CHAPTER 16 NOTES- HUMAN IMPACT ON ECOSYSTEMS

Human Population Growth and Natural Resources:

• Although we do not know the carrying capacity of the Earth, some limit
must exist—Earth cannot support an infinite number of people.
• The carrying capacity of an environment can change as the environment
changes.
• Humans have modified their environment through agriculture,
transportation, medical advances, and sanitation, so the carrying capacity
has greatly increased.
• Growing Human Population Exerts Pressure on Earth’s natural resources:
o Nonrenewable Resource: used faster than they form (oil, coal)
o Renewable Resources: Resources that cannot be used up or can
replenish themselves over time (wind energy, solar energy, water)
o The United States uses more resources and produces more waste
than any other country on Earth (4.2 pounds per day, per person)

Air Quality
• Pollution- any undesirable factor, or pollutant, that is added to the air,
water, or soil. Their harmful effects can be immediate or delayed.
• Smog- a type of air pollution caused by the interaction of sunlight with
pollutants produced by fossil fuel emissions.
• Acid Rain- type of precipitation produced when pollutants in the water
cycle cause rain pH to drop below normal levels.
o Threatens water supplies and species habitat, trees become
vulnerable to disease and weather because leaves and bark break
down more quickly
• Greenhouse effect- occurs when carbon dioxide, water, and methane
molecules absorb energy reradiated by Earth’s surface and slow the release
of this energy from Earth’s atmosphere.
• Global Warming- The trend of increasing temperatures because of
increased levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water, and
methane.
o Increased flooding, stronger tropical storms, and loss of
biodiversity may be caused by global warming.

Threats to Biodiversity
• Biodiversity- The variety of life found in an area
o Highest in the rain forest biomes of the world (1% of this biome is
lost each year to logging and clearing)
o Loss of biodiversity could lead to:
 Loss of medical and technological advancements (Nearly ½
of prescribed medicines are derived from plants)
 Can reduce an ecosystem’s stability
 o Habitat fragmentation: when a barrier forms that prevents an
organism from accessing its entire home range. (examples:
building of roadways or harvesting of forests)
o Introduced Species: Any organism that was brought to an
ecosystem as the result of human actions
 Can pose a danger to native species (preying on them,
crowding them) and can threaten the stability of an
ecosystem
 Example: kudzu
 Economic damage (mice)

Conservation
• Sustainable development: practice in which natural resources are used and
managed in a way that meets current needs without hurting future
generations
• The Endangered Species Act protects individual species that are near
extinction by establishing protection for the organism and its
environment.
o Umbrella species- protection of this species means a wide range of
other species will also be protected.
 Example: Manatees rely on seagrass for food, so in order to
protect the manatees, the environments for seagrass must
also be protected
• Protecting Natural Resources:
o Clean Air Act- regulates emissions from factories and cars
o Clean Water Act- doubled the number of waterways that are safe for
swimming
o Setting aside areas as public land to protect ecosystems
• WE have the ability to change our practices and take action to protect and
maintain ecosystems.