Eutrophication

Eutrophication is a process by which an entire oligotrophic together with those with moderate nutrient levels are termed mesotrophic. contemporary eutrophication may also be pointed to as dystrophic & hypertrophic conditions. Eutrophication can impact freshwater or salt water systems. In freshwater ecosystems it is nearly always caused by excess phosphorus. In coastal waters on the other hand, the main contributing nutrient is more likely to be nitrogen, or nitrogen and phosphorus together. This depends on the location and other factors.

When occurring naturally, eutrophication is a very late process in which nutrients, especially phosphorus compounds and organic matter, accumulate in water bodies. These nutrients derive from degradation and a object that is said of minerals in rocks and by the effect of lichens, mosses and fungi actively scavenging nutrients from rocks. Anthropogenic or "cultural eutrophication" is often a much more rapid process in which nutrients are added to a water body from a wide bracket of polluting inputs including untreated or partially treated sewage, industrial wastewater and fertilizer from farming practices. Nutrient pollution, a name of water pollution, is a primary work of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, commonly nitrogen or phosphorus, stimulate algal and aquatic plant growth.

A common visible case of eutrophication is algal blooms. Algal blooms can either be just a nuisance to those wanting to usage the water body or become harmful algal blooms that can cause substantial ecological degradation in water bodies. This process may result in oxygen depletion of the water body after the bacterial degradation of the algae.

Approaches for prevention and reversal of eutrophication include: minimizing portion section of extension pollution from sewage, and minimizing nutrient pollution from agriculture and other nonpoint pollution sources. Shellfish in estuaries, seaweed farming and geo-engineering in lakes are also being used, some at the experimental stage. it is important to note that the term eutrophication is widely used by both scientists and public policy-makers, giving it a myriad of definitions.

Types

Cultural or anthropogenic eutrophication is the process that speeds up natural eutrophication because of human activity. Due to clearing of land and building of towns and cities, land runoff is accelerated and more nutrients such(a) as phosphates and nitrate are supplied to lakes and rivers, and then to coastal estuaries and bays. Cultural eutrophication results when excessive nutrients from human activities end up in water bodies making nutrient pollution and also accelerating the natural process of eutrophication. The problem became more apparent following the intro of chemical fertilizers in agriculture green revolution of the mid-1900s. Phosphorus and nitrogen are the two main nutrients that cause cultural eutrophication as they enrich the water, allowing for some aquatic plants, particularly algae to grow rapidly and bloom in high densities. Algal blooms can shade out benthic plants thereby altering the overall plant community. When algae die off, their degradation by bacteria removes oxygen, potentially, generating anoxic conditions. This anoxic environment kills off aerobic organisms e.g. fish and invertebrates in the water body. This also affects terrestrial animals, restricting their access to affected water e.g. as drinking sources. selection for algal and aquatic plant brand that can thrive in nutrient-rich conditions can cause structural and functional disruption to entire aquatic ecosystems and their food webs, resulting in waste of habitat and species biodiversity.

There are several leadership of excessive nutrients from human activity including run-off from fertilized fields, lawns and golf courses, untreated sewage and wastewater and internal combustion of fuels creating nitrogen pollution. Cultural eutrophication can occur in fresh water and salt water bodies, shallow waters being the nearly susceptible. In shore configuration and shallow lakes, sediments are frequently resuspended by wind and waves which can result in nutrient release from sediments into the overlying water, enhancing eutrophication. The deterioration of water quality caused by cultural eutrophication can therefore negatively impact human uses including potable supply for consumption, industrial uses and recreation.

Although eutrophication is commonly caused by human activities, it can also be a natural process, particularly in lakes. meiotrophication, becoming less nutrient rich with time as nutrient poor inputs slowly elute the nutrient richer water mass of the lake. This process may be seen in artificial lakes and reservoirs which tend to be highly eutrophic on number one filling but may become more oligotrophic with time. The main difference between natural and anthropogenic eutrophication is that the natural process is very slow, occurring on geological time scales.