Human impact on the phosphorus cycle, Biology

Assignment Help:

Human Impact on the Phosphorus Cycle

Like other biogeochemical cycles, human activities have altered the phosphorus cycle. Human beings mine phosphate rocks and guano deposits to make phosphorus available for production of fertilisers, detergents, animal feed, medicines, pesticide: and numerous other products. This mining exposes phosphate deposits made over millions of years. Phosphates are removed from soil through cropping of vegetation and to replace it phosphate fertilisers have to be added. Because of the abundance of calcium, iron and aluminium in the soil much of the phosphates get immobilised as insoluble salts. Thus more fertilisers have to be added. This results in high concentration of phosphates in agricultural runoffs. Similarly concentration of phosphorus in detergents, wastes of food processing plants, animal feed lot, sewage, etc., add to a considerable quantity of phosphorus poured in natural waters.

This problem becomes acute in urban areas. As said earlier, in aquatic ecosystems the phosphorus is taken up rapidly by the vegetation resulting in a sudden explosive growth of algae. Like nitrogen, this leads to cultural eutrophication of the water body. The producers cloud the water and forms a scum on the surface, blocking sunlight for the submerged plants. This is one example of the result of accumulation of nutrients at one stage of the nutrient cycle. It is important to note that the means of returning phosphorus to the cycle are inadequate to compensate for the loss. Sea birds have traditionally played-an important part in returning phosphorus to the cycle via their droppings (for example guano deposits off the coast of Peru) but apparently not at the rate at which it has occurred in the past. Unfortunately human activities appear to hasten the rate at which phosphorus is lost and thus make the cycle 'less perfect'. You could think our present use of phosphorus which is washed out into the rivers and finally into the oceans as an accelerated 'pouring' of phosphorus from the source to the sink.


Related Discussions:- Human impact on the phosphorus cycle

Define recommended dietary allowance for folate (rda), Define Recommended D...

Define Recommended Dietary Allowance for Folate (RDA)? Folate requirements are the intake levels necessary to prevent deficiency with clinical symptoms. The requirements are ex

Characteristics of ammonium transport system, Characteristics of Ammonium T...

Characteristics of Ammonium Transport System The following are the characteristics of ammonium transport system: Ammonium transport system is ammonia' repressible

What are multiple alleles, What are multiple alleles? Is there dominance in...

What are multiple alleles? Is there dominance in multiple alleles? Multiple alleles is the phenomenon in which the similar gene has more than two dissimilar alleles (in normal

Show the peptide found in the brain, Q. Show the Peptide found in the brain...

Q. Show the Peptide found in the brain? There are as many as 300 peptide neurotransmitters found in the brain. Peptide is a short protein consisting of fewer than 100 amino aci

Explain chronic infections fever, Explain Chronic Infections Fever Chr...

Explain Chronic Infections Fever Chronic  Infections Fever: These are generally of longer and sustained duration. The patients have a past history of repeated episodes or con

What is the karyotype found in down syndrome, What is the karyotype found i...

What is the karyotype found in Down syndrome? Down syndrome is an aneuploidy, i.e., a numeric changing of chromosomes within the cells compared to the normal number of chromoso

What is fermentation, What is Fermentation ? Fermentation is a process ...

What is Fermentation ? Fermentation is a process used by anaerobic organisms and certain cells of aerobic organisms, such as muscle cells deprived of oxygen, to obtain addition

Phosphorylation of glucose, Phosphorylation of  glucose Glucose is con...

Phosphorylation of  glucose Glucose is converted to  glucose-6-phosphate since phosphorylated  intermediates do not readily penetrate cell membrane and  this commits glucose  t

Principles of animal nutrition, Food Chain The land mass, water bod...

Food Chain The land mass, water bodies and atmosphere are the three endowments of nature on which the living beings have to depend for their nourishment and sustenance. The

How dissimilar are cnidarians from poriferans, Q. Concerning tissue complex...

Q. Concerning tissue complexity how dissimilar are cnidarians from poriferans? Poriferans present only some dispersed specialized cells with no tissue differentiation, Cnidaria

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd