Portal:Eutrophication/Intro

Eutrophication is the enrichment of water by nutrients, especially compounds of nitrogen and/or phosphorus, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of the water concerned.
The negative effects of eutrophication on marine ecosystems include: algal blooms, increased growth of macroalgae, increased sedimentation and oxygen consumption, oxygen depletion in the bottom water and sometimes the death of benthic animals and fish. In coastal European areas eutrophication causes the presence of blue-green algae which are potentially harmful to humans as well as the presence of large mats of drifting algae that get deposited along the shorelines and decay.
In order to reduce the negative effects of eutrophication nutrient inputs need to be reduced.