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19/10/2006
Report claims 'nutrient pollution' is harming environment
The countryside is being damaged by increased 'nutrient pollution' according to a new report by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
The report, released today, reveals that levels of nitrogen in the countryside have doubled since the industrial revolution, while levels of phosphorus have increased three-fold.
The elements nitrogen and phosphorus are essential for plant growth, and the agricultural sector is a major user of these nutrients, with fertilisers accounting for 60% of the nitrogen used, and about 80% of all mined phosphate. Phosphorus is also used as a nutrient in animal feed, while phosphates are an ingredient in many detergents, and along with nitrates, can often enter the water chain via sewage treatment works.
The report describes how nutrient pollution affects the environment in a variety of ways, accelerating plant growth and altering the structure of ecosystems, in turn leading to a decline in the number of existing species of flora and fauna. Among the birds the RSPB lists as having been pushed to the edge of extinction by the process are the corncrake and the red-backed shrike.
The report added: "Farmland covers 75% of the UK and therefore exerts a great influence on its landscapes and resident wildlife. Strong causal links exist, in a number of cases, between nutrient pollution and knock-on effects on the food chain of wildlife, including birds.
"Damaging pollution of the countryside will continue unless action is taken to reduce the amount of inorganic nutrients reaching the environment from all sources."
(CL/CD)
The report, released today, reveals that levels of nitrogen in the countryside have doubled since the industrial revolution, while levels of phosphorus have increased three-fold.
The elements nitrogen and phosphorus are essential for plant growth, and the agricultural sector is a major user of these nutrients, with fertilisers accounting for 60% of the nitrogen used, and about 80% of all mined phosphate. Phosphorus is also used as a nutrient in animal feed, while phosphates are an ingredient in many detergents, and along with nitrates, can often enter the water chain via sewage treatment works.
The report describes how nutrient pollution affects the environment in a variety of ways, accelerating plant growth and altering the structure of ecosystems, in turn leading to a decline in the number of existing species of flora and fauna. Among the birds the RSPB lists as having been pushed to the edge of extinction by the process are the corncrake and the red-backed shrike.
The report added: "Farmland covers 75% of the UK and therefore exerts a great influence on its landscapes and resident wildlife. Strong causal links exist, in a number of cases, between nutrient pollution and knock-on effects on the food chain of wildlife, including birds.
"Damaging pollution of the countryside will continue unless action is taken to reduce the amount of inorganic nutrients reaching the environment from all sources."
(CL/CD)
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