Studying the Effect of Mineral Fertilizers on the Development of the Eutrophication Process in the Water Bodies

Abstract

The article is devoted to the disclosure of the effect on the vital activity of cyanobacteria by changes in the nutrients in the chemical composition of artificial aquatic biotopes. The research results allowed us to establish that the dissolution of complex mineral fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in the range of up to 10 g/L contributes to the active development of cyanobacteria, which is accompanied by complete binding of mineral additives and absorption of oxygen. The addition of fertilizers in the amount of more than 1 g/L contributes to a sharp increase in the growth rate of the cyanobacteria population, which provokes the conditions for the blooming of the solutions. Enrichment of the nutritive base of biotopes ensures rapid growth of biocenosis and accelerated consumption of dissolved substances. The recorded average absorption rate of phosphorus reached more than 17 g/(L·day), and nitrogen – 30 g/(L·day). The formation of sediment and foam in the test vessels was associated with the depletion of nutrients and the death of hydrobionts. This phenomenon can serve as an indicator of oxygen decrease in the water. The results of the experiment confirmed the ability of cyanobacteria to transform nitrogen and phosphorus dissolved in water into bound organic forms with high intensity. This opens up the prospect of creating biological methods and means of wastewater demineralization.