4.7 Pollution
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Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, Switzerland, as well as Germany. The ravaging
impacts of acid rain on soil have consistently led to the damage of altitude forests
and vegetation cover because of being encircled by clouds and fogs. In addition to
this, the widespread impacts of acid rain have resulted in stunted growth as well as
the demise of some of the forests and vegetation cover.
Acid rain makes precipitation more acidic, thus negatively affects buildings
through corrosion. Also, acid rain leads to weathering as water flows from high to
the low ground. When it rains, the water pH is often around 6.0, implying that it is
quite acidic (Warren et al. 2017). When gases start dissolving within the condensed
water, it leads to the creation of sulfuric and nitric acid before falling as acid rain.
Finally, regarding weather and climate, acid rain does not have a substantial effect on
weather and climate. It only affects the content of water vapor and surface runoff.
Explain why acid rain is quite lethal for the environment and its ecosystems.
4.7 Pollution
Pollution refers to the addition of substances or any forms of energy to the
environment at a pace that is faster than it is decomposed, diluted, or converted
to a harmless form. The main types of pollution are water, air, and land pollution.
The modern society also deals with other forms of pollution, including light, noise,
and plastic pollution. Whereas environmental pollution can be attributed to natural
events, including active volcanoes and forest fires, the utilization of the terms
pollution mainly means that contaminants have a human source or human activities
that cause pollution.
4.7.1 Ecosystems
Air pollution impacts ecosystems in numerous ways, changing basic ecosystem
functions, including primary production as well as biogeochemical cycling, thus
affecting ecosystem services and the benefits that humans accrue from them.
Eutrophication is one of the major impacts of pollution on the ecosystem
(Langston 2017). Conceptually, eutrophication is defined as the enrichment of water
using nutrient salts that lead to structural ecosystem changes, including higher algal
production, the decline in fish species, and water quality deterioration.
Identify the relationship between pollution and eutrophication.
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