Given is a diagram illustrating the interaction between two types of pollutants - namely fertilisers from farming and heavy metals produced by industry-and the ecosystem of a fast flowing river. The fertilisers are denoted by blue spots, while the heavy metals are marked as black spots.
From the information supplied, it is evident that fertilisers are more readily removed from the water through natural processes than heavy metals, and that the latter tend to remain in a river system for much longer periods of time. In the lower section of the diagram, plants growing on the river bed are shown to absorb fertilisers from the water through a process known as nitrogen fixation. By contrast, heavy metals are not filtered from the river system in this way and instead either settle on the bottom or are emptied into the sea.
Thus, it is reasonable to surmise that the effect of heavy metals on the environment is longer lasting than that of fertilisers.