Eutrophication is the enrichment of nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem . It basically begins when the water receives a discharge of nutrients, such as agricultural or forestry waste, which makes it favor the excessive growth of organic matter, causing an accelerated growth of algae and other green plants that cover the surface of the water and prevent light solar reaches the lower layers.
The proliferation of algae that appears with the first phase of eutrophication causes a cloudiness of the water that prevents light from penetrating to the bottom of the ecosystem, and as a consequence, the vegetation dies due to not being able to carry out photosynthesis, generating other microorganisms As bacteria, they feed on dead matter, consuming the oxygen needed by fish and mollusks, and at the same time generating toxic algae and pathogenic microorganisms that could cause disease. Do you want to know more about what eutrophication is and its causes ? If so, in this AgroCorrn article you will find the answers.
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Causes of eutrophication
The main causes of eutrophication are the following:
- Urban pollution through organic and inorganic waste, such as phosphate.
- Air pollution by oxides of sulfur and nitrogen that react with atmospheric water to form sulfate ion and nitrate ion.
- Agricultural pollution such as fertilizers or excrement.
- Forest pollution by abandonment in the rivers of forest residues.
The causes can be diverse, but it is mainly due to agricultural contamination (diffuse contamination of soils and aquifers with fertilizers) but also due to forest contamination, that is, throwing wood-related forest residues into rivers. Air pollution plays another determining role in this process, as well as polluted urban effluents in the event that there is no purification.
In conclusion, eutrophication generally produces a natural increase in biomass and a reduction in diversity. Caring for the environment and promoting filter systems and water cleaning can be a partial solution to the problem.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is eutrophication? , we recommend that you enter our Ecosystems category .
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