What term describes the process by which excess nutrients, typically from fertilizer runoff, enter water bodies and trigger algal blooms and oxygen depletion?

• A. Sustainable Agriculture
• B. Eutrophication
• C. Variable Rate Technology
• D. Remote Sensing

Answer: (B)

Excess nutrients entering water bodies from fertilizer runoff cause eutrophication. When nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers accumulate in lakes, rivers, or coastal zones, they fuel rapid growth of algae and aquatic plants. This blooms can shade out other vegetation and, when the organisms die, bacteria break down the organic matter, using up a lot of dissolved oxygen in the water. The result is oxygen depletion, which harms fish and other aquatic life and can create dead zones. Humans accelerate this process through fertilizer and waste runoff, making it a form of cultural eutrophication. Other terms describe different ideas: sustainable agriculture focuses on long-term resource protection, variable rate technology adjusts input application to field conditions, and remote sensing is a method for observing large areas from a distance. The process described here is eutrophication.