Sih1005 - P3

Eutrophication
• “Eutrophication is an enrichment of water by nutrients that

causes structural changes to the ecosystem such as:
increased production of algae and aquatic plants, depletion
of fish species, general deterioration of water quality and
other effects that reduce and preclude use”.
• All water bodies are subject to a natural and slow

eutrophication process, which in recent decades has
undergone a very rapid progression due to the presence of
human activities (so called cultural eutrophication).
• The cultural eutrophication process consists of a

continuous increase in the contribution of nutrients, mainly
nitrogen and phosphorus until it exceeds the capacity of
the water body (i.e. the capacity of a lake, river or sea to
purify itself) , triggering structural changes in the waters.
• “Eutrophication is an enrichment of water by nutrients that
causes structural changes to the ecosystem such as:
increased production of algae and aquatic plants, depletion
of fish species, general deterioration of water quality and
other effects that reduce and preclude use”.
• All water bodies are subject to a natural and slow

eutrophication process, which in recent decades has
undergone a very rapid progression due to the presence of
human activities (so called cultural eutrophication).
• The cultural eutrophication process consists of a

continuous increase in the contribution of nutrients, mainly
nitrogen and phosphorus until it exceeds the capacity of
the water body (i.e. the capacity of a lake, river or sea to
purify itself) , triggering structural changes in the waters.
These structural changes mainly depend on 3 factors: •
1.Use of fertilisers: Agricultural practices and the use of

fertilisers in the soil contribute to the accumulation of
nutrients. When these nutrients reach high concentration
levels and the ground is no longer able to assimilate them,
they are carried by rain into rivers and groundwater that
flow into lakes or seas.
2.Discharge of waste water into water bodies
3.Reduction of self purification capacity:

Formation mechanism
Eutrophication is characterised by a significant increase of algae
(microscopic organisms similar to plants) due to the greater availability of
one or more growth factors necessary for photosynthesis, such as sunlight,
carbon dioxide and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus).
When algae start to grow in an uncontrolled manner, an increasingly large
biomass is formed which is destined to degrade.
 In deep water, a large amount of organic substance accumulates,
represented by the algae having reached the end of their life cycle. To
destroy all the dead algae, an excessive consumption of oxygen is required,
in some cases almost total, by microorganisms.
An anoxic (oxygen-free) environment is thus created on the lake bottom,
with the growth of organisms capable of living in the absence of oxygen
(anaerobic), responsible for the degradation of the biomass. The
microorganisms, decomposing the organic substance in the absence of
oxygen, free compounds that are toxic, such as ammonia and hydrogen
sulphide.
 The absence of oxygen reduces biodiversity causing, in certain cases,
even the death of animal and plant species. All this happens when the rate
of degradation of the algae by microorganisms is greater than that of oxygen
regeneration
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/eutrophicatio
n-causes-consequences-and-controls-in-aquatic-102364466/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2266883/pdf/JZUS
B09-0197.pdf
Mechanisms and assessment of water eutrophication
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/sustainability-06-05853%20(3).pd
f
Agriculture and Eutrophication: Where Do We Go from Here?
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.20
20.00670/full
The Globalization of Cultural Eutrophication in
the Coastal Ocean: Causes and Consequences
Factors are related to water eutrophication
1.temperature and salinity are the two important factors to
induce alga bloom. Alga bloom always occurs at
temperature between 23 °C and 28 °C, salinity between
23% and 28%. The variation of temperature and salinity also
affect algal bloom, and an important condition for algal
bloom is that temperature increases and salinity decreases
faster than ever in short time.
2.Carbon dioxide level is one of major factors controlling
water eutrophication.
3.Light plays an important role in the growth, diversity and
density of aquatic flora. Algal growth has been reported to
increase with light intensity, and luminescence of 4000 lux
was found most favorable
Impacts of eutrophication:
can cause undesirable effects in the aquatic

ecosystems
Loss of fertilizer is an economic loss to the
farmer.
High concentrations of nitrates in drinking water
may increase stomach cancer and blue baby
syndrome (due to insufficient oxygen in the
mother’s blood for the developing baby) rates.
Solutions to Eutrophication
Altering human activities, regulating and
reducing the nutrient source, clean up strategies.
Altering the human activities that produce
pollution by using alternative types of fertilizer
Use split applications to obtain the best match
of nitrogen supply and demand and reduce risk of
nitrogen loss
Incorporate biomass into the soil
Regulating and reducing pollutants at sewage
treatment plants
Use organic fertilizer such as Compost garden
and food waste

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Eutrophication

• “Eutrophication is an enrichment of water by nutrients that

• All water bodies are subject to a natural and slow

• The cultural eutrophication process consists of a

• All water bodies are subject to a natural and slow

• The cultural eutrophication process consists of a

1.Use of fertilisers: Agricultural practices and the use of

2.Discharge of waste water into water bodies

3.Reduction of self purification capacity:

Mechanisms and assessment of water eutrophication

can cause undesirable effects in the aquatic

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