Each year, approximately 0.3 gigatons of elemental sulfur is converted into organic matter by photosynthetic organisms. This organic sulfur is allocated into a diversity of compounds such as amino acids – namely cysteine (Cys) and methionine (Met) – proteins, cofactors, antioxidants, sulfate groups, Fe-S centers and secondary metabolites. The three main sources of sulfur are atmospheric, soil, and aquatic.
Most vegetation can acquire sulfur from gaseous atmospheric compounds or various ions either in soil solutions or water bodies. Uptake of gaseous and dissolved sulfur compounds apparently occurs with little accompanying isotopic selectivity. Dissolved sulfate (SO) is considered to be the central pool which is metabolized by microorganisms and plants as most forms of atmospheric sulfur is oxidized into sulfate. Atmospheric sulfur is eventually returned to the soil when it is scrubbed from the atmosphere during precipitation or through dryfall.