Organic phosphorus is a part of living plants and animals. It is attached to particulate organic matter composed of once-living plants and animals. Inorganic phosphates comprise the ions of bonded to soil particles and phosphates present in laundry detergents. This scarcity of phosphorus is attributed to its relationship with organic matter and soil particles. Because algae only require small amounts of phosphorus to live, excess phosphors causes extensive algal growth called algal blooms.
Algal blooms color the water a pea-soup green and are a classic symptom of cultural eutrophication.
Sources of phosphorus are human wastes, animal wastes, industrial wastes, and human disturbance of the land and its vegetation. Nitrate and nitrite are inorganic forms of nitrogen in the aquatic environment. Nitrate along with ammonia are the forms of nitrogen used by plants. Nitrates and nitrites are formed through the oxidation of ammonia by nitrifying bacteria, a process known as nitrification. In turn they are converted to other nitrogen forms by denitrification and plant uptake.