Ammonia volatilization from urea

Have you ever gone outside and smelled something stinky like pee or poop? That stinky smell might be caused by something called ammonia. Ammonia is a gas that comes from pee and poop, and it can be harmful to some plants and animals.

Now, sometimes people use something called urea to fertilize plants. Urea is a powder that contains a lot of nitrogen, which is a nutrient that plants need to grow. When people put urea on the soil, the nitrogen slowly breaks down and gets absorbed by the plants.

But, if the soil gets too hot or too wet, the urea can start to turn into ammonia gas. This process is called ammonia volatilization. The ammonia gas can rise up into the air and cause the stinky smell that we talked about earlier.

Ammonia volatilization is not good for plants because they can't absorb the nitrogen in the form of gas. It's like trying to eat a balloon - you can't get any nutrients from it! Plus, too much ammonia in the air can be harmful to some plants and animals.

So, to summarize: ammonia is a stinky gas that comes from pee and poop. Urea is a powder that is put on soil to help plants grow. If the soil gets too hot or wet, the urea can turn into ammonia gas, which is not good for the plants or the environment.