Your help will be highly appreciated: This is an Essay that I have written regar
ID: 5277 • Letter: Y
Question
Your help will be highly appreciated:
This is an Essay that I have written regarding Social, Environmental, Economical, and Political issues related to fertilizers.
Here it is
Fertilizers and manure elements such as Nitrogen and Phosphorus are essential nutrients for plant growth.However concentrated levels of these nutrientsin water bodies such as lakes,estuaries, or slow-moving streams could pose great environmental hazards and adversehealth effects. For instance, Nitrogen in the soil is converted by soil bacteriato nitrates in the process of Nitrification. In some cases, these nitrates canbe leached into the groundwater or be washed out of the soil surface intostreams and rivers by the process of Eutrophication. For example in 1991 - 1992 it is estimatedthat nitrate concentrations found in the Mississippi River is around 2.38 milligramsper Litre. In the long run, this process stimulates excessive aquatic plant growth (calledan algal bloom) which in turn reduces dissolved oxygen in the water when deadplant material decomposes and can cause other organisms to die. These nitratesalso form water that does not support aquatic life.
Similarly, Phosphorus is washed into surface waters together with the soil thatis being eroded since it cannot be readily washed out of the soil, as it isbound to soil particles and moves together with them. Although it is notconsidered to be dangerous, it can also stimulate the growth of algae in slowmoving water resulting in the same adverse effects as stated above
It is estimated that the annual emissions of Nitrogen andPhosphorus due to agriculture in Derwent catchments area is 522.7 tonnes and 905.1 tonnes respectively and inTamar/Esk water catchments area is 166.3 tonnes and 288.0 tonnes respectively.(1998 - 2000).
Eutrophication value at or below an annual mean of 0.5 mgm-3. It is suggested to be entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon areas locatedin the North east of Queensland. (1992).
As a result of algalbloom that is caused by Eutrophication, the quality estuarine ecosystem in Australiacould be degraded, ultimately becoming less productive. This decline haspossible negative economic consequences, for example, fisheries productivity could decrease and/orthe visual amenity of an estuary might decline, reducing its value as a touristdestination. In late 1991 the world ’s largest riverine blue green algalbloom occurred along 1000 km of Australia’s Darling-Barwon River. This event promptedNew South Wales's government to declare a state of emergency. Economically thestate had a loss of $ 9.4 million in tourism industry during 1991-1992.3
Also, in 1996South Australian tuna farmers suffered $45 million worth of damage because analgal bloom damaged the gills on the tuna.
In general, freshwateralgal blooms are estimated to cost the Australian community between $180 and$240 million a year as a result of joint managementcosts (9 $m/year), cost to extractive users (95 $m/year) , urban water supplies(35 $m/year) , rural water supplies (60 $m/year), stock and domestic water fromfarm dams (30 $m/year), Stock and domestic water from rivers, storages and irrigation channels ( 15 $m/year) , irrigationwater supply,(15 $m/year), cost tonon-extractive users (76-136 $m/year). Thesecosts are incurred by urban water users, dryland farmers and irrigators in roughlyequal amounts. In other words, algal blooms are a problem that affects thewhole community.
Nitrogenous fertilisers can also pose another environmental hazardssuch as soil acidification through agriculture practices. The leaching of nitrogen in thenitrate form is a very important factor in soil acidity. Soilacidification isa process by which soil pH decreases over time.
It occurs when there is morenitrate than the plant can use, thus the nitrate is at risk of draining -leaching - below the plants roots and intothe ground water system. This leaves the soil more acidic. This can makethe soil unacceptable or reduce yield for acid-disliking plants. Soilacidification also impact soil erosion. Forexample, plants that cannot grow in acidic soil conditions expose topsoil towind and water erosion. Most cropsthrive in soils that are neutral, with a pH value of 7, or slightly acidic,therefore soil pH is critical factor to plant growth. When soil's pH valuedecreases, it becomes prone to diseases and pests that stunt plant growth.Heavily acidic conditions also prompt the leaching of toxic metals into nearbybodies of water. According to the statistics from Queensland government inMarch 2006, morethan 500 000 hectares of agricultural and pastoral land in Queensland acidifiedor is at risk of acidification.
Likewise, large portion of Victoria's lands have acidsoils. Victoria has up to 8.6 million ha of acidic soils including 4–5 millionha of strongly acidic soils. (December 2008) In Victoria, only 5.5% of the arearequiring treatment with lime to restore critical soil pH levels issufficiently treated.
Glenelg Hopkins CMA and WestVic Dairy have joined forces to help theregion’s farmers reduce the risk of soil acidification, a problem that costsVictoria’s agricultural producers more than $470 million each year. This stepwas important as soil acidification affects more than 23 percent of Victoria’s productive soils and it is feared the area of agriculturalland affected may double by 2025.
Explanation / Answer
Fertilizers and manure, which contain elements such as Nitrogenand Phosphorus, are essential nutrients for plant growth.However concentrated levels of these nutrients in bodies of watersuch as lakes, estuaries, or slow-moving streams could posegreat environmental hazards and adverse health effects. Forinstance, Nitrogen in the soil is converted by soil bacteria tonitrates in the process of Nitrification. In some cases, thesenitrates can be leached into the groundwater or be washed out ofthe soil surface into streams and rivers by Eutrophication. For example in 1991 - 1992 it was estimated that nitrateconcentrations found in the Mississippi River was around 2.38milligrams per Liter. In the long run, Eutrophication stimulatesexcessive aquatic plant growth (called algal blooms), which in turnreduces the dissolved oxygen concentration in the water. Thesenitrates also make the water unsustainable for aquatic life.
Similarly, Phosphorus is washed into surface waters with thesoil that is eroded because it is
bound to soil particles. Although Phosphorus is not considered tobe dangerous, it can stimulate the growth of algae in slow movingwater, resulting in the same adverse effects as the nitrates statedabove.
It is estimated that the annual emissions ofNitrogen and Phosphorus, due to agriculture in Derwent catchmentsarea is 522.7 tons and 905.1 tons respectively and in
Tamar/Esk water catchments area is 166.3 tons and 288.0 tonsrespectively.
(1998 - 2000).
Eutrophication value at or below an annualmean of 0.5 mg. It is suggested to be entering the Great BarrierReef lagoon areas located
in the North east of Queensland. (1992).
As a result of algal blooms that are caused by Eutrophication,the quality of the estuarine ecosystem in Australia could bedegraded, ultimately becoming less productive. This decline has
possible negative economic consequences as well. Forexample, fisheries productivity could decrease and/or thevisual amenity of an estuary might decline. This could reduceAustralia’s value as a tourist destination. In late1991 the world’s largest riverine blue green algal
bloom occurred along 1000 km of Australia’s Darling-BarwonRiver. This event prompted
New South Wales's government to declare a state of emergency.Economically the
state had a loss of $ 9.4 million in tourism industry during1991-1992.
Also, in 1996 South Australian tuna farmers suffered $45million worth of damage because an
algal bloom damaged the gills on tuna.
In general, freshwater algal blooms are estimated to cost theAustralian community between $180 and $240 million a year as aresult of joint management costs (9 $m/year), cost to extractiveusers (95 $m/year), urban water supplies (35 $m/year), rural watersupplies (60 $m/year), stock and domestic water from farm dams (30$m/year), stock and domestic water from rivers, storages andirrigation channels ( 15 $m/year), irrigation water supply, (15$m/year), and costs to non-extractive users (76-136 $m/year). Thesecosts are incurred by urban water users, dryland farmers andirrigators in roughly equal amounts. So essentially, algal bloomsare a problem that affects the whole community.
Nitrogenous fertilizers can also pose environmentalhazards, such as soil acidification through agriculture practices.The leaching of nitrogen in the nitrate form is a very importantfactor in soil acidity. Soil acidification is a process by whichsoil pH decreases over time. It occurs when there is more nitratethan the plant can use; thus the nitrate is at risk of draininginto the ground water system. This leaves the soil more acidic thanit was before. This can make
the soil unacceptable or reduce yield for plants that do not do sowell in acidic conditions. Soil
acidification also impacts soil erosion. For example, plants thatcannot grow in acidic soil conditions are exposed to wind and watererosion. Most crops thrive in soils that are neutral, with apH value of 7, or slightly acidic; therefore, soil pH is criticalfactor to plant growth. When the soil's pH value decreases, itbecomes prone to diseases and pests that stunt plantgrowth.
Heavily acidic conditions also prompt the leaching of toxicmetals into nearby bodies of water. According to the statisticsfrom Queensland government in March 2006, more than 500 000hectares of agricultural and pastoral land in Queensland acidifiedor is at risk of acidification.
Likewise, large portions of Victoria's lands have acid soils.Victoria has up to 8.6 million ha of acidic soils including4–5 million ha of strongly acidic soils. (December 2008) InVictoria, only 5.5% of the area requiring treatment with lime torestore critical soil pH levels is sufficiently treated.
Glenelg Hopkins CMA and WestVic Dairy have joined forces to helpthe region’s farmers reduce the risk of soilacidification, a problem that costs Victoria’s agriculturalproducers more than $470 million each year. This step was importantbecause soil acidification affects more than 23 percent ofVictoria’s productive soils, and it is feared that the areaof agricultural land affected may double by 2025.
As mentioned before, Nitrification is a biological processduring which nitrifying bacteria convert toxic ammonia to lessharmful nitrates. The nitrification process can have a directimpact on water quality that all animals rely on for living. Theend result of nitrification, nitrate (NO-), is a form of nitrogenthat is highly mobile and easily moves with water. When rainfall isheavy, nitrates can move downward in the soil. Subsequently,nitrates continue to move downward into ground water. The greatestconcerns are for animal infants less than one year old and foryoung
or pregnant animals. High levels of nitrates can be toxic tonewborns, causing anoxia, or internal suffocation.
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