organized
ferment or ferments, called nitrification ferments. In
former times the process was extensively made use of in
the production of saltpeter.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
nitrification
n : the oxidation of ammonium compounds into nitrates by soil
bacteria
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