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Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as  
  • a)
    Enhanced plankton growth due to excess supply of nutrients
  • b)
    Amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break down organic material  
  • c)
    An increase in the concentration of a nutrient as you move up the food chain
  • d)
    A decrease in biotic potential of the aquatic ecosystem  
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
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Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as a)Enhanced plankto...
Eutrophication is the process of growing many plants on aquatic body. It occurs when aquatic system has overabundance of nutrients.It is most often caused by human activities like farming, maintaing golf courses and other activities that can lead to fertilizer run off.
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Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as a)Enhanced plankto...
Eutrophication
• Eutrophication or hypertrophication, is when a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients that induce excessive growth of plants and algae. This process may result in oxygen depletion of the water body.
• The main effects caused by eutrophication can be summarized as:
• Abundance of particulate substances (phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, fungi and debris) that determine the turbidity and colouration of the water;
• Abundance of inorganic chemicals such as ammonia, nitrites, hydrogen sulphide etc. that in the drinking water treatment plants induce the formation of harmful substances such as nitrosamines suspected of mutagenicity;
• Abundance of organic substances that give the water disagreeable odours or tastes, barely masked by chlorination in the case of drinking water. These substances, moreover, form complex chemical compounds that prevent normal purification processes and are deposited on the walls of the water purifier inlet tubes, accelerating corrosion and limiting the flow rate;
• The water acquires disagreeable odours or tastes (of earth, of rotten fish, of cloves, of watermelon, etc.) due to the presence of particular algae;
• Disappearance or significant reduction of quality fish with very negative effects on fishing (instead of quality species such as trout undesirable ones such as carp become established) and ocean acidification;
• Possible affirmation of toxic algae with potential damage to the population and animals drinking the affected water;
• Prohibition of touristic use of the lake and bathing, due to both the foul odour on the shores caused by the presence of certain algae, as well as the turbidity and anything but clean and attractive appearance of the water; bathing is dangerous because certain algae cause skin irritation;
• Reduction of oxygen concentration, especially in the deeper layers of the lake at the end of summer and in autumn.
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Passage -1The law in many parts of the world increasingly restricts the discharge of agricultural slurry into watercourses. The simplest and often the most economically sound practice returns the material to the land as semisolid manure or as sprayed slurry. This dilutes its concentration in the environment to what might have occurred III a more primitive and sustainable type of agriculture and converts pollutant into fertilizer. Soil microorganisms decompose the organic components of sewage and slurry and most of the mineral nutrients become available to be absorbed again by the vegetation.The excess input of nutrients, both nitrogen and phosphorus - based, from agricultural runoff (and human sewag e) has caused many healthy oligotrophic lakes (low nutrient concentrations, low plant productivity with abundant water weeds, and clear water) to change to eutrophic condition where high nutrient inputs lead to high phytoplankton productivity (sometimes dominated by bloomforming toxic species). This makes the water turbid, eliminates large plants and, in the worst situations, leads to anoxia and fish kills; so called cultural eutrophication. Thus, important ecosystem services are lost, including the provisioning service of wild-caught fish and the cultural services associated with recreation.The process of cultural eutrophication of lakes has been understood for some time. But only recently did scientists notice huge dead zones in the oceans near river outlets, particularly those draining large catchment areas such as the Mississippi in North America and the Yangtze in China. The nutrient-enriched water flows through streams, rivers and lakes, and eventually to the estuary and ocean where the ecological impact may be huge, killing virtually all invertebrates and fish in areas up to 70,000 km2 in extent. More than 150 sea areas worldwide are now regularly starved of oxygen as a result of decomposition of algal blooms, fuelled particularly by nitrogen from agricultural runoff of fertilizers and sewage from large cities. Oceanic dead zones are typically associated withindustrialized nations and usually lie off- countries that subsidize their agriculture, encouraging farmers to increase productivity and use more fertilizer.Q.What is the central theme of this passage?

Passage -1The law in many parts of the world increasingly restricts the discharge of agricultural slurry into watercourses. The simplest and often the most economically sound practice returns the material to the land as semisolid manure or as sprayed slurry. This dilutes its concentration in the environment to what might have occurred III a more primitive and sustainable type of agriculture and converts pollutant into fertilizer. Soil microorganisms decompose the organic components of sewage and slurry and most of the mineral nutrients become available to be absorbed again by the vegetation.The excess input of nutrients, both nitrogen and phosphorus - based, from agricultural runoff (and human sewag e) has caused many healthy oligotrophic lakes (low nutrient concentrations, low plant productivity with abundant water weeds, and clear water) to change to eutrophic condition where high nutrient inputs lead to high phytoplankton productivity (sometimes dominated by bloomforming toxic species). This makes the water turbid, eliminates large plants and, in the worst situations, leads to anoxia and fish kills; so called cultural eutrophication. Thus, important ecosystem services are lost, including the provisioning service of wild-caught fish and the cultural services associated with recreation.The process of cultural eutrophication of lakes has been understood for some time. But only recently did scientists notice huge dead zones in the oceans near river outlets, particularly those draining large catchment areas such as the Mississippi in North America and the Yangtze in China. The nutrient-enriched water flows through streams, rivers and lakes, and eventually to the estuary and ocean where the ecological impact may be huge, killing virtually all invertebrates and fish in areas up to 70,000 km2 in extent. More than 150 sea areas worldwide are now regularly starved of oxygen as a result of decomposition of algal blooms, fuelled particularly by nitrogen from agricultural runoff of fertilizers and sewage from large cities. Oceanic dead zones are typically associated withindustrialized nations and usually lie off- countries that subsidize their agriculture, encouraging farmers to increase productivity and use more fertilizer.Q.What is/are the characteristics of a water body with cultural eutrophication?1. Loss of ecosystem services2. Loss of flora and fauna3. Loss of mineral nutrients

Passage -1The law in many parts of the world increasingly restricts the discharge of agricultural slurry into watercourses. The simplest and often the most economically sound practice returns the material to the land as semisolid manure or as sprayed slurry. This dilutes its concentration in the environment to what might have occurred III a more primitive and sustainable type of agriculture and converts pollutant into fertilizer. Soil microorganisms decompose the organic components of sewage and slurry and most of the mineral nutrients become available to be absorbed again by the vegetation.The excess input of nutrients, both nitrogen and phosphorus - based, from agricultural runoff (and human sewag e) has caused many healthy oligotrophic lakes (low nutrient concentrations, low plant productivity with abundant water weeds, and clear water) to change to eutrophic condition where high nutrient inputs lead to high phytoplankton productivity (sometimes dominated by bloomforming toxic species). This makes the water turbid, eliminates large plants and, in the worst situations, leads to anoxia and fish kills; so called cultural eutrophication. Thus, important ecosystem services are lost, including the provisioning service of wild-caught fish and the cultural services associated with recreation.The process of cultural eutrophication of lakes has been understood for some time. But only recently did scientists notice huge dead zones in the oceans near river outlets, particularly those draining large catchment areas such as the Mississippi in North America and the Yangtze in China. The nutrient-enriched water flows through streams, rivers and lakes, and eventually to the estuary and ocean where the ecological impact may be huge, killing virtually all invertebrates and fish in areas up to 70,000 km2 in extent. More than 150 sea areas worldwide are now regularly starved of oxygen as a result of decomposition of algal blooms, fuelled particularly by nitrogen from agricultural runoff of fertilizers and sewage from large cities. Oceanic dead zones are typically associated withindustrialized nations and usually lie off- countries that subsidize their agriculture, encouraging farmers to increase productivity and use more fertilizer.Q.According to the passage, what are the effects of indiscriminate use of fertilizers?1. Addition of pollutants to the soil and water.2. Destruction decomposer of microorganisms in soil.3. Nutrient enrichment of water bodies.4. Creation of algal blooms.

Passage -1The law in many parts of the world increasingly restricts the discharge of agricultural slurry into watercourses. The simplest and often the most economically sound practice returns the material to the land as semisolid manure or as sprayed slurry. This dilutes its concentration in the environment to what might have occurred III a more primitive and sustainable type of agriculture and converts pollutant into fertilizer. Soil microorganisms decompose the organic components of sewage and slurry and most of the mineral nutrients become available to be absorbed again by the vegetation.The excess input of nutrients, both nitrogen and phosphorus - based, from agricultural runoff (and human sewag e) has caused many healthy oligotrophic lakes (low nutrient concentrations, low plant productivity with abundant water weeds, and clear water) to change to eutrophic condition where high nutrient inputs lead to high phytoplankton productivity (sometimes dominated by bloomforming toxic species). This makes the water turbid, eliminates large plants and, in the worst situations, leads to anoxia and fish kills; so called cultural eutrophication. Thus, important ecosystem services are lost, including the provisioning service of wild-caught fish and the cultural services associated with recreation.The process of cultural eutrophication of lakes has been understood for some time. But only recently did scientists notice huge dead zones in the oceans near river outlets, particularly those draining large catchment areas such as the Mississippi in North America and the Yangtze in China. The nutrient-enriched water flows through streams, rivers and lakes, and eventually to the estuary and ocean where the ecological impact may be huge, killing virtually all invertebrates and fish in areas up to 70,000 km2 in extent. More than 150 sea areas worldwide are now regularly starved of oxygen as a result of decomposition of algal blooms, fuelled particularly by nitrogen from agricultural runoff of fertilizers and sewage from large cities. Oceanic dead zones are typically associated withindustrialized nations and usually lie off- countries that subsidize their agriculture, encouraging farmers to increase productivity and use more fertilizer.Q.The passage refers to the conversion of pollutant to fertilizer. What is pollutant and what is fertilizer in this context?

Directions for the following 7 (seven) items: Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow each passage. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.Passage -1The law in many parts of the world increasingly restricts the discharge of agricultural slurry into watercourses. The simplest and often the most economically sound practice returns the material to the land as semisolid manure or as sprayed slurry. This dilutes its concentration in the environment to what might have occurred III a more primitive and sustainable type of agriculture and converts pollutant into fertilizer. Soil microorganisms decompose the organic components of sewage and slurry and most of the mineral nutrients become available to be absorbed again by the vegetation.The excess input of nutrients, both nitrogen and phosphorus - based, from agricultural runoff (and human sewag e) has caused many healthy oligotrophic lakes (low nutrient concentrations, low plant productivity with abundant water weeds, and clear water) to change to eutrophic condition where high nutrient inputs lead to high phytoplankton productivity (sometimes dominated by bloomforming toxic species). This makes the water turbid, eliminates large plants and, in the worst situations, leads to anoxia and fish kills; so called cultural eutrophication. Thus, important ecosystem services are lost, including the provisioning service of wild-caught fish and the cultural services associated with recreation.The process of cultural eutrophication of lakes has been understood for some time. But only recently did scientists notice huge dead zones in the oceans near river outlets, particularly those draining large catchment areas such as the Mississippi in North America and the Yangtze in China. The nutrient-enriched water flows through streams, rivers and lakes, and eventually to the estuary and ocean where the ecological impact may be huge, killing virtually all invertebrates and fish in areas up to 70,000 km2 in extent. More than 150 sea areas worldwide are now regularly starved of oxygen as a result of decomposition of algal blooms, fuelled particularly by nitrogen from agricultural runoff of fertilizers and sewage from large cities. Oceanic dead zones are typically associated withindustrialized nations and usually lie off- countries that subsidize their agriculture, encouraging farmers to increase productivity and use more fertilizer.Q.According to the passage, why should the discharge of agricultural slurry into watercourses be restricted?1. Losing nutrients in this way is not a good practice economically.2. Watercourses do not contain the microorganisms that can decompose organic components of agricultural slurry.3. The discharge may lead to the eutrophication of water bodies.

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Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as a)Enhanced plankton growth due to excess supply of nutrientsb)Amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break down organic material c)An increase in the concentration of a nutrient as you move up the food chaind)A decrease in biotic potential of the aquatic ecosystem Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
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Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as a)Enhanced plankton growth due to excess supply of nutrientsb)Amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break down organic material c)An increase in the concentration of a nutrient as you move up the food chaind)A decrease in biotic potential of the aquatic ecosystem Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? for UPSC 2024 is part of UPSC preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the UPSC exam syllabus. Information about Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as a)Enhanced plankton growth due to excess supply of nutrientsb)Amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break down organic material c)An increase in the concentration of a nutrient as you move up the food chaind)A decrease in biotic potential of the aquatic ecosystem Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for UPSC 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as a)Enhanced plankton growth due to excess supply of nutrientsb)Amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break down organic material c)An increase in the concentration of a nutrient as you move up the food chaind)A decrease in biotic potential of the aquatic ecosystem Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for Eutrophication can be most appropriately defined as a)Enhanced plankton growth due to excess supply of nutrientsb)Amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break down organic material c)An increase in the concentration of a nutrient as you move up the food chaind)A decrease in biotic potential of the aquatic ecosystem Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for UPSC. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for UPSC Exam by signing up for free.
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