SMK KAJANG UTAMA BIOLOGY PAPERWORK ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEM ~HOW WE CAN HELP THE WORLD?

~ Prepared by: DAYANA AZHAR From 4 Amanah

OBJECTIVES The reasons why this paperwork is being done is due to several objectives as stated below: >to instill awareness among humans about the significances of preservation andconservation of the ecosystem. >to make humans realize how bad are the effects of humans activities towards the environment. >to increase efforts on creating a safer environment for ourselves and for the future generations. >to deduce the time for the depletion anddestruction of the environment due to various environmental problems caused by human beings.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to introduce myself. I am Dayana binti Azhar from Form 4 Amanah and I am glad indeed to be studying biology which is the most intriguing subject ever. I, now, have completed a paperwork or a folio on the topic Endangered Ecosystem based on the last chapter in the Form 4 Biology syllabus. I have gone through many laughs and sobs throughout the progression in completing this folio. Nevertheless, I felt relief and grateful of having such wonderful companions whom are my lovely Biology teacher, herself, Puan Julaina, my parents, my helpful friends and my siblings. I would like to thank the mentioned people whom have been very supportive and helpful in giving me extra information, tips and ideas to make this work a satisfying piece. Not to forget, my headmistress, Puan Hidayah Mokhtar, for giving us, the students, this opportunity to do this folio. Last but not least, thank you once again for all the commitments and supports. May all of you live in a blissful life.

Human Activities That Endanger An Ecosystem H HHuman umanuman a aactiv ctivctivi iiti titie ees ss tha thathat tt th ththre rereate ateaten the n then the e eeco cocosy sysys sste tetem mm. .. The world s population might reach to 10 billion in the next fifty years. Hence, when there are increments in the number of the world s population, it generally means that there is an increasing demand for shelter, food, medicine, transport and raw materials. Today, due to expectation of modern living and industrial revolution, the world has to confront the destruction of forests to build more houses, to being use as plantation areas and to build roads; just to fulfill humans needs. Unplanned developments and mismanagement of ecosystem give rise to vast amounts of environmental crisis. Among those environmental problems are greenhouse effect, global warming, pollution, soil erosion, landslide, flashflood and ozone depletion. The human activities that we are talking about are like agriculture, burning or combustion, industrialisation, urbanisation and last but not least, deforestation.

Impact of Human Activities on The Ecosystem Human activities made many drawbacks to the environment. Whether we like them or not, these cons of the human activities have made all of us now leaving in a hardship. The impacts can now be clearly seen by looking at our devastating environment conditions. What are the impacts? Let us see for ourselves .

THE IMPACT OFTHE IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIESHUMAN ACTIVITIES TOWARDSTHETOWARDS THE ECOSYSTEMECOSYSTEM DEFORESTATION CAUSED: -soil erosion -landslides -flashfloods -extinction of flora and fauna -global warming -greenhouse effect INDUSTRIALISATION CAUSED: -various types of pollutions FARMING CAUSED: -pollution URBANISATION CAUSED -pollution BURNING CAUSED: -pollution -greenhouse effect THE IMPACT OFTHE IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIESHUMAN ACTIVITIES TOWARDSTHETOWARDS THE ECOSYSTEMECOSYSTEM DEFORESTATION CAUSED: -soil erosion -landslides -flashfloods -extinction of flora and fauna -global warming -greenhouse effect INDUSTRIALISATION CAUSED: -various types of pollutions FARMING CAUSED: -pollution URBANISATION CAUSED -pollution BURNING CAUSED: -pollution -greenhouse effect

Large areas of forests are cleared for extracting timber or fuel wood, agriculture needs, and for the sake of urbanisation. The impacts are enormous and outrageous. Let see what are the drawbacks of deforestation. a) Soil erosion flow is blocked. Thus, water flows inland and causes flash floods in, flash floods and landslides. ~When it rains for a long time especially during rainy seasons, the top layer of soil loosens and slides down, thus causing landslides. ~Clearing of trees causes the loss of tree leaves that protect the soil from a massive impulsive force of heavy raindrops and also causes the loss of tree roots to hold the soil in place. ~The wide exposure to the raindrops forces, give arise to soil erosion. Here, the top layer of soil is easily being washed away by heavy rainfall. The eroded soil, is then, deposited in rivers or streams. ~During heavy rains, rainwater flows harshly into rivers because there is a non-existence of retention of water by plant roots as well as proper water catchments areas. ~Due to silting in the rivers, the water flow is blocked. Thus, water flows inland and causes flash floods in low areas. ~In addition, soil erosion contributes in the depletion of minerals in the soil, causing the land trouble to be used as a place for cultivation.

b) Extinction of flora and fauna ~The most worrying disadvantage from deforestation is the loss of habitats for many species flora and fauna. ~When this happens, there will be an increment in the rate of extinction of plants and animals. As a result, it reduces biodiversity and the source of food together with the sources of valuable medicines for humans. c) Greenhouse effect and global warming ~Generally, deforestation causes weather and climatic changes. ~When enormous scales of trees are cut and burnt, rainfall will be reduced, the rate of transpiration as well as the rate of using carbon dioxide during Photosynthesis by plants. ~Clearing and burning of forests release vast amounts of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere, which is said about 20% to 30% of all carbon dioxide gas emission into the atmosphere for every year. ~Everyone knows that carbon dioxide can prevent heat from escaping from the atmosphere. Thus, when the level of carbon dioxide increases, so does the global temperature. Increasing of global temperature, giving rise to the greenhouse effect, and not to mention, global warming too. ~Increasing global temperature may results in an imbalanced ecosystem.

~In order to fulfill the demands of today s food supplement, large areas of lands have been used and will be used for farming purposes. ~Excessive use of land for farming and stock rearing lead to infertile land and may expose the soil to erosion by wind or heavy rainfalls. ~Inorganic fertilisers usage in farming also results to eutrophication. ~Dumping of domestic waste as well as sewage discharge from houses cause pollution. ~Waste materials in landfills act as toxic substances which pollute nearby water sources. ~Industrial plants give off industrial waste and heated waste water causing water pollution and thermal pollution. ~Toxic gases released by industries contribute to a major concerning problem; air pollution.

~Human activities like open burning of rubbish, farms and forests release more carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere which aggravates greenhouse effect. ~Burning of fossil fuels causes air pollution as well as increase the carbon dioxide content. As the final result, global warming will also need to be comprehended.

Pollution is defined as an undesirable change in the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the natural environment. When there is pollution, there must be its pollutants. Now, what is pollutants? On the other hand, pollutants are substances, any substances that is present in an excessive amount in the environment due to human activities. They hold damaging effects on living organisms. They might be toxic, like pesticides or natural constituents, such as carbon dioxide. They affect the soil, water sources as well as our atmosphere. Generally, there are four main types of pollution which disturb our used-to-be safe environment. What are they? They are, air pollution, water pollution, thermal pollution and noise pollution. Let us go briefly to every each of them.

M.D Norhayatee, et al, 2005 Science Textbook.