What is eutrophication? Recently, this concept began to sound more powerful and generate more interest in society.
Perhaps, the search for answers to questions like “What is eutrophication?“has to do with the social awareness generated after the pandemic. Although there were always people concerned about environmental issues, after Covid-19 many more people were linked to caring for the planet.
This is because they began to become aware of what man’s relationship with the planet implies: from how they move, what they eat and what they consume. Everything is interrelated.
And it is that the human link with the environment in which they live is really important and the continuity and protection of natural and cultural resources depends on it.
But what does all this have to do with the eutrophication? Next, let’s learn a little more about this process.
What is eutrophication and how does it occur?
If you have ever wondered what are those green algae that float in some aquatic places, in some cases with a bad smell, this is the article to learn a little about it.
If you answer the question what is eutrophication it is, according to the Conicet, this is a natural and/or anthropogenic process that consists of the enrichment of water with nutrients, at an excess level, which cannot be compensated by total mineralization.
To explain it in simple words, this is the process of Greater contamination of aquatic ecosystems, such as lakes, rivers and reservoirs, which can occur due to natural causes or due to human activities, due to an excess contribution of inorganic nutrients.
They are mostly nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) which produces an excessive proliferation of phytoplanktonic algae, which cause various effects in the water.
Among them, they it covers the entire surface of the bodies of this vital resource, which prevents the penetration of sunlight into them, generating various complications in biodiversity.
So, the vegetation living in the depths of the Aquatic ecosystems cannot carry out photosynthesis, so they die and, in turn, microorganisms that feed on dead matter are generated.
This makes consume the oxygen that fish and shellfish need to live, and that at the same time are generated toxic algae and pathogenic microorganisms.
Likewise, the effects can interfere in different ways in the different uses that man can make of these aquatic ecosystems such as the supply of drinking water and irrigation.
What are the causes of eutrophication?
The factors that affect the process of eutrophication are:
– Warm weather.
– Shallow bodies of water, or with low flow.
– Little tree surface, subject to abundant rainfall that favors erosion and the dragging of nutrients towards aquatic ecosystems.
– In drainage areas where sediments predominate, there is a greater contribution of phosphorus by runoff, that is, by the rainwater that circulates through the land.
In addition, clayey soils drain poorly and also favor runoff and thus the contribution of nutrients to water bodies.
Also, as mentioned above, the causes can be due to natural issues, or due to human actions, which are closely linked to the environment.
Among the natural factors involved in the eutrophication precipitations can be mentioned; release of anoxic sediments, that is, those with a low concentration of oxygen; decomposition of organisms, excreta and nitrogen fixation by microorganisms.
In this process, some anthropogenic activities are also involved, which are detailed below.
Agriculture
The nitrogenous fertilizers used during this task to fertilize the different crops filter through the earth and reach underground water bodies and rivers, for example, contaminating the environment.
Cattle raising
Another of the activities that affects the eutrophication It is livestock farming, since although animal droppings are rich in nutrients, they are above all nitrogen, so poor management of them could produce an excess of this nutrient in the water, contaminating it.
forestry activity
In this case, the forest residues that are left in the waters by the activity degrade and provide an excess of nitrogen and other nutrients that the plant in question had.
Atmospheric pollution
Emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur react in the atmosphere producing acid rain, thus carrying nutrients to the bodies of water.
Urban waste
Especially detergents with phosphates.
Industrial activity
This activity results in discharges of nitrogenous products and some toxic ones that also intervene in the What is it eutrophication.
Deforestation
Erosion increases and the recycling of nutrients in the basin decreases, which increases their entry into the water.
As well as discharges of urban waste and treatment plants, wastewater from farms, use of detergents with large amounts of phosphorus, septic tanks and the sewage system of cities and towns, among others.
consequences of eutrophication
As explained above, excessive nutrient levels in the water cause plants and organisms to overgrow and require large amounts of oxygen.
with the process of eutrophication The quality of aquatic bodies is affected, since when oxygen is depleted, their rottenness increases and they also give off stinking odors.
This, in addition to causing health problems, affects various areas, such as tourism and fish production, which implies economic problems for the region, not to mention that they leave these watercourses unavailable for navigation.
Also, some of these algae are usually toxic, which causes the death of hundreds of animals when consuming them, in addition to affecting the fauna that hydrates from these bodies.
How to act against eutrophication
Given the complications that this process brings to aquatic ecosystems, there are some actions to control the entry of nutrients into the water, as well as within the resource, such as:
– Treatment of waste before being dumped into water and wastewater
– Dredging
– Control of the use of phosphate detergents.
– Pre-swamps, which remove nutrients from wastewater.
Importance of water: why you have to take care of it
Why is the care of bodies of water so important? There is a first answer that comes to the mind of all people to this question and that is that it is a vital resource.
But, really, are you aware of its importance? According to data provided by the United Nations (UN), water is essential not only for the survival of living beings, but also for socioeconomic development, energy, food production and ecosystems.
Water is closely linked to man’s relationship with the planet on which he lives, since the hundreds of activities carried out at the production, industrial and personal levels directly or indirectly impact this valuable resource.
Much of the world’s population is not aware of this, since this resource is always there for them, just by turning the tap.
But it is necessary to remember that its scarcity grows year by year as the demands and conflicts for its use increase.
Just to mention some data provided by the UN:
– More than 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services, or directly experience water scarcity.
– Approximately 4 billion people – more than half the population – lack safely managed sanitation services.
– Around 300,000 children under the age of five die each year due to diseases caused by poor sanitary conditions or non-potable water.
– More than 80% of wastewater returns to the ecosystem without being treated or reused.
That is why the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 is based on “guaranteeing the availability of water and its sustainable management and sanitation for all”, which has to do not only with the resource itself, but also with the treatment of the same.
For these reasons, it is essential that man becomes aware and development is carried out in a sustainable manner, to protect and conserve natural resources for future generations.
you know what is eutrophication and the consequences it brings to the environment. Have you heard about it?
Source: Conicet-Mendoza, UN, IAGUA and IAGUA consequences