Literature Review

The quantity of humans on the planet, their geographical dispersion, and their environmental
relevance are determined by their consumption patterns and the technologies they use. In other
words, man uses the environment as a resource bank, a habitat, and a waste sink. Human beings
consume more elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles. The term
biogeochemical is formed from the words "bio" (biosphere), "geo" (geological components), and
"chemical" (elements that flow through a cycle). Thus, the repeated circulation of biogenetic
nutrients, or biogeochemical, between the abiotic and biotic components of the biosphere is
called the biogeochemical cycle. Human activities have significantly boosted atmospheric carbon
dioxide and biosphere nitrogen levels. Changes in biogeochemical cycles, paired with climate
change, make biodiversity, food security, human health, and water quality more vulnerable to
climate change. The following review of the literature attempts to demonstrate and support this
hypothesis.

According to Cramer et al (2015), even if current rates of tropical forest destruction are
confirmed to be at the low end of recent reconstructions, they remain a major source of concern,
not only because of the negative impact deforestation has on tropical environments, but also
because of the amount of additional climate change that may be caused by the continued release
of carbon. As they grow, trees and other plants take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is
transformed into carbon, which is then stored in the plant's branches, leaves, trunks, roots, and
soil. But as more trees are destroyed or burned, stored carbon, primarily as carbon dioxide, is
released into the atmosphere. The introduction of high-yield crop varieties, increased irrigation,
and the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which considerably enhanced the availability
of, for example, organic nitrogen in agricultural systems, were key aspects in this evolution.
According to a preliminary estimate, global human production of reactive nitrogen (essentially
all forms of nitrogen other than N2) has more than doubled since 1950, with a more than 70%
rise since 1990 (Galloway and Cowling 2021). Based on the article by Tedengren (2021), while
the green revolution rapidly increased food production and strongly contributed to alleviating
global malnutrition, the tremendous global increase in synthetic fertilizer use in agriculture, with
subsequent leaking into waterways and seeping into groundwater reservoirs, also led to human
health issues, eutrophicated watersheds and coastal waters, anoxic deep water, and subsequently
diminished abundance and biodiversity of bottom fauna. It was also recognized early on that the
environmental problems caused by increased nutrient loads from agrochemicals and other
antrophogenic activities were of a global nature because these chemically and biologically
reactive nutrients are distributed globally via wind transport, land run-off, and ocean currents
(e.g., Caraco 1995; Galloway 1998), affecting not only aquatic ecosystems but also terrestrial
ecosystems (e.g., Matson and Vitousek 1987). As reported in an article by Kuchment (2018),
human actions that modify the land cover of river basins and are intended to regulate water
fluxes in nature can significantly alter the hydrological cycle of individual river basins and even
entire regions. The natural hydrological cycle of most river basins is being modified and
controlled as a result of human activity. The main methods for regulating stream flow include
dams, levees, barrages, and dikes, which provide water accumulation while limiting flood flow
and enhancing low flow. Apart from runoff control, the main consequences of reservoir
development on the hydrological cycle are increased evaporation and a rise in the groundwater
table. Evaporation losses from the reservoir water surface may be so large in dry places that any
possible gains are seriously threatened. At the same time, reservoir losses due to evaporation are
quite minor in mild climate conditions.

All of the publications and studies examined emphasized evidence of human activities affecting
the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles.