Chapter 22: Human Influences on ecosystems 22.1 Human population + According the graph on the right, the world en population has experienced a continuous growth _Pepaton ce the end of 1350 (it was only near 370 milion) ' cording to the United Nations, the world - * Population is expected to be around 10 billions by a the year 2050 ‘There are several factors that limited the growth the human population in the past including: Gwars, famine Bdiseases natural disasters Factors that have contributed to the recent rise the human population are: improved health care better housing Setter hygiene conditions such as improved sewage ‘The rise in human population has many social implications: 1. Increased demand for fuels, raw materials (e.g. iron), water and food 2. Overcrowded living conditions increase the risk of infectious diseases outbreaks, e.g, malaria 3. Increased amounts of disposed wastes which lead to environmental pollution (page: 103) 4, Increased demand for jobs Increased chances of conflicts and wars 22.2 Food supply ‘ Agriculture has been improved in many different ways to meet the demands of a growing human population: + Modern agricultural machineries are used to clear larger areas of land for farming and to improve the efficiency of agriculture, Tractors, for instance, are used to allow deeper ploughing, other machinery allow better sowing of seeds and quicker harvesting + Chemical fertilisers that contain nitrate and magnesium allow the use of poor soil that has lite nutrients and + Insecticides are chemicals that are used to kill it increasing the quality and the yield of crops + Herbicides are chemicals used to kill weeds (um minerals. Herbicides help to improve the yield of crops. + Selective breeding (page: 93) is a method to mate order to have oflspring with improved characteristics. improve production by crop plants and livestock, e.g, + Monoculture farming is to grow one crop in a because farmers just need 10 choose the fertilisers, and crop. Harvesting also becomes easier asthe plants can @D Scanned with CamScannerChapter 22: Human influences on ecosystems: 22.3 Implications of providing sufficient food Providing sufficient food for an ine implications (prosab and con) on ¢ 1. Social implications + Improved he + Food security Ith and nutrition asing human global population has BIOLOGY social and economic major + Increased income and employment in the agricultural sector + With the increased areas of f ‘ming, there will be less lands for building and banisation * + With more water used in farming, there will be less fresh water available for people 2. Economic implications + An increase in the incomes of farmers + More and better jobs emerge in agriculture + Reducing food costs and improving food quality + Food is exported from poorer countries tothe richer ones leading to an unequal distribution of food 22.4 Famine Famine is the case in which many people do not have enough food to eat; there are several factors that contribute to famine including: + Unequal distribution of food among countries, with crops getting exported from poor countries + Drought, flooding and other natural disasters lead to the destruction of farming lands + The increase in demand for food makes it to0 expensive for poorer people to buy 22.5 The negative impact of agriculture on the environment’? [Source [Effect on the environment _[Seusions > They may kill plants other than weeds |- They get leached (washed) from farms to rivers and |+ Use auxins as weed killers (page: 62) Herbicides Jakes where they can kill water plants causing, + Introduce a herbivore that feeds on disruptions to food chains (see next page) weed plants Je_ Weeds may become resistant to herbicides |- They may kill beneficial insects that pollinate + Biological control by introducing a flowers, e.g, honey bees natural predator that feeds specifically + They get more concentrated along food chains ‘on the harmful insect Insecticides | (bioaccumulation see next page) affecting top _|+ Use systemic insecticides which carnivores or even humans get absorbed by crops and tr: + ‘They get leached to fresh water habitats and kill through the on this oat oe water insects causing disruption of food chains all harmful insects the feed on crops "Harmful insects and diseases can spread easily Monoculture | among erop plants + Growing different crops that can arming _|+ It reduces the diversity of plants and animals in the | each otherin the same farmland habitat; this may lead to the extinction of A > Livestock like cows are a major source of methane | ~~~ Intensive | which causes global warming (page: 104) livestock hat is produced i > Make ve that regulate intensive [production Beteck production Jaws that regulate hunting and esting of food species Scanned with CamScanner 10¢a en mo, 20-6 Distuption of food chains Very plant and animal species, no matter how animal species for its survival; when one species in a food web is removed: + The prey of that at least for a while at species will benefit, atleast for a : * The predators of that species will be harmed, especially if an alternative food source cannot big or small, depends to some extent on another plant or ig or small, tbe found On the other hand when a forei duced into a new habitat ier hand when a foreign species is intro ew habitat has no * The foreign species increases in number rapidly (log phase, page: 67) because the new hal natural predators that could feed on the introduced species na * The rapid growth of the foreign species causes a shortage of food for native species and may lea« their extinction 22.7 Habitat destruction 5 thi Natural habitats on our planet are continuously invaded and sometime even destroyed by humans; this happens for several reasons: 1. Increased area for food crop growth, livestock production and housing 2. Extraction of natural resources such as fossil fuels and minerals, eg gold 3. Marine pollution by oil spills, plastics and chemicals The forest habitat has been severely affected by human activities. Cutting down of trees, also called deforestation has major effects on our planet in many ways: + Loss of habitat for species that live in the forest habitat On Species _|+ Disruption of food chains |+ Shortage of food * Increase in water content (water-logging) because forest trees are no longer absorbing water }- Decomposers die when the soil is soaked in water causing the soil to become les fertile + Loss of top soil (soil erosion) occurs when roots are no longer holding the soil aa The top soil gets washed in rivers causing floods to happen, * More carbon dioxide because forest tees are no longer absorbing the gas by photosynthesis + The rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes global warming (page: 104) JOn atmosphere), Less oxygen because of less of photosynthesis + Less transpiration by trees reduces water vapour in the atmosphere causing les rainfall 22.8 Bioaccumulation + Bioaccumulation is the building up of a chemical, inthe tissues of a living organism + The concentration of this chemical increases as it passes from one trophic level to another in the food chain + Organisms ontop of the fod chain, including humans, are the ones that are mostly affected by this chemical + The problem of bioaccumulation applies to all sorts of chemicals environment includiny r + A nuclear fallout is the remaining nuclear accident has happened and it ‘A nuclear fallout bioaccumulates in carnivores because radiation emitted Scanned with CamScanner22.9 Eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which a lake or @ river becomes enne alg in the reduction of oxygen in water hhéd in nitrogen compounds that stimulate the growth of The + Dumping of u , usually resulting i ain causes for eutrophication are ated sewage (waste water) in rivers and lakes +t washed by rain water into riv 1 water, but it can still be avoided by taking fers and lakes + Excessive use of chemical fertilisers or manure which Eutrophication can cause severe damage to organisms living in the following measurer ents: the growing of different | fertilisers and use instead crop rotation : ause they types of crops in the same area at different seasons); legumes are used in crop rotation bec 1. Avoid the excessive use of chemi enrich the soil by nitrogen fixation (page: 98) The sewage must be treated before it is dumped in water supplies (page: 107 The process of eutrophication occurs over several stages: = ow ee Scanned with CamScanner 10Scanned with CamScanner22.13 The enhanced greenhouse effect. ‘The enhanced greenhouse effect, also called global warming, additional heat retained due to the increased amounts of carbon dioxide and methane; to climate change. Carbon dioxide and methane are Ke is the impact on our planet from the global warming leads the two main gases responsible for global warm™ns: + Rice fields do also release methane; there isan increasing demand on rice humans ‘world wide reflected back to Earth; this causes the enhanced green house effect and results in an increase in average temperatures on Earth [G35__ [Reasons forthe rise inthe levels ofthis gas__ [Effect on our planet }° Deforestation: more forests are deared to |» Some of the radiation that we receive from the Sun is ‘make farmlands and to build houses. With | absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere (Carbon | less photosynthesis by forest trees, there will]. fost radiation is reflected back into space by the dioxide | be more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere | surface of our planet + Combustion: more fossil fuels are burned|* The radiation which is reflected back into space is to meet our increasing energy demands _| infrared radiation (IR) |. More cattle are raised to provide food for|* Carbon dioxide and methane absorb some of this IR. an increasing human population; cattle | and re-reflect it back towards the Earth; this is called Fe like cows release methane the green house effect fethane| + With the rise in the levels of these gases, more IR is re- ty At some point in the © going to be necessary; from the environment new, which means th 1. They will soon run 2, Fossil fuels cause all 3, Fossil fuels are ees (like solar or wind) is s rapidly as it is removed Sources are still relatively isa green house gas. 104 | Scanned with CamScanner2. Conservation of forests and fish stocks: ‘There are three ways to maintain resources such as forests and fish stocks: 1. Education raises the awareness on the importance of maintaining resources and ways of forest and fishing managements, This can be done at schools or through pul 2. Set up laws to regulate cutting down of trees and to ban fishing beyond the legal quotas"? 3. Restocking the fish and trees into their natural habitats if their numbers are declining 3. Conservation of species: There are several reasons why some species are becoming endahigered: 1. Climate change: the rising temperature of our planet is risking the lives of many species that are adapred to live in colder climates; in addition, phenomena that are caused by global warming (the rising of sea levels, melting of glaciers, flooding and droughts) are causing many species to lose their habitat 2. Habitat destruction: many species are losing their habitats because of the expansion of farm: urbanisation and mining 3. Hunting: many endangered animal species are still hunted to make profit by selling their body parts 4, Pollution: itis causing the destruction of natural habitats of many species on land and in water. Some other species are killed directly by pollution; lichens, for instance, are becoming endangered because on the most efficient blicity campaigns lands, they are particularly sensitive to acid rain 5, Introduction of species: foreign species tend to grow in number very rapidly when they are introduced in ‘a new habitat; the rise in their number will be on the expense of food resources of the local species which may cause their extinction ‘The decline in the number of an endangered species causes a decreases in genetic variation (page: 89); which in turn, reduces the adaption and the survival abilities of this species. Here is how it happens: 9. Protecting vulnerable environments: human activities; saving these os 3. Maintaining ecosystem functions: intain nutrients a. To maintait cycling me For example, the destruction of a forest ee genetic engineering or make us i ieee yuota to contol the 46 Governments set egal There are also quotas that ar to regulate 105 Scanned with CamScanner22.15 Methods of conservation ‘There are different ways to conserve species including: 1, Monitoring and protecting species in their natural habitats: This can be achieved by: \. Setting up laws to protect the habitat and ban the hunting of endangered species 2. Employ rangers to monitor the habitat and to enforce the law ; 5. Create national parks to control public access and to prevent entry of hunters to the habitat 4. Control the predation of endangered species by their natural predators 5. Control environmental factors such as the amount of water and food available for endangered species 2. Education: Education helps people understand the importance of saving endangered species and provide skills necessary to take positive actions. Knowledge about conservation can be delivered in schools or through publicity campaigns 3. Captive breeding programmes: ‘This involves collecting together a small group of organisms of an endangered species and encouraging ‘them to breed together. Theses programmes are done away from the natural habitat, usually in zoos The aims of captive breeding programmes are: + To prevent extinction of the species by encouraging reproduction within the controlled environment * To maintain the genetic variation within the population of the endangered species which is important for its survival; this is usually achieved by breeding animals from different zoos When enough individuals of the endangered species are produced in captivity, they will have to be returned back to their natural habitat, if this can be made safe for them. It is very important that work is done to prepare the habitat for the reintroduction of the animals by following the same steps described in method number one “monitoring and protecting species in their natural habitats? 4, Seed banks: Seed banks can help the conservation of plants just as zoos can help conservation of animals. are usually prepared according to the following steps: 1. The seeds of different plants are collected 2. These seeds are then sterilised to kill bacteria Seed banks 3. The seeds are stored in cold and dry éonditions to prevent unwanted seed germination 4. A small number of seeds are germinated every so often so that fresh seeds can be collected and stored [==- ‘There are several ad + Seed banks can cor + Seeds can be stored f + All plant species can b Scanned with CamScanner— 22.16 Recycling Reusing and recycling products offer many advantages: paper isa very helpful way to Protect the environment: many trees are eut down continually; recycling of minimise deforestation oe is consumed during the manufacturing of 8] Reduce energy consumption: a large amount of energy 2 ° - nergy and reduce pollution from raw materials; recycling or reusing glass products help to conserve © from combustion of fossil fuels during the manufacturing process 3. Conserve minerals: recycling of metal products helps in conserving important minerals such 25 aluminium and protecting natural habitats for future generations ’ 4. Conserve fossil fuels: recycling and reusing plastic objects help to conserve fossil fuels which plastic was originally made from and to remove non-biodegradable (page: 103) plastic objects from the environment 2247 Sewage treatment Sewage is treated to make the water that it contains safe to be returne eutrophication page: 102) or safe to be used by human. The treatment process goes over several stages: 2 2) d to the environment (avoid largr Bares 5 SPSRE SRST sic he orci baton aigostoganic materials Dy enzymes into eoubie 22.18 Sustainable development Sustainable development is to provide the needs ae every day. Food, fossil fuels and. amounts but without causing ¢1 to be put in place Id responsible for an economic development witho Scanned with CamScanner