Phosphorus and Biochemical Cycle of Lake Neerabup
A wetland may work as a sink or either transform nutrients, organic and inorganic matter. Wetlands is nature’s own filtration and purification plant for sediments and organic matter (Group, 2014).Phosphorus may come in the wetland as suspended solid or as dissolved phosphorus. A significant concentration of phosphorus is associated with sediments in the wetlands (Walbridge and Struthers 1993). The Phosphorus of the wetland is removed by plants and microbial organism (Group, 2014).The total Phosphorous (TP) is inorganic form, mainly derived from man-made sources on the other hand the organic form; phosphate (PO4-P) is derived from plants and animals and their remains(Group, 2014). In the wetland soil Microorganisms, plants, and geochemical process are impotent factors to process dissolved phosphorus. (Walbridge and Struthers 1993).
Algae use excess phosphorus and nitrogen to grow and multiply rapidly to large numbers, thriving when the weather is warm and sunny and the water flow is slow. Higher phosphorus and nitrogen levels presented in the Swan and Canning River systems and wetlands have caused the exceeding the growth of blue green and other algae, Whilst low levels of phosphorus can sustain life(SERCUL ,2014).
Nutrients accumulate in the environment as a result of human activity. We are using too many nutrients in our daily living. Nutrients entering the Swan, Canning and wetlands mainly comes from fertilisers, intensive agricultural resource use garden fertilizers and industrial or urban leakages. (SERCUL, 2010).It should be noted that Total Phosphorous is highly variable with rainfall events and the results above should be treated with caution (Group, 2014). Phospho...
... middle of paper ...
...nd and Lake Neerabup); the trigger value for Phosphorus should be considered as same and regulated as given in the table ,
Parameters Selected Guidelines Applications and Limitations
Nutrient contaminants in surface water total phosphorus concentrations ANZECC guidelines for South West Australia for Lowland Rivers(ANZECC and ARMCANZ 2000) SCCP targets for total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations (SRT 2004 The SCCP targets relate to the number of total nitrogen and total phosphorus samples that exceed the target value in relation to the maximum number of allowable exceed occurrence. The target values apply only to the winter period and three years of data is used to assess compliance according to Swan River Trust 2004. These targets may be applied in the current study at the request of the SRT as a guideline only
Table 2
Source: Nice et al, 2009
Newman, B., 2012. Australian Regolith and Clays Conference. River Murray Salinity Management and Irrigation, pp. 163 - 166.
...urkholder, J., Libra, B., Weyer, P., Heathcote, S., Kolpin, D., Thorne, P., et al. (2007). Impacts of waste from concentrated animal feeding operations on water quality. Environmental Health Perspectives, 11(2), 308–312. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817674/pdf/ehp0115-000308.pdf
The Chesapeake Bay is the nation’s largest estuary with six major tributaries, the James, the Potomac, the Susquehanna, the Patuxent, the York, and the Rappahannock Rivers, feeding into the bay from various locations in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia (Chemical Contaminants in the Chesapeake Bay – Workshop Discussion 1). These areas depend on the Bay as both an environmental and an economic resource. Throughout the last 15 years the Chesapeake Bay has suffered from elevated levels of pollution. Nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater treatment plants, farmland, air pollution, and development all lead to reduced water clarity and lowered oxygen levels, which harm fish, crabs, oysters and underwater grasses (Key Commission Issues 1). There are other types of pollution in the bay such as toxic chemicals, but because nutrient pollution is the most significant and most widespread in the Bay its effects are the most harmful to fisheries. Nitrogen and phosphorous fuel algal blooms which cloud the water and block sunlight from reaching underwater grass beds that provide food and habitat for waterfowl, juvenile fish, blue crabs, and other species (Blankenship 11-12). Algae plays a vital role in the food chain by providing food for small fish and oysters. However, when there is an overabundance of algae it dies, sinks to the bottom of the Bay, and decomposes in such a manner that depletes the oxygen levels of the Bay (11). The reduced oxygen levels in the Bay reduce the carrying capacity of the environment and these “dead areas” sometimes kill off species that can not migrate to other areas of the Bay, such as oysters (11). Increased abundance of algal blooms also led to the overabundance of harmful and toxic algae species and microbes such as the microbe Pfiesteria, which was responsible in 1997 for eating fish alive and making dozens of people sick (12). The heightened awareness of diseases that can be contracted through consumption of contaminated fish also has an economic impact. Therefore, the excess levels of nitrogen and phosphorous have fueled an overabundance of algal blooms, which has reduced water clarity and lowered oxygen levels, affecting many species within the bay and ultimately the industries that rely on these species.
Duckweed is a very reliable organism and can be used in many positive ways in many ecosystems. Nutrients levels are very important and should be calculated in order to determine the right amount for plant growth. According to other studies, the overstimulation of phosphorus leads to complete dominance of duckweed and disappearance of plant growth (Liere 2007). The purpose of placing the duckweed into the nitrogen and phosphate solution, is to see how well duckweed is at phytoremediation. In this case, we are trying to test the same results along with high nitrogen levels. If duckweed is proficient at doing so, then the production and growth of duckweed would fluctuate instead of decline. Based on the high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous, our group’s hypothesis was that duckweed growth would prosper and
This is representative of how eutrophication works in an aquatic environment. It shows that the greater the number of blue-green algae then the faster the oxygen depletion
Human activity is one of the leading causes of the disappearance of coastal wetlands. As the human population increases in coastal cities so does the demand for more land. Urbanization is causing enormous amounts of devastation to the existing wetlands. Unrestricted development is causing the erosion of soil, which is dumping foreign sediments into the wetlands polluting the water and disturbing the ecosystem. According to Lee et al. (2006) “Urbanization is a major cause of loss of coastal wetlands. Urbanization also exerts significant influences on the structure and function of coastal wetlands, mainly through modifying the hydrological and sedimentation regimes, and the dynamics of nutrients and chemical pollutants”. Restrictions on the development...
.Smith, V. H., Tilman, G. D., & Nekola, J. C. (1999). Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient
Between 300 and 400 million people worldwide live in areas near wetlands and depend on them. Wetlands are mechanisms for treatment of wastewater are extremely efficient because they absorb chemicals and filter pollutants and sediments. Half the world's wetlands have disappeared due to urbanization and industrial development. The only way to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction will be through better management of rivers and wetlands, and the land they drain and drain as well as through increased investment in them.
Phytoplankton may be small, but they are the critical for the food web of the ocean. Because they are one of the primary producers it is important to understand how they absorb and retain energy for others to use it. Different conditions such as light and nutrients yield different outcomes. Using a fluorometer, the effects of light and nutrients absorption was measured based on growth rate and abundance of cultured phytoplankton Tetraselmis suecica. The results were in the form of p-values and converted to growth coefficients using different tests such as the 2 Sample T-Test and Mann-Whitney Test. Based on p-values and growth coefficients, it was then determined which sets of data were significant different(high nutrient vs. low nutrient & high light vs. low light). This showed that light was the primary factor for growth rate and nutrient were the primary factor for abundance.
Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems. Wetlands include marshes, estuaries, bogs, fens, swamps, deltas, shallow seas, and floodplains. Wetland habitats support a vast range of plant and animal life, and serve a variety of important functions, which include water regime regulation, flood control, erosion control, nursery areas for fishes, fish production, recreation, plant production, aesthetic enjoyment, and wildlife habitat. Wetlands account for about 6% of the global land area and are among the most valuable environmental resources.
The encroachment of salt water into fresh water supplies has become cause for concern within the last century as populations in coastal areas have risen sharply and placed greater demands on fresh groundwater reserves. Salt water intrusion causes many problems in these areas, perhaps the most severe being the limitation of potable drinking water. Drinking water standards established by the EPA in 1962 require that drinking water contain no more than 500 mg/L of total suspended solids (TSS), a common measure of salinity (Atkinson, 1986). Seawater contains approximately 30000 mg/L of TSS. Therefore, it is evident that even a small amount of seawater can cause drinking water problems when mixed with fresh water reserves. Also, salinity in irrigation water can be detrimental to agriculture, reducing yields and killing crops with low tolerances to salt. In some...
The state of Vermont had a draft plan proposed in 2013 with the beginning of solutions within. However, the EPA does not feel that the solutions that was submitted in 2014 will do the trick, which would be reducing the amount of phosphorus by 36% (Herrick, 2014). As of 2015, Vermont released a new draft to the EPA of their new plan to help reduce the amount of phosphorus loading in to Lake Champlain.
At this moment in time, eutrophication is causing worldwide devastation to not only aquatic life, but the fishing industry. The release of nutrients into fresh water lakes, rivers and reservoirs leads to excessive growth of three different plant species:
- Nutrient Contamination is caused from fertilizer, sewage treatment and it can also involve with algal growth in the water due from compounds of nitrogen and phosphorus also can include carbon compounds example.
Smith, Zachary A., and Grenetta Thomassey. Freshwater Issues: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print