Commentary - Biology & Medicine Case Reports (2022) Volume 6, Issue 1

Natural phenomenon and environmental pollution leading to eutrophication.

Ivan SK^*

Faculty of Engineering, Pharos University, Alexandria, Egypt

*Corresponding Author:

Ivan SK
Faculty of Engineering,
Pharos University,
Alexandria, Egypt
E-mail: katecharles@manchester.ac.uk

Received: 31-Dec-2021, Manuscript No. AABMCR-22-103; Editor assigned: 04-Jan-2022, PreQC No. AABMCR-22-103(PQ); Reviewed: 18-Jan-2022, QC No AABMCR-22-103; Revised: 21-Jan-2022, Manuscript No. AABMCR-22-103(R); Published: 28-Jan-2022, DOI:10.35841/aabmcr-6.1.103

Citation: Ivana SK. Natural phenomenon and environmental pollution leading to eutrophication. Biol Med Case Rep. 2022;6(1):103

Introduction

Excessive plant and microorganism growth is also a sign of eutrophication, that's caused by an increase among the handiness of one or further activity limiting growth factors, like sunshine, CO2, and gas fertilisers. Eutrophication happens naturally over centuries as lakes age and sediment fills in. Human activities, however, have accelerated the speed and extent of eutrophication, with dramatic consequences for potable sources, fisheries, and recreational water bodies, through every point-source discharges and non-point loadings of limiting nutrients, like gas and phosphorus, into aquatic ecosystems (i.e., cultural eutrophication). for example, cultivation scientists and lake managers oftentimes eutrophy aquatic bodies by adding fertilisers to increase primary productivity and additionally the density and biomass of recreationally and commercially very important fishes via bottom-up effects on higher organic process levels [1].

Natural eutrophication occurs when nutrients accumulate, flow, and are added to water bodies, resulting in changes in primary production and community species composition. For millennia, this has been the case. Cultural eutrophication is a process that contributes to the acceleration of natural eutrophication induced by human activity. As a result of land clearing, more nutrients such as phosphates and nitrate are delivered to lakes and rivers, followed by coastal estuaries and bays. Fertilizers used on farms, such as fish farms, golf courses, treatment facilities, and untreated sewage, also supply nutrients. Natural eutrophication (the enrichment of water with nutrients) can also happen. Human action, on the other hand, frequently significantly increases it (anthropogenic or cultural eutrophication).

Causes of Eutrophication

Fertilizers (nitrates and phosphates): Humans are the principal source of eutrophication due to their reliance on nitrate and phosphate fertilisers. Agricultural practises like fertiliser use on lawns, golf courses, and other fields increase phosphate and nitrate nutrient accumulation. When these nutrients are thrown into lakes, rivers, oceans, and other surface waters by rainy runoff, hungry plankton, algae, and other aquatic plant life are well fed, and their photosynthetic activity increases. In aquatic ecosystems, such as water hyacinths, this results in a dense proliferation of algal blooms and plant life.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are also a major supplier of phosphate and nitrogen fertilisers, both of which contribute to eutrophication. Intensive animal feeding operations commonly dump large amounts of nutrients into rivers, streams, lakes, and seas, where they aggregate in large amounts, producing cyanobacterial and algal blooms to wreak havoc on the waterways [2].

Sewage and industrial waste discharged directly into bodies of water: In some parts of the world, particularly in destitute countries, sewage water is discharged directly into bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and seas. As a result, it uses a lot of chemical fertilisers, which causes algal blooms and other aquatic plants to grow densely, putting aquatic life at danger in a variety of ways.

Despite the fact that some countries purify sewage water, they nevertheless dump it into bodies of water. Regardless of how effectively the water is treated, it can still result in eutrophication due to the accumulation of excess nutrients. Industrial wastewater discharged directly into bodies of water has similar implications.

Aquiculture is the practise of growing shellfish, fish, and even aquatic plants without the need of soil in water containing dissolved nutrients. Because it has been a widely accepted practise in recent years, it rates as a leading contributor to eutrophication. If aquiculture is not properly maintained, unconsumed food particles combined with fish waste can substantially elevate nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the water, resulting in dense growth of microscopic floating plants [3].

Natural occurrences: Floods and the natural flow of rivers and streams can also transport extra nutrients from the land into water systems, generating excessive algal blooms. Furthermore, as lakes age, sediments, as well as phosphorus and nitrogen fertilisers, naturally build, contributing to phytoplankton and cyanobacterial blooms that increase rapidly.

Effects of Eutrophication

The creation of thick blooms of poisonous, foul-smelling phytoplankton, which damage water clarity and quality, is the most obvious effect of cultural eutrophication. Algal blooms impede light penetration in littoral zones, limiting plant development and causing plant die-offs, as well as reducing the success of predators that need light to hunt and catch prey [4]. Additionally, the high rates of photosynthesis associated with eutrophication can deplete dissolved inorganic carbon and raise pH to dangerously high levels throughout the day. Elevated pH can 'blind' organisms that rely on the sense of dissolved chemical cues for survival by reducing chemosensory abilities. Microbial breakdown depletes dissolved oxygen when dense algal blooms die, resulting in a hypoxic or anoxic "dead zone" where most species are unable to live [5].

References

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