Before scientists learned how to make artificial fertilizers, what key process limited the amount of nitrates available to plants in most ecosystems?

answer:

convection currents in the magma drive plate tectonics. heat generated from the radioactive decay of elements deep in the interior of the earth creates magma (molten rock) in the aesthenosphere. the aesthenosphere (70 ~ 250 km) is part of the mantle, the middle sphere of the earth that extends to 2900 km.

imagine a line passing through the center of earth that goes through both the north pole and the south pole. this imaginary line is called an axis. earth spins around its axis, just as a top spins around its spindle. this spinning movement is called earth's rotation. at the same time that the earth spins on its axis, it also orbits, or revolves around the sun. this movement is called revolution.