Eutrophication die, the bacterial degradation of their biomass consumes the oxygen in the water, thereby creating the state of hypoxia. According to Ullmann's Encyclopedia, "the primary limiting factor for eutrophication is phosphate." The availability of phosphorus generally promotes excessive plant growth and decay, favouring simple algae and plankton over other more complicated plants, and causes a severe reduction in water quality. Phosphorus is a necessary nutrient for plants to live, and is the limiting factor for plant growth in many freshwater ecosystems. Phosphate adheres tightly to soil, so it is mainly transported by erosion. Once translocated to lakes, the extraction of
Plant to plant communication via mycorrhizal networks have also initiated nutrient transfer by causing the movement of carbon from the roots of the stressed plant to the roots of a conspecific plant over a mycorrhizal network. Thus, nutrients transferred through mychorrhizal networks act as signals and cues to change the behavior of the connected plants. It is hypothesized that fitness is improved by the transfer of infochemicals through common mycorrhizal networks, as these signals and cues can induce responses which can help the receiver survive in its environment. Plants and fungus have evolved heritable genetic traits which influence their interactions with each other, and experiments, such as