The Impact of Humans on the Biological Diversity of Natural Ecosystems Essays

The Impact of Humans on the Biological Diversity of Natural Ecosystems Essays The Impact of Humans on the Biological Diversity of Natural Ecosystems Essay The Impact of Humans on the Biological Diversity of Natural Ecosystems Essay The Impact of Humans on the Biological Diversity of Natural Ecosystems Introduction Since humans have come into existence they have always been a cause of change of whatever natural areas they inhabit along with the living organisms of those natural areas. The different types of organisms such as plants, animals, and microorganisms that inhabit these areas are known as biological diversity or biodiversity. (USEPA 2010 ) Biological diversity can be affected by many different things, climate change, and area being two specific things. Humans fit into a strange niche of biological diversity. While we have a part of biodiversity and in ecosystems, the human race has spread much farther than any other breed or type of organism except for bacteria. (Diaz 2006) Humans have spread into so many other ecosystems that are not meant to be inhabited by humans and through technology, industrialization, and evolutionary changes have changed these natural ecosystems. As the population size of the human race increases the biological diversity of natural ecosystems seems to decrease. Humans have made an effect on several types of different systems aquatic, forest, and landscape conservations, changing permanently the biodiversity of these natural ecosystems in some form or fashion. White 2 Deforestation Deforestation is one major issue that has been caused by human population growth. Deforestation is the loss of forest due to the act of trees being overcut. This becomes such a big issue due to a problem known as soil erosion that occurs when deforestation happens. Soil erosion is the loss of the protective top layers of soil which take away from the ability of the soil to soak up and hold water. Stock and Rochen 2000) Beyond hurting the air quality that humans need soil erosion and deforestation becomes an issue that affects humans especially when it comes to agriculture. To have successful agricultural profit soil that has water holding properties is necessary. To yield a useful crop the top layers of soil are necessary which when deforestation is used to clear farm land are lost which keeps farmers from producing a good crop. Deforestation also causes many homes for different organisms to be lost endangerment and in extreme cases because the organisms natural habitat and food sources have been lost, extinction. Extinction becomes more likely when the majority of deforestation occurs in tropical regions for agriculture, paper from the trees, or industrialization these regions have numerous undiscovered organisms plant, animal, and microorganisms. Biological diversity and human welfare becomes compromised due to the ever extending reach and spread of the human population. Erosion Erosion by definition is the wearing down of something by grinding away, such as the wear on the Earth due to wind and water. Erosion is a naturally occurring process but yet still dangerous and aided by humans and the spreading population of humans, wearing away at the Earth, there is lost biological diversity of different plants and animals, because, the natural White 3 ecosystem and habitat has been eroded away. When erosion happens plants are lost and a lot the times made to be extinct. Which slowly but surely causes there to be a less diverse population of different plant species. And when plants disappear the animals will to in search of food causing a geographic migration of different animal populations and species. Rivers have been channelized to facilitate boat traffic, prevent flooding, and allow farming along their banks† (Audesirk 2008). As humans take from the environment we remove key nutrients and sediments from rivers and land, helping along the erosion process. Aquatic Systems As humans water is a necessary part of our diet in order to live. While we spread throughout the globe not on ly do we tamper with the balance of biodiversity of land ecosystems we also tamper with the biodiversity of aquatic systems too. As the populations of humans grow industrialization grows too, and is it known many companies do not dispose of the byproducts and waste of their companies properly; so waste, such as chemicals and other trash and debris are tossed into rivers. Eventually all rivers lead and empty out into oceans which means said chemicals are dumped into the ocean. These chemicals, waste, and debris float freely into the human population water supply and into the animals of aquatic systems water supply and habitats. These animals are exposed to the companies’ byproducts and they affect the life span, and habitat quality of the animals. Yet again human population growth can cause extinction of species, populations, communities, etc. due to the lack of regard or concern of how the biodiversity of natural ecosystems affects all species in the long run. White 4 Landscape Conservation Though humans have made a huge impact on the biodiversity of many and most ecosystems; it is recognized that for as much damage has been caused there should be some type of effort to improve and try to restore the biodiversity in some ecosystems. So was created the National Landscape Conservation System in 1969 ( CSA 2009). The mission of this system is to â€Å"conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that have outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values for the benefit of current and future generations†. (CSA 2009 ) However this system of land conservation is solely interested can only benefit Western/American land. The goal is to protect the USA’s most prized beautiful lands from being lost to the human populations’ impact on biological diversity of ecosystems. Though this system makes a good effort on protecting Western lands, there is still the matter of all the lands and waters around the world that could use protecting and preserving from humans in order for future generations to receive the full benefits that can be offered from the different ecosystems. Discussion A well educated member of society should have an understanding of this issue in order to understand the affect humans are having on our planets. As biological diversity decreases throughout the worlds natural ecosystems resources that could help the human population are continuously lost on a daily basis. Biological diversity can be related to agriculture that is highly affected when biodiversity is lost. And what the government does with land and regulations put White 5 on certain lands and waters. Biodiversity and the lack there of are major social issues that can relate back to all humans. Because as we decrease biodiversity with the spread of our population we affect our living standards as well, and those of many animals and other organisms. Science an provide all of the background information, statistics, and experimentation in the world but science cannot fix the decreasing of biodiversity when the problem is the spread of the human population into other ecosystems. Science cannot â€Å"cure† or fix population growth. While science can make one more aware it cannot fix the actual situation. Conclusion Humans hav e a major impact on the biological diversity of natural ecosystems and as time has gone on, the issue has become more apparent and prominent. Biological diversity is important in regards to humans because without it valuable information, beneficial plants and animals are lost. When erosion and deforestation occur animals and plants lose their natural habitats and are forced to migrate and some species become extinct. Erosion and deforestation also make land useless for agriculture meaning that the land after being cleared yields no purpose or goods for the human population. The aquatic systems suffer when humans show no regard to the fact that other creatures most coincide with the human population. Though companies have gotten better with what is done with their waste more is still able to be done to prevent a further decrease of biological diversity. Humans recognize now as the Earth loses more and more biological diverse ecosystems that something must be done to at least attempt to preserve the different plants, animals, and microorganisms that live in different biologically diverse natural White 6 ecosystems. Thus the National Landscape Conservation System and several other organizations were created in hopes of bringing awareness to the growing issue of the loss of biodiversity throughout the planet. Human population has a major impact on biological diversity in natural resources. Though the population tries to prevent any more damage from being done the fact is that humans have had a major negative impact on the biodiversity of natural ecosystems through the spread of the population, industrialization and negligence for the surrounding area shared by humans with other ecosystems. White 7 United States Environmental Protection Agency. Ecosystems and Biodiversity . Washington, DC: United States Government, 2010. Web. 10 Nov 2010. epa. gov/climatechange/effects/eco. html Stock, Jocelyn, and Andy Rochen. The Choice: Dooms Day or Arbor Day. Deforestation. University of Michigan, 01/21/2000. Web. 10 Nov 2010. umich. edu/~gs265/society/deforestation. htm Audesirk, Teresa, Audesirk, Gerald, and Byers, Bruce E. Biology Life on Earth. Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River. Prentice Hall. 2008. Print. Diaz, Sandra. Why is Biodiversity Essential for Human Life?. Sep. 2006: n. pag. Web. 10 Nov 2010. http://news. softpedia. com/news/Why-Is-Biodiversity-Essential-for-Human-Life-34980. shtml The National Landscape Conservation System. The Conservation System Alliance. N. p. , January 29 2009. Web. 10 Nov 2010. conservationsystem. org/conservationsystem