Humans and the Ecosystem

 Humans play a role in ecosystem and cycles

 People depend on resources and cycles of
Earth to provide clean water, breathable air,
and good soil
 Human activities are affecting the cycles and
Earth processes:
 Population growth
 Technology
 Consumption of resources
 Sustainability
 Sustainability  meeting the
needs of humans to survive
indefinitely
 Needs to be a balance
between Earth’s resources
and carrying capacity, needs
of humans, and needs of
other species on Earth
 Factors that affect
sustainability: population
growth, technology,
consumption of resources
 Population Growth
 Grown exponentially
 Prediction: will continue to grow at a rapid rate
 Natural slowing of population growth as it nears its
carrying capacity is due to increase in death rate
and decrease in birth rate due to:
 Food and water shortages
 Pollution
 diseases
Population Growth – fertile soil
 An increasing population can effect amount of
available fertile soil for food resources
(agriculture)
 Soil is often lost when land is cleared, making land
unsuitable for agriculture
 Worldwide demand for land (agriculture or
habitation) has led to deforestation
○ Forests cut down, less carbon dioxide absorbed
leading to increase in global warming
○ Deforestation can increase rate of erosion (wind and
water) and decrease rate of soil generation
Consumption of Resources
 As population increases and technology
expands, demand for earth’s resources
increases
 Limited supply of these resources to sustain
population
 Some resources are renewable resources
(production = consumption)
 Food, clean water, and timber
 Some factors limit their production
○ Example: grain is limited by amount of land available,
fertility, etc.
Consumption of Resources
 Some resources are nonrenewable resources
(consumption > production)
 Fossil fuels
 Demand for minerals, metals and ores increases for
industry but are decreasing in availability
 Minerals are nonrenewable resources because
mineral deposits can be extracted are formed so
slowly
 Sustainable use of resources can be
accomplished by reducing consumption,
reusing products rather than disposing of them
or recycling waste to protect the environment