Eutrophication10 6

Eutrophication Mila Cherneva Atanas Radovanov Stefan Kourdov 10/6

What is eutrophication ?

A process in which an ecosystem collects mineral nutrients (2)

Occurs in an aging lake or pond (3)

Anthropogenic eutrophication eutrophication caused by human activity (3)

Often a part of the normal aging process of many lakes and pond - some never experience it (lack of warmth and light) (2)

Caused a widespread loss of biodiversity in many systems has some bad outcomes (3)

Causes of Eutrophication

Compounds containing the elements phosphorus and nitrogen (2)

Sources of anthropogenic phosphorus - sewage discharges, intensive livestock farms and the spreading of artificial fertilizers and animal manures onto agricultural land (2)

Sources of anthropogenic nitrogen - gaseous emissions from car exhausts and power stations and artificial fertilizers applied to agricultural land (2)

Algal Blooms

Rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic system

May occur in freshwater as well as marine environments

Result of an excess of nutrients (particularly phosphorus and nitrogen)

Their growth cause for other plants to die

Dead organic matter->food for bacteria-> bacteria increases-> uses the dissolved oxygen that keeps fish and aquatic insects alive (1)

Algal bloom in Orielton Lagoon, 1994 http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/image/527/algal%20blooms/p-algal_bloom_orielton-m.jpg

Causes on People

Consumption of or indirect exposure to harmful algal bloom toxins may cause illness or mortality (4)

Considerable economic losses to coastal communities and commercial fisheries (4)

Causes to the Ecosystem (3 main ones)

Decrease in Biodiversity when the nutrients in an ecosystem are increased, the primary producers are the ones that are benefited the most. They increase their population and thus prevent the other organisms from reproducing (become dominant). Also the primary producers do not give the other species the chance to consume efficiently the nutrients they need.

Invasion of New Species eutrophication can cause a competitive release by making abundant a normally limiting nutrient. That may lead to shifts in the species composition in an ecosystem. The increase in amount of a nutrient might lead to the invasion of a given territory by new competitive species that may out-compete original inhabitant species.

Increase in Toxicity some of the algal blooms that are caused by eutrophication are being toxic to plants and animals. In order for them to make their way up the food chain they might produce toxic compounds which can result in animal mortality.

(Cloem James)

Prevention

regulating agricultural use of fertilizer and animal waste must be imposed

Policy concerning the prevention and reduction of eutrophication can be broken down into four sectors: Technologies, public participation, economic instruments, and cooperation

Creating riparian buffer zones that can prevent the pollutants from moving from the land (farms, manufactories and etc.) to flowing bodies of water, such as rivers

Minimizing nonpoint pollution sources of pollutants that spread chemical compounds indirectly (e.g. through diffusion)

(Cloem James)

Dealing with the Effects

Cleanup measures have a 90% efficiency for eliminating the pollution

Filtering of the pollutants can help for cleaning up water

Organic Farming organic fertilization; it decreases the levels of eutrophication in the soil

(Gilbert, Patricia)

The Mississippi River Dead Zone http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Mississippi_River_basin.jpg

For the last 30 years the fertilizers used along the Mississippi River had entered the Gulf of Mexico (9)

This had caused the levels of nitrogen input to triple (9)

There are impacts on the human health

Also, organisms either leave or die in the Dead Zone (9)

Companies in the fishing business, that are worth 2.8 billion dollars, are threatened by the eutrophication (9)

GRN (Global Recycling Network) is dealing with the industrial factors along the river (9)

The Problem in the Baltic Sea http://www.helcom.fi/helcom/en_GB/aboutus/_files/75311642188906561/default/HELCOM_area_50dpi.jpg

On the coast line of the sea live about 85 million people (7)

The sea itself is isolated by shallow waters and land from other bodies of water which makes the water exchange 30 years long (7)

The sea has a relative depth of 53 meters (7)

The large population of people input nutrient and hazardous substances (7)

There are various salt layers crated on the bottom of the sea that limit the biodiversity in addition to the eutrophication effect (7)

HELCOM saves the day through its long-term recovery plans (8)

http://helcom.navigo.fi/stc/files/BSAP/FINAL%20Eutrophication.pdf

Works Cited

Algal Bloom. Science Daily . N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2010. .

Eutrophication. The Open University . N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2010. .

Eutrophication. Science Clarified . N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2010. .

What are Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)? Harmful Algae . N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2010. .

Cloern, James . "Eutrophication - Encyclopedia of Earth". The Encyclopedia of Earth. June 4, 2010 .

Gilbert, Patricia. "The Role of Eutrophication in the Global Proliferation of Harmful Algal Blooms". The Oceanography society. May 4, 2010 .

Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. HELCOM Stakeholder Conference on the Baltic Sea Action Plan Helsinki, Finland, 7 March 2006 http://helcom.navigo.fi/stc/files/BSAP/FINAL%20Eutrophication.pdf

About HELCOM. Helsinki Commission. http://www.helcom.fi/helcom/en_GB/aboutus/

The Dead Zone. Healthy Waters. http://www.healthygulf.org/our-work/healthy-waters/the-dead-zone

Eutrophication10 6

Technology

harmful algal

fistcfilesbsapfinal20eutrophication

primary producers

agricultural

cloem james

dead zone

sea

helcom