The Reproduction of Phosphorus and Nitrogen from Natural Waters - Term Paper Example

The reproduction of Phosphorus and Nitrogen from natural waters affiliation taught by Course’s name Abstract The article deals with issues related to the negative environmental consequences resulting from the using of fertilizers. The main sources and pathways of the nitrogen and phosphorus in water bodies have been discussed also. As well as political and technological tools to reduce the negative impact of nitrogen and phosphorus on aquatic ecosystems. Principles and approaches used in different countries were reviewed, as well as basic regulatory and legal documents that apply to reduce the harmful effects of fertilizers in order to prevent eutrophication process. The reproduction of Phosphorus and Nitrogen from natural waters Currently becoming increasingly important environmental issues related to the reduction of the negative impact of man on the environment. This is due to the importance of natural components in ensuring the safe existence of humanity on the planet. Particular attention is paid to the state of water resources, since on the one hand, they are highly susceptible to adverse anthropogenic impact as a result of industrial activities, and on the other hand, on their quality directly affects the health of the person. Constant control and monitoring system for water quality, are an integral component of the assessment of environmental parameters, with the goal of maintaining a high quality of natural ecosystems. Depending on the nature of pollution secrete natural and anthropogenic pollution (Fig .1) Depending on the type of activity and industry on water bodies can provide various kinds of negative influences such as: - Biological (admission to the water bodies of different types of pathogens); - Physical (change in physical properties of water bodies, such as temperature, transparency, etc.); - Chemical (admission to the water bodies of alien chemical compounds in nature, or an increase in the concentration of already present in these elements and compounds). In the latter form of influence should stay in more detail, because water is a universal solvent. The presence of dissolved ions in an aqueous medium provides the resilience of natural aquatic ecosystems. But in the case of exceeding their concentrations can be catastrophic changes. Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients, due to which there is growth and development of primary autotrophs in aquatic ecosystems. So first we need to understand what are these chemicals and the ways they are falling into the water bodies. Nitrogen and nitrogen compounds cycle, like any other element, through the air, water, and soil. Although nitrogen in its inert, molecular, form (N2) is the most common gas in the Earth’s atmosphere, most organisms require nitrogen to be in a reactive form (bound to hydrogen, oxygen, or carbon), to be able to use it. The most common of these reactive forms are organic nitrogen compounds, nitrogen oxides (NOy), nitrate (NO3), and ammonium (NH4) and ammonia (NH3), together often referred to as NHx. It is the oxidized and reduced forms of reactive nitrogen that are the most toxic forms to organisms. Phosphorus (P) is important because it is an essential ingredient of the energy metabolism of all forms of life. It is one of the three macronutrients needed by all crops (together with N and K). Human activity has quadrupled the mobilization of phosphorus and although the availability of this nonrenewable resource does not seem to pose a problem at the moment, there are other aspects of our phosphorus metabolism which do require our attention, namely the wastes (water and soil sinks) and how we affect the normal cycle of phosphorus on Earth. The global cycle of phosphorus is unique among the cycles of the major biogeochemical elements in having no significant gaseous compounds. The industrialization of agriculture has included a major shortcut to several parts of the cycle. Phosphate rock has been extracted for the manufacture of fast available phosphate fertilizers which are applied to soils to increase crop growth rates. The addition of large amounts of available phosphate to soils has also increased the rate of entry of phosphate to waterways with negative environmental consequences. Nitrogen and phosphorous from agricultural and urban areas contribute to water quality degradation in many EU and Enlargement and Integration1 countries. Not only inland water bodies, but also coastal waters and bays in surrounding European seas have been degraded by nutrient pollution. These increasing nutrient loads may cause eutrophication eventually adversely impacting the coastal or marine ecosystems by massive blooms of algae. The main source of phosphorus and nitrogen in water bodies is the use of fertilizers, viz. any materials or mixture used to supply one or more of the essential plant nutrient elements. In the same time the greatest negative effect on the use of fertilizers is considered the process of eutrophication, which is an unwanted explosion of living aquatic-based organisms in lakes and estuaries which results in oxygen depletion that can destroy an aquatic ecosystem. The main mechanisms for solving this situation is the development and adoption of a set of political as well as technological solutions. For example, The EU has set up a number of policy instruments for protecting inland, transitional and coastal waters. The Nitrates Directive intends to protect water resources against nitrates from agriculture sources, and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWT) aims at controlling emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus from point sources. They are both supporting the achievement of the 2015 Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives of Good Ecological Status for inland water bodies in the EU and those of Good Environmental Status of European regional seas planned by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive for 2020. This legislation is further complemented by national and international initiatives, e.g. the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR), the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (HELCOM), the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea (Bucharest Convention) and the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea (Barcelona Convention), which aim at controlling pollution from land-based sources and maritime transport. In U.S., to improve the environmental situation adopted such standards Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 milligram per liter (mg/L) for nitrate as nitrogen (NO3-N) and a MCL of 1 mg/L for nitrite as nitrogen (NO2-N) in drinking water. With regard to technological methods to reduce the negative impact of the use of fertilizers they include such type as using of Biosolids or reproduction Phosphorus and Nitrogen from water. Biosolids is a nice name for all the nutrient rich solids coming out of a sewage treatment plant. Much of the time this gunk or sludge is disposed in landfills or large bodies of water. Sometimes it is collected and turned into a fertilizer called biosolids. Many states want to make use of the sludge instead of disposing it. This reduces pollution and decreases the amount of materials entering landfills. So, more and more sewage treatment plants are converting the sludge into biosolids. The biosolids can then be sold as fertilizer for use on farms, gardens, golf courses, and public parks. As for process of reproduction Phosphorus and Nitrogen from water it includes the development of measures to extract excess nitrogen and phosphorus compounds from water bodies. Thus there is a double environmental and economic benefits, as it reduces their concentration in water bodies on the one hand, and on the other hand there is an additional source of fertilizer. References APA Manual (Publication manual of the American Psychological Association) (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. APA Style. (n.d.). http://www.apastyle.org. Retrieved July 1, 2014, from http://apastyle.org Encyclopedia of ecology, Sven Erik Jørgensen, ELSEVIER press, 2008 Biosolids In Georgia: An Environmentally Friendly Fertilizer? - The McGraw-Hill Companies (June, 2007) Human Alteration of the Global Nitrogen Cycle: Causes and Consequences (Spring 1997), Issues in Ecology, Number 1. Managing Nitrogen and Phosphorus Loads to Water Bodies: Characterisation and Solutions, Towards Macro-Regional Integrated Nutrient Management (JRC-Ispra, 14-15 July 2014) G.M. Kessler, J.L.Taylor and others, Fertilizing Garden & Landscape Plants & Lawns, (February 2000) North Central Regional Extension Publication No. 356 Jenkins, T.A. and Jenkins, V. (2012). The future of phosphorus in agriculture and the environment. The 1st International Congress of Ecologists, University of Business Studies, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. pp. 1481-1497. Read More