Plants and Algae

[Richard L. Boyce]

In article <24uu0q$rlu at nova.np.ac.sg>
fwl at nova.np.ac.sg (Forday Wayne Lee) writes:

> I know I may sound a bit ignorant here (I'm not a plantologist), but
> 
>         1.      Are algae plants ?
>         2.      Can plants (like vegetables and trees) take up ammonia or
>                 are they restricted to taking up nitrates ?
>         3.      If they can take up ammonia do they prefer ammonia or
>                 nitrates ?

Yes, algae are plants.  Most plants take up both ammonium and nitrate. 
I don't know about preferences in all plants, but coniferous trees seem
to "prefer" ammonium, perhaps because it is energetically less costly
to convert into a form usable by plants.  A good place to find more
information is:  Salisbury and Ross.  Plant Physiology.  Wadsworth,
Belmont, CA.  
======================================================================
Rick Boyce
Richard.L.Boyce at dartmouth.edu