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Positive And Negative Effects Of Eutrophication

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Humans have numerous effects on bodies of water, both positive and negative. One of the negative impacts that humans have on the environment is eutrophication. The book, Environment by Peter Raven defines eutrophication as the “nutrient enrichment of a body of water with inorganic plant and nutrient like nitrates and phosphates”. This enrichment causes increased photosynthetic activity (Raven et al. 2011). Humans are responsible for accelerating the natural process of eutrophication (Raven et al. 2011). There are many ways in which humans contribute to this process such as, increased nutrient levels in bodies of water due to runoff from fertilizers, as well as soil erosion, and the release of untreated sewage (Raven et al. 2011). Releasing sewage into the water is not a good solution and it can lead to public health problems (Raven et al. 2011). If there is a lot of sewage then there is less dissolved oxygen left, after the microorganisms use what they need (Raven et al. 2011). In extreme cases eutrophication may even cause fish populations and various other animals in these areas to die (Raven et al. 2011). This is because the microorganisms in the water break down the sewage into carbon dioxide and water through cellular respiration which needs oxygen to work (Raven et al. 2011).
Typically, as eutrophication occurs the bodies of water began to become shallower as the number of dead organisms in the sediment increase (Raven et al. 2011). From there plants will start to

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