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S-SCEN001TP BSA33 Environmental Science - 2nd Semester (SY 2021-2022)

Material Cycles and Change

Ecosystem Changes Associated with the Nutrient Cycles

Immersive Reader

Anthropogenic impacts of modern technology are now transferring some chemical elements such as nitrogen,
phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon through the air, water, soil, and biosphere at rates that faster than natural processes. As
our populations increase, so does our utilization of resources and rates of transfer increases as well. This is a fast-
emerging problem resulting from rates of transfer which became significantly large for a particular element that
pollution of the environment eventually became apparent. Our urban society has garnered much of the use of
resources and has contributed to much of the release of various compounds and chemicals into the biosphere, soil,
water, and atmosphere and thus, constitute the biggest malefactor of environmental problems. Among the very
common environmental problems are the following:

Eutrophication and Fishkills. Eutrophication is generally defined as an increase in suspended nutrients in water bodies
such as nitrogen and phosphorus that promoted an increase in algal growth, which adversely degrade water quality.
For example, increased phytoplankton biomass can increase turbidity, reduce light penetration, and decrease levels of
oxygen, all of which ultimately have negative consequences for organisms that live in the lake. Not only are the effects
of eutrophication detrimental to lake biota, but they also pose a risk to human health in the form of harmful algal
blooms.
 

Generally, the process of eutrophication is natural for water bodies. As time passes, a buildup of nutrients, sediment,
and plant material, slowly fill the lake basin, and eventually, the process ends when the basin becomes colonized by
terrestrial vegetation. But due to human activities, nutrient inputs have greatly increased the pace at which
eutrophication can occur.

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Human-induced eutrophication also called cultural eutrophication, is attributed to increased phosphorus inputs from
sources such as agricultural fertilizers or partially treated sewage. A negative impact of eutrophication and increased
algal growth is a loss of available oxygen, known as anoxia. These anoxic conditions lead to fish kills and the death of
other aquatic organisms such as amphibians. While it is true that algae produce oxygen, but only when there is enough
light. Eutrophication reduces the clarity of water and underwater light. When waterbodies become eutrophic, algae are
starved of light. Competition ensues causing a large population of algae to die, thereupon decomposers acting on the
dead algae depletes oxygen levels in the water further. As a result, eutrophication sets in, leading to an anoxic and
lethal environment for aquatic organisms.

Red Tides. “Red tide” is the common name for what is scientifically described as “harmful algae blooms.” Harmful
algae blooms (HAB) are the sudden proliferation of one or more species of microscopic plants either algae or
phytoplankton, which live in the ocean and produce neurotoxins that can cause negative and sometimes fatal effects in
fish, birds, marine mammals, and even humans.
 

There are approximately 85 species of aquatic plants that can cause harmful algae blooms. In high concentrations,
some HAB species causes the characteristic reddish color of the water, but other species can turn the water green,
brown, or purple, while others, or do not even discolor the water at all. Red tides are caused by the rapid multiplication
of dinoflagellates, a type of phytoplankton due to the sudden abundance of nutrients in seawater which triggered the
explosive growth of dinoflagellates. Coastal water pollution from human sewage, agricultural runoff, and other sources
contributes to red tides, along with rising ocean temperatures. On the other hand, red tides and harmful algae blooms
sometimes occur where there is no apparent link to human activity. Although these species of algae or phytoplankton
have created serious health concerns for humans, they remain as essential elements in the foundation of the food
chain, without which, higher life forms, including humans, would not exist and could not survive.

Acid rain, also called acid deposition or acid precipitation with a pH of about 5.2 or below caused by the emission of
sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx; the combination of NO and NO2) from human activities. These are
mainly the product of fossil fuel combustion. Acid deposition can reduce the pH of aquatic environments and lower
biodiversity. In terrestrial ecosystems, it weakens trees, depletes the soil of important plant nutrients and buffers, and
can release aluminum bound to soil particles and rock in its toxic dissolved form. Acid rain contributes to the
corrosion of surfaces and is responsible for the deterioration of limestone and marble buildings and monuments.
 

Acid rain can be significantly reduced by getting sulfur out of fossil fuels. Aside from being a pollutant itself, sulfur was
discovered to interfere with pollution control technologies and therefore needs to be removed from the fuel for
significant air pollution reduction strategy to work. Studies have shown show the benefits of sulfur reduction far
outweigh the costs, even though required refinery investments continue to be significant. In fact, the European Union
developed the Euro-IV, near-zero sulfur fuel which significantly reduced total fuel costs by increasing fuel economy.
The considerable potential for greenhouse gas emission reductions adds further to the health, environmental, and
social benefits of a sulfur reduction.
 

Biogeochemical Cycle Sustainability Goal. It is clear that if we are to maintain a quality environment on Earth, the
biogeochemical cycles need to operate within ranges of transfer and storage necessary to sustain healthy ecosystems.
This is one reason why understanding biogeochemical cycles are very important. For example, when it became
apparent that the release of sulfur into the atmosphere is seriously degrading the quality if the atmosphere, the
European Union has strived significantly to control these emissions. We are still a long way from fully understanding
the complexities of the biogeochemical cycles. Currently, there are very large uncertainties in the measurement of
fluxes of chemical elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and others. Understanding these natural processes
intensively will allow us to better address environmental problems in the future.

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