Waste Management - Agriculture Flashcards
What is the basic principle of waste?
That it must be recycled in a safe manner
Why are many of Ireland’s lakes depleted of fish?
Because of the lack of oxygen caused mainly by the release of slurry.
what is slurry?
It is liquefied waste material produced by animals
What does slurry contain high levels of?
It contains high levels of minerals such as nitrogen and phosphorous.
What happens when slurry enters rivers or lakes?
the minerals it contains cause increased algal growth. This often results in algal blooms.
What happens when algae die?
They are decomposed by bacteria which results in the absorption of oxygen and the water becomes depleted in oxygen.
What happens when aquatic animals and plants can’t get sufficient oxygen?
They die
What happens when there isn’t sufficient oxygen in aquatic ecosystems?
Aquatic plants and animals die
What is eutrophication?
Eutrophication is the addition of nutrients to fresh water. This leads to a lack of oxygen in the water.
What happens if the release of nutrients into rivers and lakes is controlled?
The water quality can be improved.
How is water quality improved?
By controlling the release of nutrients into rivers and lakes
give an example of the controlled release of nutrients into water.
An example of this involves the storing of slurry in leak-proof pts. The stored slurry is spread on dry land in summer so it is not washed away into streams and rivers and the nutrients can be absorbed by plant roots and recycled by plants.
What happens when slurry is spread in the summer?
It is not washed away into streams and rivers and the nutrients can be absorbed by plant roots and recycled by plants.
Lakes can be restocked with fish to return them to their original state.
