Eutrophication

Introduction

Eutrophication describes the biological effects of an increase in the concentration of nutrients. The collective term ‘nutrients’ refers to those elements that are essential for primary production by plants or other photosynthetic organisms. Eutrophication is most often caused by increases in the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus, commonly present in soil and water in the form of nitrate and phosphate, respectively. However, altered concentrations of any plant nutrient may have a recognizable biological effect. Eutrophication can occur in any aquatic system (freshwater or marine), and the term is also used to describe the process whereby terrestrial vegetation is affected by nutrient-enriched soil water.

This unit is an adapted extract from the course Environmental science (S216) [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]