New Research to Help Reduce Number of Algae Blooms that Form Annually

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New Research to Help Reduce Number of Algae Blooms that Form Annually

A new study shows that sampling headwaters where streams form can identify which landscapes are resilient enough to handle the rigors of farming and which are vulnerable to leaching toxic residue into waterways.

The massive algal blooms caused by excess fertilizer from farms and cities running off into water supplies are having severe human health and economic consequences.

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Representative image, source: PxHere

In recent years, stunning satellite images show toxic algal blooms across the world, including Lake Erie, the Baltic Sea, and the Yellow Sea. In fact, according to a recent publication in  Science , nutrient pollution is the second greatest environmental threat to humanity, with economic damages from the issue costing up to $2.3 trillion annually.

New research led by Brigham Young University ecosystem ecologist Ben Abbott presents a new tool to fight this global crisis. His study, recently published in  Ecology Letters , found that rivers and streams could be used as "sensors" of ecosystem health, allowing both improved water quality and food production.

His research shows that sampling headwaters where streams form can identify which landscapes are resilient enough to handle the rigors of farming and which are vulnerable to leaching toxic residue into waterways.

"Currently, humans just go out and do agriculture wherever there is available ground," Abbott said. "Using the fingerprint of water quality throughout the stream network, we can tell farmers or urban planners, 'Hey, this land is really resilient, so you should do agriculture here.'"

Abbott and an international team of researchers used a data set from France that included samples from 60 small tributaries every two weeks over 12 years. In analyzing the data, they found nutrient concentrations went up and down over time, but the relative rank of each stream was stable across many years. This spatial stability of water quality means that periodic sampling of headwaters can reveal the location and strength of pollution sources.

"We were surprised to see that the streams were good sensors of long-term nutrient conditions," said study co-author, Jay Zarnetske, an environmental scientist at Michigan State University. "Our methods show that we can learn much from a relatively small number of samples if they are collected more strategically."

Read full article: Science Daily

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