Human’s Impact on the Environment How has human activity both disrupted and destroyed ecosystems?

Renewable resource: resource that is renewed at same rate of consumption. Non-renewable resources: resource that does not renew itself fast enough to replace quantity used.

Renewable resource examples include: Water, soil, biomass, wind, geothermal, and solar.

Non-Renewable resource examples include: fossil fuels, natural gas, and nuclear fission.

Marine Oil Drilling disrupts environment in several ways. It contributes to light, noise, and air pollution and physical disruption of benthic habitat.

Coral Bleaching: change to white color as a result of zooxanthellae loss from corals when temperatures rise.

Loss of corals leads to lower species diversity within the region (loss of habitat for many organisms).

Ocean acidification: Dissolved CO2 lowers ocean pH of ocean water (Carbonic Acid).

Acid reacts with the CaCO3 making less of it available to grow shells and dissolving them.

Overfishing – catching fish more quickly than they can be replaced by natural reproduction. Disrupts food web. Linked to Jellyfish blooms and increase in parasitic diseases.

Soil erosion – removal of topsoil by natural processes or through farming practices. Caused by overgrazing, deep plowing, failure to rotate crops.

Overgrazing – removal of vegetation by grazing animals to the extent that soil erosion can occur. Is a result of failure to properly rotate animals to limit plant reduction.

Deep Plowing has been shown to increase water retention of the soil Deep Plowing has been shown to increase water retention of the soil. However… Deep plowing leads to soil erosion eventually by exposing subsoil to the air.

Crop rotating – growing difference crops in the same field at different times. Benefits of crop rotation – helps soil retain nutrients, reduces insect pests and disease.

Different plants have different nutrient ratio requirements. Diseases and pests are often host-specific.

Commercial farming: farming for the sole purpose of making a profit through the sale of goods.