CH-20 HUMAN

INFLUENCE
ON
ECOSYSTEMS
FOOD SUPPLY
Humans have increases food production with the help of :
modern agricultural machineries - helps to use large area of
land for cultivation and improve the efficiency in food
production.
chemical fertilizers - provides essential minerals and
nutrients to crops and improves crop yield.
insecticides - improves quality and quantity of yield.
herbicides - reduces competition with weeds and increases
crop growth.
selective breeding- improve production in crops and
livestocks, increased yield with disease resistance
MONOCULTuRE FARMING
Cultivation of single crop species in a specific land
continuously.
Advantages:
easier to manage, more efficient, higher earnings,
improves agriculture technologies.
Disadvantages:
reduces ecosystem diversity, increased pest issues,
insecticide issue.
Intensive livestock production
It refers to the rearing and managements of animals like
cattle, poultry, sheep for meat/ milk/ egg/ fiber/ leather
etc.
Advantages:
help the economy and agriculture industries, food
security,
Disadvantages:
easy speed of diseases, welfare issues of livestock.
Habitat destruction
Biodiversity- variety of species living in an area.
Habitat is a natural home for any species.
Habitat destruction reduces biodiversity.
Reasons for habitat destruction:
increased area for housing, crop production and
livestock production.
extraction of natural resources.
freshwater and marine pollution.
altering food web and food chain have an negative
impact on habitat
Deforestation
Clearing of trees -example of habitat destruction,
results in
biodiversity reduction - loss of diverse plants and animal
species.
extinction - species extinct as they are unable to adapt.
loss of soil - tree roots can no longer hold soil together
results in decreased fertility and soil erosion.
flooding - trees regulated water flow, soil erosion leads
to flooding in surrounding areas.
increase CO2- as there are no trees to use CO2. higher
levels of green house gases leading to global warming
and climatic changes.
Pollution
Harmful substance get into environment
and makes things unsafe for living things.
Human activities have led to the pollution
of water, land and air.
Aquatic pollution is polluted with human
waste like untreated sewage, pesticides
and excess fertilizers used in agriculture.
When it enters the marine ecosystem it
forms a layer where there is not enough
oxygen for life to thrive.
This is called eutrophication.
Eutrophication
excess supply of nitrates and ions taken up
by algae.
excess growth of algae.
when algae dies, decomposed by bacteria,
increased decomposition.
increased aerobic respiration by
decomposers, reduction in devolved oxygen.
other organisms cannot survive and dies.
Discarded plastics
Non biodegradable plastics do not break down
naturally over time.
they persist in the environment without being
decomposed for a longer time
have harmful effect on:
aquatic ecosystem- disrupt the natural balance and
harms marine life, animals get trapped, eat plastics,
injured etc. plastic releases harmful chemicals: Water
polluted by contamination.
terrestrial ecosystem- soil pollution: contaminates soil
and affects plants and nutrient cycle, harm animals,
spread of micro-plastics,
Air pollution
methane from livestock (gas released) ,
landfill (trash broken down without air)
carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning for
energy, industrial releases.
effects:
traps heat in atmosphere, increases green
house gases effect leading to global warming
and climatic change.
raising sea level, alternate weather pattern,
impacts ecosystem and lives.
Conservation
Taking care of natural resources for proper use and future use.
a sustainable resource is one that is produced as rapidly a it is removed from the environment and does
not run out.
Some resources can be managed sustainably,
forests- education, protected areas, legal quotas, replanting
fish stocks- education, closed seasons, protected area, control of net types and mesh sizes, legal quotas,
monitoring.