Csiro Plant Poison

If saltwater is applied to a plant, the plant would shrivel up and die. This is a result of the water moving out of the cells in order to try to balance the concentration of solute compared to inside the cell. The water movement out of the cell would cause the cell to shrink and the lack of water would eventually cause the plant to die.

The excess use of fertilizers can result in soil erosion and can lead to land pollution.

“Poison from the air” is nitrogen from the atmosphere that we are using unnaturally; fertilizers run off into water and have ecological effects and nitrogen was used for chemical warfare in World War I.

The purpose of this course is to provide the fundamental knowledge of the effects of environmental chemicals on living systems, and the toxic responses of the human and plant systems. Students will discuss risk, ethics, and social responsibility with regard to environmental toxicology.

7) What would happen if you applied saltwater to a plant? The saltwater has a lower water potential due to the solute, and therefore water would move out of the plant, dehydrating it.

When salinity increases, warning signs appear in the landscapes of the affected areas. These warning signs include things like sick and/or dying trees, declining vegetation, colonisation of tolerant weed-like plants, bare patches where vegetation has died and saline pools in creek beds. These show that the ecosystem is being affected and at a high rate.

Salt water is toxic to our bodies because the body eventually fails when it has to try to get rid of the salt that enters our bodies if we were to drink salt water. The body normally gets rid of excess salt by the kidneys producing urine, but it needs regular water to dilute the salt in our body for our kidneys to work properly. Normally that is not a problem because we drink water and eat foods with water in them. Tissue in our bodies also contains water that can be used. But if there is too much salt in our bodies, our kidneys cannot get enough water to dilute the salt and our bodies will shut down due to kidney failure.

To fix this problem,a mixture of salt and sand are put on the roads. What happens to all of the salt and sand mixture when spring comes. All the salt and sand on the road begins to wash away with the water and goes into the surrounding area. If plants are near it they are automatically put into a hypertonic solution. Plants need water to do Photosynthesis. “More than 10 tons/lane-mi of salt are placed on main of state-maintained highways. In states like Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont is this occurs.” (Road salt used in the united states, 20) If tons of salt is placed on roads of water due to the diffusion of salt effect the plants

According to research, once the chemicals are released into the air, water, or the soil, it can cause a decline in health, which can possibly result in death. About three quarters of the chemicals that comes out

Saline environments tend to hinder agricultural production by lowering crop yields, often quite substantially. The traditional response to the threat of salinity-induced crop yield reductions is to apply water in excess of plant requirements so as to leach the salts out of the root zone. (Letey and Dinar, 1986).

The Effect of Salt on Radish Seed Growth along the Nelson River in Ensi county, Indiana.

Finally, it can be detrimental to soil and vegetation. When the brine solution is absorbed by soil, it depletes the soil of its nutrients, in a process called ionic exchange. This lack of nutrients can decrease fertility and quality of the soil, not allowing anything to grow there again. This can happen anywhere from farms to your own front yard.

By using these chemical pesticides on the plants, it causes dissolved oxygen depletion in the water, phytotoxicity to the plants, and poisons the animals (Environmental Effects of Pesticides). From the greediness of crop cultivation, millions of species of fish will disappear. These pesticides do not only get into the ocean by spraying it, they get into the ocean when small particles fly over from the drift of the wind. This is especially common at beaches where people spray chemicals on the grasses nearby to prevent other people from being bitten by insects. Not only do pesticides affect the oceans, but the plants as well. These pesticides cause phytotoxicity refers to plant injury. By using these chemical pesticides, it damages the plants, especially those genetically similar to weeds. They can progressively result in mutations little by little until eventually there will be a period of time where the plants now will be very different. Even though this is what is happening now, Hawthorne, an author from 200 years ago, also thought that scientists were being evil. In “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” when it states “Dost thou deem it misery to be endowed with marvellous gifts, which no power nor strength could avail an enemy?...Wouldst thou, then, have preferred the

Dryland salinity has become a large problem in Australia. As salt start to accumulate near the soil surface, plants find it harder to absorb water and then start to slowly die, as they become dehydrated. 30% loss of field crops can occur, even before the effect of soil salinity is visible.

The diminishing amounts of poison in the local waterway, by the river flowing, is something that must be carefully considered. The article is promising in that it suggests that the poison flowing down river will be in a low enough concentration so as to not cause much harm. This also suggests that a controlled, continuous release will need to occur to maintain a lethal amount of poison on the targeted portion of the river.