EUTROPHICATION

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EUTROPHICATION
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EUTROPHICATION
is the process in which one nutrient pollutant
causes that one life form is converted dominant
life form of the area, making that other
organisms die, destroying the their ecosystem,
and helping deteriorate the life cycles of the
other close ecosystems. From a scientific point
of view, we can define this process as the
nutrients enrichment of an ecosystem (hence the
etymology of the EUTHROPHICATION term which in
Greek means good feed). Although the process
takes place in any ecosystem, the term usually is
referring to the increasing of nutrients in a
marine ecosystem. As a result of this process, we
can call EUTROFO to an ecosystem or an
environment characterized by an unusual large
amount of nutrients..
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Eutrophication of a terrestrial ecosystem
An excessive contribution of nitrogen causes an
oxygen reduction in the land surface
mantles. Thus, the development of anaerobic micro
organisms is favoured, promoting the increasing
of great plants. This process is especially
obvious in arid soils, and its consequences can
be important because we can observer the
extinction of the acidophilus vegetation in the
land surface, due the nitrogen increasing in the
land. And at the same time, other plants, what
need lees oxygen, appear in the area. This is the
case of tall grasses. These plants use an
unusual and unnatural large amount of nitrogen to
change the habitat and to cause the extinction of
most vulnerable species.
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Eutrophication of marine ecosystem

• The water receives a (direct or indirect) dump of
  nutrients.
• The dump favours an excessive growth of organic
  component in the habitat.
• It causes a fast growth of the algal and green
  plants. The vegetation covers the water surface
  and impedes the sunlight passing to the water
  lower levels.
• Due the decrease of the sunlight, the water
  become cloudy and vegetation die because the
  plants can develop the photosynthesis process.
• Other organisms (as bacteria) are adapted to the
  new environment, and they finally live on died
  component. Bacteria consume the oxygen necessary
  for the fishes and mollusc, and cause the
  development of certain toxic algal and pathogenic
  micro-organisms which can cause and diffuse
  diseases.
• The organic component decay causes great bogs
  destroying the ecosystem and biodiversity.

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Types of pollution which favour eutrophication (I)
Farming pollution causes mainly diffuse and
aquiferous pollution, due the dump of inorganic
fertilizer (with an industrial or extractive
origin) and the animal excrements (especially
located in the industrial farms). These
activities provides nitrogen (in the form of
nitrate and ammonium), and phosphor (in form of
phosphate), and at the same time cations
(potassium K, Magnesium M, etc. Forest
pollution, caused by the waste disposal in the
rivers and the activities of forest-wood chain.
This situation increases the organic component
and favours the growth of the eutrophic flora
what allows the water stagnation and the water
weight.
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Types of pollution which favour eutrophication
(and II)
Air pollution caused by nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
sulphuric oxides (SOx). These components react
with the atmospheric water forming ion nitrate
(NO3-) and ion sulphate (SO42-). When these
compounds reach to the earth surface. When these
compounds reach to the earth surface, they form
soluble sales. Urban pollution. Urban effluents
(without depuration) contribute nutrients to
land, in form of
Organic wastes, which enrich the elements what
limit the ecosystem Inorganic wastes (as
phosphate), used as emulsifier in the production
of detergents.
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Consequences in

• terrestrial ecosystems where the dominant
  plants will be herbaceous species, ecologically
  pioneers, cosmopolitans, with a fast power of
  reproduction and unable for living in an
  oligotropho (an area poor in nutrients) or
  mesotropho environments.
• marine ecosystem, where due the eutrophication
  the unicellular algal (especially green algal)
  will be the live form dominant. In the oceans the
  local eutrophication can cause red or white tide
  the demographic explosion od a type of algal that
  in several cases causes the intoxication of the
  ecosystem fauna.

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In the past
The EUTROPHICATION was introduced as a negative
caused bay the pollution detected in the middles
of 20th Century (Mainly in Europe and North
America).
Actually
several researches show that
in Asia more than the 54 in Europe the 53 in
North America the 48 In South America the
41 and in Africa the 28
of the lakes and auriferous have been converted
in EUTROFOS.
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EUTROPHICATION