Impact of chemical fertilizers on nutrient level of surface water bodies

Abstract

Farmers in the modern era are forced to follow the principle of intensive agriculture with the application of larger amounts of modern technological inputs, in particular chemical fertilizers. But its continuous use or overuse is fraught with danger because a considerable amount of applied fertilizer is lost to the environment, especially to the soil system and surface water bodies, including ponds, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. The objective of the study is to examine and measure the impact of chemical fertilizers on nutrient levels or the gross productivity of surface water bodies. For the study, water samples have been collected by primary field survey in five different study villages from different corners of the Mayurakshi-Basloi interfluve, Birbhum District, West Bengal, India. Thereafter these are examined in the laboratory to measure the level of increase of nutrients. The results show that, in every case, the amount of nutrient or gross primary productivity in the water bodies has been augmented after the application of chemical fertilizers to the crop fields.