Sie sind auf Seite 1von 44

CHAPTER 9:

ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEM

9.1 Human Activities that


Endanger an Ecosystem
Learning Objectives
vEvaluating human activities that
endanger an ecosytem

vUderstanding the greenhouse effect


and thinning of the ozone layer

vRealizing the importance of proper


management of development
activities and the ecosystem
Human activities that threaten an
Ecosystem
Human activities that threaten an Ecosystem
Human activities that threaten an
Ecosystem
• The world’s population has grown to over
6 billion today, so conflicts arise between
the need to meet the immediate human
demands in the short term and the need to
protect and conserve ecosystems from
long-term damage
• Most of the problem related to the
environment are the results of human
activities and human interference with the
ecosystem function
Human activities that threaten an
Ecosystem
• Human activities, if unplanned and
mismanagement of ecosystems result in
various environmental problems; air and
water pollution, the greenhouse effect,
global warming and the depletion of
natural resources
• These problems bring about negative
effects that increasingly threaten the
economic resources, health and survival
of ecosystem
Human activities that threaten an Ecosystem
Human activities that have undesirable
effects on the environment

Deforestation Burning of fossil fuels Overuse of fertilisers


in intensive farming
Leads to Leads to
Leads to
•Soil erosion •greenhouse effect •eutrophication
•landslides •global warming •water pollution
•flash floods •air pollution
•climatic changes
•lost of biodiversity Dumping of domestic
•greenhouse effect and industrial waste
Leads to
•water pollution
Deforestation
Important roles of tropical rainforests:
Ø The oldest ecosystem on the Earth Deforestation
and home to almost half of the
world’s flora and fauna.
Ø Contain many unique specieswhich
provide food, medicine and other
resources for human.
Ø Regulate the world climate. The impacts are:
Ø Act as a carbon sink of the Earth Ø Soil erosion
because they absorb vast amount Ø Flash flood
of carbon dioxide during Ø Landslides
photosynthesisand at the same Ø Changes in the
time release oxygen into the recycling of materials
atmosphere. Ø Severe climatic changes
Ø As water catchments areas. Ø The loss of biodiversity
Deforestation
Deforestation

Loss of habitat
Loss of biodiversity
Burning of fossil fuels and its Effects
Deforestation Burning Contributes
through slash activity 25% carbon
and burn dioxide

75% CO2
Atmosphere
comes from
burning of
fossil fuel

Effect : The
1. Greenhouse effect carbon dioxide
2. Global warming level increases
Intensive Farming and its Effect
ØContinuous cultivation of the same
plot of land.
ØThe ploughing of land down the slope
instead of along the slope contours.
ØOvergrazing by livestock that does Erosions of
topsoil by
not permit the grass to grow back. flowing water
when it rains.

ØThe loss of topsoil nutrients.


ØThe silting of the bottom of rivers
and lakes with earth sediment
causing flash floods.
Intensive Farming and its Effect

Used Inorganic fertilizers


- nitrates
Farmer - phosphates
- potassium

Highly soluble
and quickly
leached out

Cause
Eutrophication Lakes and
river
Dumping of domestic and industrial
waste and its Effects
Caused Increase in
Human population
increased rapidly 1. domestic waste
2. industrial waste

Pollute:
-ground 1. Dumping of
- water resources waste
2. Discharge of
effluents
The impact of human
activities on the
ecosystem

Pollution Thinning of
ozone layer
Greenhouse
effect
WHAT IS POLLUTION ?

Pollution can be defined as any


undesirable changes in
physical, chemical and
biological characteristics of
the natural environment,
brought about when harmful
substances or energy are
released by human activities.
Sources:
- vehicles Sources:
- construction sites - mostly contributed from
- agricultural burning fossil fuels
- industrial machinery Air - industrial plants and
factories

Type of Water
Noise
pollution

Sources:
Sources : - waste matter from
- in many industrial Thermal
industrial and
process domestic
- in cooling towers of - run-off fertilizer from
electrical power agricultural area
station
Air pollution
Factories that pump large amounts of carbon monoxide, oxides of
nitrogen and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere.

Exhaust fumes from vehicles that contains soot, lead, carbon


monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbon.

Electrical power stations that release large amounts of carbon


dioxide into the atmosphere.

Open burnings that release suspended solids and pollutant gases


such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Burning Fossil Fuels:
•High level of carbon

particles. POLLUTANTS IN
•High level ofcarbon THE AIR DUE TO
monoxide, oxides of DIFFERENT
nitrogen and sulphur SOURCES
dioxide.

Industrial Plants and Open Burnings:


Factories: •Large amount of

•Large amount of suspended solids.


carbon monoxide, •Large amount of

oxides of nitrogen carbon dioxide and


and sulphur dioxide. carbon monoxide.
Note:
Please refer to
the acid rain
handout
Water pollution
Ø Crude oil spills that cover the
water surface reduce water
dissolvedoxygen and water
light intensity.

Activity Ø Industrial and domestic


activities discharging
untreated waste materials
that dissolve or suspend in
water and deteriorate the
water quality.
Ø The run-offs of fertilizers,
pesticides and herbicides
from agricultural activities
into lakes and rivers affect
the freshwater ecosystems.
The Effects of Water Pollution

Eutrophication

Increase BOD

Toxic Materials
Eutrophication
The Effects of Water Pollution

Eutrophication

Increase BOD

Toxic Materials
EUTROPHICATION
Caused By

Leaching of inorganic fertilisers


(nitrates and phosphates) from
agricultural lands

Input of untreated sewage

Run-offs containing animal wastes


from pastures and farmlands anto
lakes, rivers or pond
Excess of the organic and inorganic wastes
that enter a river or a lake enrich the water
with nutrients

Photosynthesizing organisms particularly


algae that grow rapidly, result in population
Causing the death explosion known as algal bloom
of other aerobic
organisms such as
fish, prawns etc.
High diversity of algae reduces the light
intensity hence lead to the death of other
photosynthetic organisms
The aerobic
bacteria use-up
oxygen faster then The decomposition of these dead organisms
it replenished; by aerobic bacteria causes severe depletion
BOD increase of water dissolved oxygen,
EUTROPHICATION

The artificial nutrient


enrichment of an aquatic
system with organic
material or inorganic
nutrients, causing an
excessive growth of
aquatic plant life
Increase BOD

The presence of organic


materials in water
promotes the rapid growth
of micro-organisms, thus
increase use-up of oxygen,
leads to the increase of
BOD (Biological Oxygen
Demand)

As a result, the
dissolved oxygen in
water is reduced and
the life of the living
aquatic organisms is
affected
What is Toxic Materials?

The illegal dumping of waste and


effluent from heavy industries are the
main source of toxic pollution, such as
heavy metals and radioactive materials
that are highly toxic, last for a long
time and accumulate in living
organisms via food chain
Thermal pollution

Thermal pollution occurs when excess heat


which is released into the environment
harms the living organisms and the
environment itself

Electrical
Effluents power station Reflection
of cooling agent of sunlight
industrial by mirror
processes

Sources
The effects of the increase in
water temperature
Increase in BOD
The death of value when the
aquatic metabolic rate
organisms of aquatic
that only organisms
survive increases
within a
certain
range of
temperature
. effect food Disturbance of
ecosystem
chain balance when
migrations of
organisms
occur.
Noise Pollution
Effects of Noise Pollution

Safe noise level


is ≤ 50 decibels
(dB) but above 80
dB can cause
deafness

Development and
aggravation of stress
related problems such as
high blood pressure,
coronary disease, ulcers,
depression and
headaches
The Greenhouse Effect

What is
greenhouse
effect?

Phenomenon to increase
the Earth temperature.
Without it the Earth would
be too cold for the survival
of living organisms
The Greenhouse Effect
• Greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, CFCs,
methane, nitrous oxide that contribute by the
combustion of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum and
natural gas) and other human activities such as
increased deforestation and industrial production
• As the concentration of greenhouse gases rises,
the more heat is trapped in the atmosphere and
the Earth temperature is increased. This is
known as global warming; overall rise in the
average temperature of the atmosphere (cause
changes in the global climate)
Carbon Dioxide and
Global Warming
The effects of global warming

Occurrence of floods Climate changes


• As the temperature rises, the polar • Global warming leads to changes
ice caps and glaciers melt in wind direction and the
• This causes a rise in sea levels distribution of rainfall; agricultural
• Causes low-lying areas to be activities are affected
flooded • Global warming causes weather
patterns to change; affects the
distribution of species

Spread of diseases
Occurrence of drought • With warmer climates, pests and
vectors may spread to new areas
• Global warming increases the
• Lead to an expansion of territories
frequency of drought
for vectors, resulting in an increase
• The land becomes dry and infertile
in the outbreaks of diseases
• Lead to a drop in crop yields
Solutions to Global Warming
• Reduce the burning of fossil fuels to
conserve energy
• Develops alternative sources of energy
such as wind, solar and geothermal
energy
• Reduce deforestation for farming
• Replant trees which have been cut down
The Thinning of the Ozone Layer
• The ozone layer is a region in the stratosphere between
17 and 25 kilometres above the Earth surface
• Ozone layer contains high concentrations of ozone
molecules (O3) that absorb UV radiation and shield
organisms from its damaging effect
• The destruction of ozone layer is due to the increasing
levels of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere
• CFCs are used as coolants in air conditioners and
refrigerators, as propellants in aerosol cans and as
foaming agents in the making of Styrofoam packaging
• CFCs are a group of chemical compounds that contain
chlorine, fluorine and carbon
Ozone Depletion
Ozone Depletion

protects from
UV rays
Ozone Depletion
Impact of ozone depletion on human
and the ecosystems

Increase Cataract Reduce human


greenhouse effect immune system

Skin Cancer Damaging the


photosynthetic mesophyll
layers of plants

Reduce nutrient contents Kill microorganism and


and crop yields of plant phytoplankton that are at the
bottom of marine food chain
Ways to Reduce Ozone Depletion
• Reduce stop the use of CFCs
• Replace CFCs with
hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) and
hydrofluorocarbon. These gases
breakdown in the atmosphere and return
to earth in form of rainwater

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen