Agricultural Pollutants and Agricultural Pollutants and FertilizersFertilizers

A farm is a high contributor to water pollution…why??? Rain typically washes nutrients and fertilizers off of a

poorly managed field and into the water sources (surface runoff)

All of the major water sources eventually connect to one another…causing pollutants to travel long distances

BRAINSTORM: Why would it be beneficial to not use fertilizers in your yard?

Hint #1: How might fertilizers affect the surrounding ecosystem?

Hint #2: Think about cost, type of fertilizer, etc.

Algal BloomAlgal Bloom What is it? A rapid increase in the algae population Colors could be green, yellowish-brown, or red Some are caused by excess nutrients such as phosphorus

and nitrogen Algal blooms are vicious cycles:

Increase in nutrients means increased growth of algae More algae means less plants More dead plants (organic matter) means more food for the algae-increase in algae population

Red TideRed Tide

Common name for algal bloom Florida usually has an annual red tide occurance Toxins from the microorganisms cause the sea

creatures to become poisonous for human consumption, a lot of times without knowing The pigment in these organisms cause the different colors.

Eutrophication Eutrophication Process of increasing the nutrients in the

ecosystem by using chemical nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen are two common ones)

Humans can increase the rate at which the nutrients enter the ecosystem Approximately 65% of the lakes in the U.S. are affected by

eutrophication

Can affect the growth of algae and plants.

Thermal PollutionThermal Pollution Caused by a large increase in the temperature of the water

because of humans Occurs in lakes, rivers, or shallow bays located near power

plants or industrial sites Increased water temp means decreased amounts of oxygen

that the water can hold Suffocates fish Think about nuclear power plants and other industries, that are

constantly releasing heat into the environment

Not all Thermal Pollution is a bad thing… Manatees in southern Florida like that extra heat that the power

plants give off. So oftentimes they migrate to these warmer areas