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1) What is anestuary?

2) why are estuaries important?

3) What would be four key environmental factors shaping(or affecting) the estuary ecosystem and how do they influence theecosystem productivity and pollution?

4) It is known that the ecosystem can play a role inpreventing the ocean from pollution. Why?

(Please use the described inthe Environmental Science 13th edition)

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Hubert Koch
Hubert KochLv2
28 Sep 2019
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Related questions

About Tidal power: (Please use the described in theEnvironmental Science 13th edition)

1) Principle of the energy generation

2) What factors limit the development of tidal power asa source of electricity?

3) One of the biggest tidal power plants in the world(520MW) will be built at Garorimman in Korea. What would beexpected environmental impacts of the plant to the best of yourknowledge and why?

4) Do you think that tidal power plants will be feasibleor not? Give your reasoning.

can you please give me a response for this Article(type the anwer)

When a soil dries out, this has a negative impact on the activity of soil bacteria. Using an innovative combination of state-of-the-art analysis and imaging techniques, researchers at UFZ have now discovered that fungi increase the activity of bacteria in dry and nutrient-poor habitats by supplying them with water and nutrients. The ability of fungi to regulate drought stress in soil and thus sustain ecosystem functions is an important insight in the context of climate change.

Many fungi spread through the soil with a fine network of thin filaments known as hyphae. In their search for water and nutrients the hyphae grow in different directions, constantly enlarging the network. Once found, water and nutrients are absorbed and transported through the hyphae, allowing them to be supplied to parts of the fungal network in dry or nutrient-poor areas of the soil. But it isn't only the fungus itself which benefits from the transport of material through the hyphal pipelines: bacteria, too, are kept supplied with the water and nutrients they need to thrive. This has now been demonstrated by a team of UFZ researchers in a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications. "We've suspected for a long time that fungi play an important role in the soil moisture budget," says UFZ environmental biotechnologist Prof. Matthias Kästner. "Now, using secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques (NanoSIMS and ToF-SIMS) from the ProVIS research platform at UFZ, we've finally obtained experimental evidence."

As part of their investigations, the researchers closely examined the transport of water, substrates and nutrients through the microscopically small hyphae of fungi. They grew the fungi on a culture medium of water, glucose and nitrogen-containing nutrients. The fungal hyphae had to pass through a dry, nutrient-free zone in order to grow through into a new area containing the culture medium. The inhospitable transition zone contained spores of the common soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Spores are inactive stages of Bacillus that form when there is insufficient water, food and nutrients available for bacterial growth. The bacteria go into a kind of dormant stage, from which they only awake once the environmental conditions are more favourable for living again.

In the experiment, these conditions were indeed improved by the growth of the fungi: "As the fungal hyphae grew through the dry zone, the bacterial spores germinated and we noticed clear microbial activity," says UFZ environmental microbiologist Dr. Lukas Y. Wick. "The fungi obviously improved the environmental conditions for the bacteria and woke them from their slumber, like Sleeping Beauty." But what exactly happens at a chemical level when fungal hyphae grow in direct proximity to bacterial spores? To answer this question, the researchers 'labelled' the water, glucose and nitrogen-containing nutrients in the culture medium in advance with stable isotopes. If these substances were transferred from the fungus to the bacteria, they could be detected using the isotopic marker and the NanoSIMS method, with nano-scale spatial resolution. "The NanoSIMS method reveals the distribution of elements and isotops and therefore allows us to observe metabolic processes," Kästner explains. "As it turns out, we did find the stable isotopes of the labelled water, glucose and nitrogen-containing nutrients in the cell mass of the bacteria -- which could only have come from the fungi."

This study has given the UFZ researchers another important insight into fungi and their important function in soils. Fungi serve as pumping stations and pipelines for water, substrates and nutrients and can colonise inhospitable locations, making them habitable for bacteria -- and thus stimulate microbial activity in the soil. In previous work the researchers have already shown that fungal hyphae act as a kind of fungal highway for bacteria, allowing them to move around, and provide a hotspot for bacterial gene transfer. Wick continues: "The results of this latest study demonstrate once again that, through their interaction with bacteria, fungi play a significant, previously underestimated role in the soil ecosystem."

If a soil is contaminated with pollutants, for example, bacteria can break them down. But if the soil is too dry, the degradation processes will come to a standstill. "If the drought period lasts for a limited time, fungi have a stabilising effect and can keep soil processes going. This could be important specifically with regard to the impacts of climate change, if the ratio of dry to moist areas of soil dramatically increases," says Kästner. In future investigations, the researchers therefore intend to look even more closely at soil as a true ecosystem. "We want to carry out soil experiments under different environmental conditions and find out what influence fungal growth has on the breakdown of pollutants," says Wick. He adds: "It's important to have a better understanding of the role of fungi in the soil ecosystem. Only when we know how soil works can we respond to changes, for example those caused by climate change, with informed decisions."

Could you please proof read my work (Scientifically and correctgrammar) on mangroves issues regardingSocial, Economical, Environmental and Political areas. I wouldhighly appreciate your help.

Here itis:

Issues:

The mangrove forests provide at least US $1.6 billion each yearin ecosystem services as it acts as bases for successful fishingand prawning industry since it provides breeding, feeding andnursery areas for marine species worldwide. Studies in EasternAustralia have estimated that around 67% of the entire commercialcatch is composed of species dependent upon mangrove estuarineareas. The northern Prawn fishery, one of the most valuablefisheries in Australia which is lined by mangrove communities,injects millions of dollars each year into the NT economy. Forexample, In 1996/97 around 3266 tonnes of prawns were produced fromNT waters, valued at around $51 million. In addition, approximately$7.5 million of mud crab and $3.3 million of barramundi were caughtin the NT.

Also in countries such as Belize in USA, theannual economic benefits from reef and mangrove dependent fisheriesis estimated at between US$14–16 million. Furthermore, mangrovesalso benefit the economy by providing recreational facilities forexample, in 2007 many coastal Belizeans Coral reef- andmangrove-associated tourism contributed an estimated US$150 millionto $196 million to the national economy (12 percent to 15 percentof GDP).

Additionally, mangrove forests provide thesociety across the globe with huge range of 'ecological services'such as providing a source of timber which can be used to builddwellings and boats, fuel-wood for cooking and heating sinceAvicennia woods have a high calorific (heating) value,food and traditional medicines for example, the bark ofAvicennia marina can be used to treat stingray stings. Allof these mangrove products can raise the economy of the country bybeing sold by the individuals that collect them. For example, incountries such as Sri Lanka, the collective mangrove productsrepresent a total gross value of US$ 1,171/household/year. Theycontribute to the income of poor, medium and rich income categoryby approximately 42%, 37% and 21% respectively.

Mangroves are also food sources for thesurrounding ecosystems. In New South Wales, it was reported thatone square kilometre of mangrove forest contributes to about 600tonnes of plant material each year to the estuary food chain. Also,mangroves also provide birds sanctuary for northern hemispherebirds. For example, it was reported that a wide variety of 128 birdspecies have been found inhabiting mangroves in Darwin Harbour.

They also provide students with valuable sourcefor understanding the complex scientific interrelationshipsinvolved in the mangrove ecosystem for example linking the changesin abiotic factors with the changes in the biotic factors along themangroves intertidal zone.

Mangroves can also act as barriers againsttsunamis, cyclones and hurricanes. Empirical and field basedevidence is limited, but analytical models show that 30 trees per100m2 in a 100m wide belt may reduce tsunami flow rateby as much as 90%. For example in 1960 a tsunami hit the coast ofBangladesh in an area where the mangroves were intact. No-one died.These mangroves were subsequently cut down by the shrimp (prawn)farming industry and in 1991 thousands of people were killed when atsunami of the same magnitude hit the same region.

Mangroves create a physical barrier, slowingwater movement from the land and trapping sediments. Accordinglythey make land and reduce the erosion along estuaries and creeksand by doing so, they reduce contaminants and sediment run up intothe water and act as natural bio-filters, maintaining the health ofcoral reefs and coastal habitats.

Furthermore, the mangrove forests play animportant role in sequestering coastal carbon from the atmosphereand dissolving it into the ocean. Although the intertidal mangroveforests cover only 0.1% of the earth's surface, they contribute upto 10 % worldwide of the ocean's dissolved organic carbon. This isapproximately equal to the amount reaching the ocean from theAmazon river, the largest single source of dissolved organiccarbon.

Unlike CO2 absorbed directly from theatmosphere, much of the carbon produced by mangrove trees is boundup in large molecules which are highly resistant to decomposition,and is therefore likely to be held in the ocean for decades insteadof being returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

Due to the extractive activities in mangrove forests inAustralia such as the illegal collection of crabs and mangroves'fruits for medicinal purposes as well as timber harvesting, thegovernment and several agencies have introduced laws to protect themangorve forests. For example on the 1st of March 2009,in Queensland, the Government introduced green zones which protects16 % of the Moreton bay marine park. The Government has placed, a$21 million investment in the park which includes a $15 millionStructural Adjustment Program to reduce the environmental andeconomic effects of commercial fishing effort displaced by the newzoning arrangements by purchasing commercial fishing licences

Another example is that in 2003, 465 km2 ofmangroves and associated habitats around Darwin Harbourwere zoned conservation areas by several agencies, including EPA (Environmental protection Agency), DPI ( Department of planning andinfrastructure) and several others, under an amendment to theNorthern Territory Planning Scheme. This includes 95.6% ofmangroves in the harbour. Also, in South Australia, 28% of themangroves are lying within protected areas that are covered by anumber of acts set by the government

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