Phosphorous is an essential element for plant growth, but excess phosporous can cause algal blooms. Algal blooms decrease levels of dissolved oxygen available for aquatic life and can choke out other vegetation by blocking light penetration.
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;Oxygen
;Turbidity
Water Quality
Phosphorus is a nutrient required by all organisms for the basic processes of life. It is a natural element found in rocks, soils and organic material. Phosphorus clings tightly to soil and is used by plants, so its concentrations in clean waters is generally very low. However, phosphorus is used extensively in fertilizer and other chemicals, so it can be found in higher concentrations in areas of human activity. Many seemingly harmless activities added together can cause phosphorus overloads.
Total phosphorous is a measure of all the various forms of phosphorus (dissolved and particulate) found in water.
Dissolved phosphorus is readily available for plants, and consists of inorganic orthophosphate (H2PO4-, HPO42- and PO43-) and organic phosphorus-containing compounds.
Particulate Phosphorus Species:
Particulate phosphorus consists of plants, animals, their remains, phosphorus associated with certain minerals. Particulate phosphorus can be found in suspension or in the sediment. The presence of phosphate in a waterbody can act to "buffer" a stream's pH and keep it relatively constant.
Orthosphoshate refers to any of the "salts" of phosphoric acid (e.g. H2PO4-, HPO42- and PO43-) - these are the most biologically available forms of phosphorus.