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Eutrophication

Hey, everybody, my post's pretty short, but I hope it covers everything we need to know!
Eutrophication refers to an excessive amount of nutrients in a body of water, usually caused by runoff
of nutrients (mainly phosphorous in freshwater and nitrogen in saltwater) from the land, which causes a
dense growth of plant life, leading to a decrease in oxygen supply, which causes the death of animals.
Causes:
By man

-Untreated sewage and agricultural run-off carrying fertilizers


Natural
-When nutrients accumulate as sedimentation or when they flow into water bodies for brief periods of
time
Effects:
excessive nutrients in water bodies promote plant growth and decay (mainly in algae and plankton) which
leads to
o a drop in water quality
o disruption of the natural ecosystem
E.g. lack of oxygen for shellfish and marine life (causing a drop in their population). This happens because
of algal shading, which is an effect of eutrophication that prevents marine plants from receiving enough
sunlight to photosynthesize. The amount of dissolved oxygen thus decreases and many marine animals
cannot survive (which is what is happening in the Barnegat Bay Watershed in the USA and the Baltic sea)
o decrease in the recreational and aesthetic value of water bodies
o health problems when it occurs in drinking water reserves
o coral reef decline
coral reefs are important as they provide habitats for marine life (which much of the ecosystem depends
on) and protect the shore from erosion by storm waves
however, they are the most nutrient-sensitive of all habitats, requiring the lowest external inputs to trigger
eutrophication
this can lead to the death of coral reefs and thus endanger marine reef life
As mentioned above, one of the nutrients that can cause eutrophication is nitrogen. Therefore, too much
nitrogen in the atmosphere can lead to more of it in surface runoffs which go in oceans. This causes
eutrophication which leads to the death of marine life due to a decline of oxygen (brought about by
excessive algal growth) as well as the death of coral reefs, which are crucial in preventing erosion on
shores.

Eutrofikasi merupakan masalah lingkungan hidup yang diakibatkan oleh limbah fosfat (PO3-),
khususnya dalam ekosistem air tawar. Definisi dasarnya adalah pencemaran air yang disebabkan oleh
munculnya nutrient yang berlebihan ke dalam ekosistem air. Air dikatakan eutrofik jika konsentrasi total
phosphorus (TP) dalam air berada dalam rentang 35-100 g/L. Sejatinya, eutrofikasi merupakan sebuah
proses alamiah di mana danau mengalami penuaan secara bertahap dan menjadi lebih produktif bagi
tumbuhnya biomassa. Diperlukan proses ribuan tahun untuk sampai pada kondisi eutrofik. Proses
alamiah ini, oleh manusia dengan segala aktivitas modernnya, secara tidak disadari dipercepat menjadi
dalam hitungan beberapa dekade atau bahkan beberapa tahun saja. Maka tidaklah mengherankan jika
eutrofikasi menjadi masalah di hampir ribuan danau di muka Bumi, sebagaimana dikenal lewat fenomena
algal bloom.

Akibat eutrofikasi
Kondisi eutrofik sangat memungkinkan alga, tumbuhan air berukuran mikro, untuk tumbuh berkembang
biak dengan pesat (blooming) akibat ketersediaan fosfat yang berlebihan serta kondisi lain yang
memadai. Hal ini bisa dikenali dengan warna air yang menjadi kehijauan, berbau tak sedap, dan
kekeruhannya yang menjadi semakin meningkat. Banyaknya eceng gondok yang bertebaran di rawarawa dan danau-danau juga disebabkan fosfat yang sangat berlebihan ini. Akibatnya, kualitas air di
banyak ekosistem air menjadi sangat menurun. Rendahnya konsentrasi oksigen terlarut, bahkan sampai
batas nol, menyebabkan makhluk hidup air seperti ikan dan spesies lainnya tidak bisa tumbuh dengan
baik sehingga akhirnya mati. Hilangnya ikan dan hewan lainnya dalam mata rantai ekosistem air
menyebabkan terganggunya keseimbangan ekosistem air. Permasalahan lainnya, cyanobacteria (bluegreen algae) diketahui mengandung toksin sehingga membawa risiko kesehatan bagi manusia dan
hewan. Algal bloom juga menyebabkan hilangnya nilai konservasi, estetika, rekreasional, dan pariwisata
sehingga dibutuhkan biaya sosial dan ekonomi yang tidak sedikit untuk mengatasinya.
Eutrophication is the enrichment of an aquatic ecosystem with chemical nutrients, typically
compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, or both. Although traditionally eutrophication is
defined as enrichment of aquatic systems such as lakes, bays, or other semienclosed waters (even slow-moving rivers), there is gathering evidence that terrestrial ecosystems are
subject to similarly adverse impacts (APIS, 2005).
The increase in available nutrients promotes plant growth, favoring certain species over others, and
forcing a change in species composition. In aquatic environments, enhanced growth of choking aquatic
vegetation or phytoplankton (that is, an algal bloom) disrupts normal functioning of the ecosystem,
causing a variety of problems. Human society is impacted as well: eutrophic conditions decrease the
resource value of rivers, lakes, and estuaries such that recreation, fishing, hunting, and aesthetic
enjoyment are hindered. Health-related problems can occur where eutrophic conditions interfere with
drinking water treatment (Bartram et al. 1999).
Eutrophication can be a natural problem, such as the natural aging of a lake as nutrients come from
streams draining into the body of water, or it can be advanced by addition of nutrients from agricultural
runoff (such as fertilizers), sewage, and industrial wastes. There are various measures that can reduce
human impacts while remaining a sustainable solution for everyone, including farmers and ranchers
(see prevention and reversal).

Eutrophication was recognized as a pollution problem in European and North American lakes and
reservoirs in the middle of the twentieth century (Rohde 1969). Since then, it has become more
widespread. Surveys have shown that 54 percent of lakes in Asia are eutrophic; in Europe, 53 percent; in
North America, 48 percent; in South America, 41 percent; and in Africa, 28 percent (ILEC/Lake Biwa
Research Institute 1988-1993).

Contents
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1 Concept of eutrophication
2 Ecological effects

2.1 Decreased biodiversity

2.2 New species invasion

2.3 Toxicity
3 Sources of high nutrient runoff

3.1 Point sources

3.2 Nonpoint sources

3.2.1 Soil retention

3.2.2 Runoff to surface water and leaching to groundwater

3.2.3 Atmospheric deposition


3.3 Other causes

4 Prevention and reversal

4.1 Effectiveness

4.2 Minimizing nonpoint pollution: future work

4.2.1 Riparian buffer zones

4.2.2 Prevention policy

4.2.3 Nitrogen testing and modeling

4.3 Natural state of algal blooms

5 References
6 Credits

Concept of eutrophication
Eutrophication can be a natural process in lakes, occurring as they age through geological time. A newly
formed lake may have very little nutrients, but increase in nutrients, and plant life, as runoff carries
nutrients into the lake. Eventually, the lake may increase in fertility to the point that organic matter
accumulates, algal blooms occur, and rooted plants gain a foothold. Also, estuaries tend to be naturally
eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated where run-off enters the marine environment
in a confined channel (Bianchi et al. 2000) and mixing of relatively high nutrient fresh water with low
nutrient marine water occurs.
However, human activities can accelerate the rate at which nutrients enter ecosystems. Runoff
from agricultural activities, pollution from septic systems and sewers, and other human-related activities
increase the flux of both inorganic nutrients and organic substances into terrestrial, aquatic, and coastal
marine ecosystems (including coral reefs). Elevated atmospheric compounds of nitrogen can increase soil
nitrogen availability.

How eutrophication works in an estuary (from US Environment Protection Agency).

Chemical forms of nitrogen are most often of concern with regard to eutrophication because plants have
high nitrogen requirementsadditions of nitrogen compounds stimulate plant growth (primary
production). Nitrogen is not readily available in soil because N 2, a gaseous form of nitrogen, is highly
stable and basically unavailable to higher plants. Terrestrial ecosystems rely on microbial nitrogen
fixation to convert N2 into other chemical forms (nitrate, for example). However, there is a limit to how
much additional nitrogen can be utilized. Ecosystems with nitrogen inputs in excess of plant nutritional
requirements are referred to as nitrogen-saturated. Over-saturated terrestrial ecosystems contribute both
inorganic and organic nitrogen to freshwater, coastal, and marine eutrophication, where nitrogen is also
typically a limiting nutrient (Hornung et al. 1995). However, in marine environments, phosphorus may be
limiting because it is leached from the soil at a much slower rate than nitrates, which are highly soluble
(Smith et al. 1999).

Adverse effects on lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and coastal marine waters caused by eutrophication (from
Carpenter et al. 1998; modified from Smith 1998)

Increased biomass of phytoplankton

Toxic or inedible phytoplankton species

Increases in blooms of gelatinous zooplankton

Increased biomass of benthic and epiphytic algae

Changes in macrophyte species composition and biomass

Decreases in water transparency

Taste, odor, and water treatment problems

Dissolved oxygen depletion

Increased incidences of fish kills

Loss of desirable fish species

Reductions in harvestable fish and shellfish

Decreases in perceived aesthetic value of the water body

Ecological effects
Numerous ecological effects can arise where primary production is stimulated, but there are three
particularly troubling ecological impacts: decreased biodiversity, changes in species composition and
dominance, and toxicity effects.

Decreased biodiversity
When a body of water experiences an increase in nutrients, primary producers reap the benefits first. This
means that species such as algae experience a population increase (called an algal bloom). Algal blooms
tend to disturb theecosystem by limiting sunlight to bottom-dwelling organisms and by causing wide
swings in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
Oxygen is required by all respiring plants and animals in an aquatic environment and it is replenished in
daylight by photosynthesizing plants and algae. Under eutrophic conditions, dissolved oxygen greatly
increases during the day, but is alternately greatly reduced after dark by the respiring dense algal
population and by microorganisms that feed on the increasing mass of dead algae. When dissolved
oxygen levels decline to hypoxic (oxygen-defficient) levels, fish and other marine animals suffocate. As a

result, creatures such as fish, shrimp, and especially immobile bottom dwellers die off (Horrigan et
al. 2002). In extreme cases, anoxic (lack of oxygen) conditions ensue, promoting growth of
anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum that produces toxins deadly to birds and mammals.
Zones where this occurs are known as dead zones.

New species invasion


Eutrophication may cause competitive release by making abundant a normally limiting nutrient. This
process causes shifts in the species composition of ecosystems. For instance, an increase in nitrogen
might allow new, another competitive species to invade and outcompete original inhabitant species. This
has been shown to occur (Bertness et al. 2001) in New England salt marshes.

Toxicity
Some algal blooms, otherwise called "nuisance algae" or "harmful algal blooms," are toxic
to plants and animals. Toxic compounds produced by the algae can make their way up the food chain,
resulting in animal mortality (Anderson 1994). Freshwater algal blooms can pose a threat to livestock.
When the algae die or are eaten, neuro- and hepatotoxins are released that can kill animals and may
pose a threat to humans (Lawton and Codd 1991; Martin and Cooke 1994).
An example of algal toxins working their way into humans is the case of shellfish poisoning (Shumway
1990). Biotoxins created during algal blooms are taken up by shellfish (mussels, oysters), leading to these
human foods acquiring the toxicity and poisoning humans. Examples include paralytic, neurotoxic, and
diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning. Other marine animals can be vectors for such toxins, as in the case of
ciguatera, where it is typically a predator fish that accumulates the toxin and then poisons humans.
There are also toxic effects caused directly by nitrogen. When this nutrient is leached into groundwater,
drinking water can be affected because concentrations of nitrogen are not filtered out. Nitrate (NO 3) has
been shown to be toxic to human babies. This is because bacteria can live in their digestive tract that
convert nitrate to nitrite (NO2). Nitrite reacts with hemoglobin to form methemoglobin, a form that does not
carry oxygen. The baby essentially suffocates as its body receives insufficient oxygen.

Characteristics of point and nonpoint sources of chemical inputs (from Carpenter et al. 1998; modified
from Novonty and Olem 1994)
Point Sources

Wastewater effluent (municipal and industrial)

Runoff and leachate from waste disposal systems

Runoff and infiltration from animal feedlots

Runoff from mines, oil fields, unsewered industrial sites

Overflows of combined storm and sanitary sewers

Runoff from construction sites >20,000 m

Nonpoint Sources

Runoff from agriculture/irrigation

Runoff from pasture and range

Urban runoff from unsewered areas

Septic tank leachate

Runoff from construction sites <20,000 m

Runoff from abandoned mines

Atmospheric deposition over a water surface

Other land activities generating contaminants

Sources of high nutrient runoff


In order to gauge how to best prevent eutrophication from occurring, specific sources that contribute to
nutrient loading must be identified. There are two common sources of nutrients and organic matter: point
and nonpoint sources.

Point sources

Point sources are directly attributable to one influence. In point sources, the nutrient waste travels directly
from source to water. For example, factories that have waste discharge pipes directly leading into a water
body would be classified as a point source. Point sources are relatively easy to regulate.

Nonpoint sources
Nonpoint source pollution (also known as 'diffuse' or 'runoff' pollution) is that which comes from ill-defined
and diffuse sources. Nonpoint sources are difficult to regulate and usually vary spatially and temporally
(with season, precipitation, and other irregular events).
It has been shown that nitrogen transport is correlated with various indices of human activity in
watersheds (Cole et al. 1993, Howarth et al. 1996), including the amount of development (Bertness et al.
2001). Agriculture and development are activities that contribute most to nutrient loading.
There are three reasons that nonpoint sources are especially troublesome: soil retention; runoff to surface
water and leaching to groundwater; and atmospheric deposition. (Smith et al., 1999).

Soil retention
Nutrients from human activities tend to accumulate in soils and remain there for years. It has been shown
(Sharpley et al. 1996) that the amount of phosphorus lost to surfacewaters increases linearly with the
amount of phosphorus in the soil. Thus, much nutrient loading in soil eventually makes its way to water.
Furthermore, phosphorus has the capacity to be released from the soil after a lag time of ten
years. Nitrogen, similarly, has a turnover time of decades or more.

Runoff to surface water and leaching to groundwater


Nutrients from human activities tend to travel from land to either surface or groundwater. Nitrogen in
particular is removed through storm drains, sewage pipes, and other forms of surface runoff.
Nutrient losses in runoff and leachate are often associated with agriculture. Modern agriculture often
involves the application of nutrients onto fields in order to maximize production. However, farmers
frequently apply more nutrients than are taken up by crops (Buol 1995) or pastures. Regulations aimed at
minimizing nutrient exports from agriculture are typically far less stringent than those placed on sewage
treatment plants (Carpenter et al. 1998) and other point source polluters.

Atmospheric deposition
Nitrogen is released into the air because of ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide production. The
combustion of fossil fuels is a large, human-initiated contributor to atmospheric nitrogen pollution.
Atmospheric deposition (e.g., in the form of acid rain) can also effect nutrient concentration in water (Paerl
1997), especially in highly industrialized regions.

Other causes

The bright green water in the Potomac River estuary is result of a dense bloom ofcyanobacteria.

Any factor that causes increased nutrient concentrations can potentially lead to eutrophication. In
modeling eutrophication, the rate of water renewal plays a critical role; stagnant water is allowed to collect
more nutrients than bodies with replenished water supplies. It has also been shown that the drying of
wetlands causes an increase in nutrient concentration and subsequent eutrophication booms (Mungall
and McLaren 1991).

Prevention and reversal


Eutrophication poses a problem not only to ecosystems, but to humans as well. Reducing eutrophication
should be a key concern when considering future policy, and a sustainable solution for everyone,
including farmers and ranchers, seems feasible. While eutrophication does pose problems, humans
should be aware that natural runoff (which causes algal blooms in the wild) is common in ecosystems and
thus it is not necessarily advisable to have a goal of reversing nutrient concentrations beyond normal
levels.

Effectiveness
Cleanup measures have been mostly, but not completely, successful. Finnish phosphorus removal
measures started in the mid-1970s and have targeted rivers and lakes polluted by industrial and
municipal discharges. These efforts, which involved removal of phosphorus, have had a 90 percent
removal efficiency (Raike et al. 2003). Still, some targeted point sources did not show a decrease in runoff
despite reduction efforts.

Minimizing nonpoint pollution: future work


Nonpoint pollution is the most difficult source of nutrients to manage. The literature suggests, though, that
when these sources are controlled, eutrophication decreases. The following steps are recommended to
minimize the amount of pollution that can enter aquatic ecosystems from ambiguous sources.

Riparian buffer zones


Studies show that intercepting non-point pollution between the source and the water is a successful mean
of prevention (Carpenter et al. 1998). Riparian buffer zones have been created near waterways in an
attempt to filter pollutants; sediment and nutrients are deposited here instead of in water. Creating buffer

zones near farms and roads is another possible way to prevent nutrients from traveling too far. Still,
studies have shown (Agnold 1997) that the effects of atmospheric nitrogen pollution can reach far past
the buffer zone. This suggests that the most effective means of prevention is from the primary source.

Prevention policy
Laws regulating the discharge and treatment of sewage have led to dramatic nutrient reductions to
surrounding ecosystems (Smith et al. 1999), but it is generally agreed that a policy regulating agricultural
use of fertilizer andanimal waste must be imposed. In Japan, the amount of nitrogen produced by
livestock is adequate to serve the fertilizer needs for the agriculture industry (Kumazawa 2002). Thus, it is
not unreasonable to legislate that livestock owners clean up animal waste, which when left stagnant, will
leach into groundwater.

Nitrogen testing and modeling


Soil Nitrogen Testing (N-Testing) is a technique that helps farmers optimize the amount of fertilizer applied
to crops. By testing fields with this method, farmers saw a decrease in fertilizer application costs, a
decrease in nitrogen lost to surrounding sources, or both (Huang et al 2001). By testing the soil and
modeling the bare minimum amount of fertilizer needed, farmers reap economic benefits while the
environment remains clean.

Natural state of algal blooms


Although the intensity, frequency, and extent of algal blooms has tended to increase in response to
human activity and human-induced eutrophication, algal blooms are a naturally-occurring phenomenon.
The rise and fall of algaepopulations, as with the population of other living things, is a feature of a
healthy ecosystem (Bianchi et al. 2000). Rectification actions aimed at abating eutrophication and algal
blooms are usually desirable, but the focus of intervention should not necessarily be aimed at eliminating
blooms, but towards creating a sustainable balance that maintains or improves ecosystem health.

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