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Fertilizer In Algae

897 Words4 Pages

The purpose of this experiment is to find the most of effective amount of fertilizer to grow algae in, while light conditions stay consistent. This information will provide potential algae farmers the ideal ratio for growing algae, a multi use crop. Algae is a broad term for a single celled phytoplankton on the bottom of marine food chains. These organisms are phototrophs, they make their own food using chlorophyll and other pigments, and provide food for the rest of the aquatic food chain. While most algae is harmless, the infamous cyanobacteria releases neurotoxins, which can cause seizures and kill small animals or children.(Rodger, 2013)
Algae has many positive attributes. People around the world, particularly in China, eat algae for …show more content…

Whether it is synthetic or natural, all fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Natural manures are perceived as having far less negative ecological effects than the inorganic engineered items. The most important disadvantage related with these natural sources are their greater weight than the synthetics, which causes extra transportation costs. Fertilizers are a requirement in modern day. Populations are increasing at a faster than ever. Less land is allocated to farmers, and more land is being allocated for industrial uses or housing. According to USA Today’s Naasz,”Without fertilizer, roughly one-third of the world's population would go hungry.” Climate is irregular and droughts are commonplace. All of these make fertilizer required for any modern farmer. Many misuse it because it is hard to time how much a plant will …show more content…

Large blooms cause eutrophication, a lack of dissolved oxygen in bodies of water. When the excessive nutrients from fertilizer runoff into the water, the algae blooms and causes this. The lack of oxygen eliminates habitats for many aquatic species and reduces water quality for humans. Therefore, the less fertilizer used for the same results the better. It has diminishing returns when used excessively. If the plant has too much fertilizer, the total growth will decrease because the soil will become too acidic. Fertilizer misuse is very common by uneducated farmers, which adds to the algae problem.
Fertilizer’s benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages, however, to maintain a healthy environment, farmers should use the minimum amount that they can get away with. This experiment will show which ratio will be the best. It also shows how bad algae will get if farmers overuse fertilizer or misuse it. Fertilizer is definitely necessary in the modern age, and no scientist in the right mind will tell a farmer they should stop using fertilizer. There is an optimal amount of fertilizer to be used and this experiment will find

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