BIOLOGY ARTICLES OF THE IMPORTANCE OF RIVERS

First article:
Healthy streams with vibrant ecosystems play a critical role in removing excess nitrogen caused by human activities, according to a major new national study published this week in Nature. The research, by a team of 31 aquatic scientists across the United States, was the first to document just how much nitrogen that rivers and streams can filter through tiny organisms or release into the atmosphere through a process called denitrification. "The study clearly points out the importance of maintaining healthy river systems and native riparian areas," said Stan Gregory, a stream ecologist in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University, an a co-author of the study. "It also demonstrates the importance of retaining complex stream channels that give organisms the time to filter out nitrogen instead of releasing it downstream."

INFO ON ARTICLE
Unknown author March 24, 2008 Journal of Farming http://udini.proquest.com/preview/goid:207375812/?click&type=full Accessed 23/02/2013

Summary
This article clearly states that streams and rivers remove excess nitrogen due to human actions. This happens best when the streams and rivers have a vibrant enough ecosystem to absorb the nitrogen by using the small organisms which dwell in the river. This process is known as denitrification. This process only works if the stream channels are complex enough in order to give the organisms the time to filter through the nitrogen.

Conclusion
I believe that this article is completely relevant and most certainly relates to my chosen topic. All the information is scientific as it gives factual extracts from other articles. I would have preferred it if this article had more information containing the importance of removing oxygen from the water and how the oxygen in removed in detail.

Second article:
Rivers are of immense importance geologically, biologically, historically and culturally. Although they contain only about 0.0001% of the total amount of water in the world at any given time, rivers are vital carriers of water and nutrients to areas all around the earth. They are critical components of the hydrological cycle, acting as drainage channels for surface water the world's rivers drain nearly 75% of the earth's land surface. They provide habitat, nourishment and means of transport to countless organisms; their powerful forces create majestic scenery; they provide travel routes for exploration, commerce and recreation; they leave valuable deposits of sediments, such as sand and gravel; they form vast floodplains where many of our cities are built; and their power provides much of the electrical energy we use in our everyday lives. Rivers are central to many of the environmental issues that concern society, and they are studied by a wide range of specialists including hydrologists, engineers, ecologists and geomorphologists.

INFO ON ARITICLE
Paul D. N. Hebert August 20, 2011 River

http://www.eoearth.org/article/River Accessed 25/02/2013

Summary
This article states that rivers are a vital form of transportation for water and nutrients in most areas around the world. Rivers drain roughly 75% of the earths surface water. They are needed to provide nourishment, habitat and transport to many organisms. They leave valuable deposits of sediments, many of our cities are built on the river-formed floodplains, much of our electricity is provided by the rivers power.

Conclusion
I believe most of the information in this article is relevant to the importance of rivers. I have outlined the key areas of the article which are believed to be relevant, but other areas indicate the use of rivers for recreation and commerce, which arent that relevant to the importance of rivers. I believe the article to be completely scientific, due to the large amount of scientific facts which are present in the article.

Third article:
Rivers have been very useful to men in all parts of the earth since very early times. They provide water to slake the thirst of men, to fertilize their lands and to provide a means of communication for the goods that transport from place to place.

Early civilization began on the banks of the great rivers of the world, such as the Nile and the Indus. These rivers provided the water, the people on their banks needed for all their purposes. As people in those early days did not have the transport facilities that we have today, they had to live close to the rivers to transport their goods to places along the rivers and to draw the water that they needed. Rivers not only provided water for their domestic needs and agricultural purposes but also enabled the people to move from place to place among their banks. Boats or rafts were used to travel from one end of a river to another. In the same way, goods were also transported. With the transport of goods and the contacts of people between different parts of the same river, there were also many cultural exchanges. Thus, rivers helped to spread civilization. It is true, however, that rivers have also caused much misery and unhappiness to millions of people throughout history. They have caused floods and destroyed lives and property in all parts of the earth. For example, the Hwang Ho in China has been described as the sorrow of China because of the destruction that it had caused in the past. But it should be realized that floods occur once in several years. Therefore, the damage that rivers cause is not as great as the benefits that they confer on humanity. Today, rivers continue to be used not only as a source of water for drinking and fertilizing the lands or as a means of transport but also as a source of electricity which has revolutionized society. The importance of rivers is therefore not difficult to appreciate.

INFO ON ARITICLE
Siawsang (unknown surname) 08 Jun 2012 River

http://www.studymode.com/essays/River-1018956.html?topic Accessed 25/02/2013

Summary
This article tells us that rivers provide a way of quenching thirst, fertilising land, and to provide a means of communication. Rivers also provide a source of electricity which has helped revolutionise modern day society.

Conclusion
I believe this article to be almost completely irrelevant to my chose topic of the importance of rivers. This topic therefore refers to the importance of rivers in the modern day and age-not before the bible was written-although the article does give a few points of relevance. I think the article is Scientific and not biased. I reason this due to the clearly negative points on how rivers have caused large amounts of havoc throughout the world.