eutrophication – Aquarius-Systems

Phosphorus Loss From Farm Soil Can Harm Wetlands and Water Quality

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 22:07:39 +0000

Phosphorus-enriched soil is very much essential for agricultural purposes. But the current alarming fact is, this nutrient is increasingly being lost from soils all around the world. This mineral is one of the vital factors for the world’s food production and there isn’t an unlimited supply of this from the soil.

Phosphorus in the soil flushed out of agricultural soils into wetlands and local bodies because of the erosion. The excess of nutrients harms the aquatic plant and animals.

Salvinia Minima Spreads in South Africa After Water Hyacinth Control

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:24:44 +0000

Hartbeespoort Dam in South Africa has a new invasive aquatic weed to battle, Salvinia minima. The proliferation of common salvinia, just as water hyacinth came under biological control through the combined efforts is no coincidence.

In areas that experience high levels of nutrient inflow (pollution), the control of one aquatic weed opens resources to other potentially invasive plant species creating a ‘secondary invasion event’. In the case of common salvinia, the ‘secondary invasion event’ is taking place just as resources such as light availability, space and nutrients, otherwise used by water hyacinth, have become available.

Read More https://foranglers.co.za/harties-a-new-invader-has-taken-over-salvinia-minima/

Benefits of Weed Harvesting for Water Quality and Nutrient Removal

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 18:04:26 +0000

Benefits of Weed Harvesting
Dr. Stephen J. Souza
Lake Hopatcong Commission Environmental Consultant

One of the most obvious management activities of the Lake Hopatcong Commission is the weed harvesting program. Some may view this as a simple “mowing” of the Lake. However, much more is accomplished than simply opening boating lanes and improving swimming. The harvested weeds represent a significant amount of biomass, and associated nutrients, that if not removed would otherwise add to the siltation of the Lake and contribute to its future eutrophication.

In its first three years of operation, because of the concerted, coordinated efforts of the Lake Hopatcong Commission, over nine million pounds of weeds were removed from the Lake. This could not have been accomplished without the state-of-art harvesting equipment and the dedicated staff of the Lake Hopatcong Commission. From a water quality perspective, the removal of this much weed mass is very important. The phosphorus associated with these weeds is roughly 1,200 pounds.

Although this may not sound like a lot, a single pound of phosphorus can support over 1,100 pounds of algae. Thus, through the weed harvesting efforts of the Lake Hopatcong Commission in New Jersey, phosphorus, that otherwise would be recycled through the Lake and fuel future weed and algae growth, is removed. This has a direct positive benefit to the long-term water quality of the Lake and the control of the Lake’s eutrophication. As such, the weed harvesting program contributes in more than the obvious way in the revitalization of the lake and the improvement of its water quality.