Chapter.

7 Destruction of Eco system

[This material covers the entire chapter]
1. What is eco system?
a. It can be defined as a group of living and non-living things which are interdependent and
are found in a particular type of environment.

2. What are the different factors that affect the eco system?
a. Changes in land use
b. Industrialisation
c. Urbanisation
d. Migration
e. Dwelling Units
f. Mining
g. Construction of dams
h. Shifting cultivation

3. How have changes in land use affect the ecosystem?

Change in land use means changes in the way land is being put to several uses.
This has affected the eco system in the following ways :
a. As human population is growing and per capita consumption of resources is increasing,
the ecosystem is constantly being changed and destroyed.
b. Construction of large dams and hydro electric projects has poised a big threat to the
ecosystem.
c. Millions of hectares of forest land have been lost due to major river valley projects
leading to large scale soil erosion
d. Changes in land use have destroyed the natural habitats of organisms driving thousands
of species of plants and animals to the verge f disappearance.
For example, about 100 years ago, the population of tigers in India was about 40,000.
Today, it is estimated that the total number of tigers is 3000 or even less in India.
e. Change in the use of land has also led to pollution of air, water and soil.

4. How has industrialization affected the ecosystem?

Industrialisation refers to development of industries in an economy.
This has affected the eco system in the following ways :
a. Rapid economic growth and industrialization have led to reckless exploitation of natural
resources (such as fossil fuels, e.g. gas, petroleum) as a result; the natural balance of the
ecosystem is disturbed.
b. Several industrial processes generate a lot of waste. Among the variety of industrial
wastes generated are acids, metallic compounds, oils, and certain complex synthetic
materials.
Eg. The Bhopal gas tragedy
 c. This has led to pollution of air,water and soil and associated health problems. Especially
water pollution when the factories discharge the effluents into the water bodies.
d. Building of big factories like Iron and steel industries has also led to large scale
deforestation, rampant soil erosion and landslides.

5. How does urbanization affect the ecosystem?

Urbanization refers to a gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas.
Migration leads to urbanization.
Urbanisation has affected the eco system in the following ways :
a. Change of land use
Clearing of forest land and fertile agricultural land for housing, industries, construction
of roads and dams have caused the loss of biological diversity forever. This has also
displaced lakhs of people from their homes and jobs.
b. Depletion of water resources
With rapidly increasing urban population it is becomingly increasingly difficult to meet
the water requirements through the municipal water supply system. Due to extensive
construction , the local ground water resources have also declined.
c. Requirement of large quantities of building materials for construction purposes
Brick kilns not only pollute the atmosphere but also use a huge amount of nutrient rich
soil for brick making thus fertile land is lost for ever.
d. Development of slums
Urbanisation has also led to slum development.In slums there are inadequate living
spaces, water supply and sewage facilities.This affects human health besides causing eco
system degradation.
e. Urbanization has also led to deterioration of natural habitat like agricultural land, plants,
plantation, forest areas, wetlands etc. this creates many other problems such as
environmental degradation and loss of agricultural land.

6. How does mining affect the ecosystem?

Mining refers to removal of minerals and other materials from the earth’s crust for the welfare
of mankind.
Mining has affected the eco system in the following ways :
a. In our country, more than 80,000 hectares of land is under the stress of mining
activities.
b. It causes deforestation and removal of vegetation.In order to construct a mine, a large
amount of land has to be cleared off trees and vegetation. This is bad for the
environment.
c. The waste material called tailings are hazardous and may cause air pollution
d. Mining also contaminates ground water because the extraction of toxic minerals like
cyanide and mercury can pollute water
 e. Chemicals like arsenic and iron are very harmful. When it rains , these chemicals find
their way to ground water, surrounding water bodies and soil. This pollutes water
bodies and affects agriculture.
f. It requires vast amount of energy. Controlling the temperature of the mines is very
energy consuming.
g. Mining has a great effect on the quality of air. Coal mines release methane which
contributes to green house effect and global warming.
h. Generation of large amount of waste.

7. How does construction of dams affect the eco system?

a. Dams and reservoirs are built to supply drinking water, generate hydroelectric power,
increasing water supply for irrigation and for certain other purposes.
b. Currently there are around 40000 large dams across world rivers.
c. Change in water flow following dam formation can alter river channel formation and
impact the plants and animals that are able to live within the river system
d. Construction of dam changes the riverine habitat to lake habitat affecting the lives of
plants and animals living there
e. Change in water temperature can affect animal communities downstream
f. Construction of dams causes of soil erosion.
g. Large dams cause change in the speed of earths rotation
h. Construction of dams can cause earthquakes.

8. How does shifting cultivation affect the ecosystem?

a. Shifting farming involves clearing an area of land for growing crops for a few years
before moving on to find fresh soil.
b. Shifting cultivation involves burning down of trees, which releases harmful gases into
the atmosphere and causes air pollution. These harmful gases affect the health of the
people living in the surrounding area.
c. It can also kill many species of flora and fauna in the process, so it is a major cause of
loss of biodiversity.
d. It also leads to large scale deforestation, loss of soil nutrient and soil erosion.

9. How does construction of dwelling units affect the ecosystem?

a. To accommodate the migrant population to cities, more and more dwelling units
(houses) are being constructed.
b. New roads and railways are also being constructed to meet the increasing demand for
transport facilities, even in villages.
c. This involves conversion of croplands and forestlands into urban settlements.
d. This leads to largescale deforestation and soil erosion.
e. This also causes large scale air and water pollution due to construction , generation of
waste, emissions and effluents.
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