TOPIC 3: EFFECTS OF VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES ON

ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain how bush burning can destroy the balance of an ecosystem
2. Explain how bush clearing can destroy the balance of an ecosystem
3. Explain how tillage can destroy the balance of an ecosystem
4. Explain how application of fertilizers can destroy the balance of an
ecosystem
5. Explain how application of pesticides and herbicides can destroy balance of
an ecosystem

1. BUSH CLEARING: It has adverse effects on the ecosystem

 It removes the plant cover over the soil, thus exposing the soil to erosion
 It exposes the soil to direct sunlight, thus increasing the temperature of the
soil
 Useful soil organisms in exposed soils may be washed away or displaced to
other places
 Prolonged exposure of soil surface may lead to desertification

2. BUSH BURNING: It has both beneficial and harmful effects on the ecosystem
 The ash produced during bush burning releases nutrients into the soil
 It causes humus on the soil surface to be burnt thereby bringing about loss
of soil fertility
 Useful organisms such as putrefying bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, nitrogen
fixing bacteria, earthworms, and fungi that bring about decay are burnt by
bush fires, thus causing loss of fertility
 It exposes the soil to erosion
 It releases carbon dioxide and monoxide into the atmosphere causing
climate change

3. TILLAGE: It has good and bad effects on ecological systems. Minimum tillage is
good
 It breaks up the soil surface and loosens the soil for roots of young plants
 It makes water that rises up by capillarity through pores in the soil to
accumulate at the tilled surface area, where young plants absorb the water
 It mixes humus into the soil
 It increases soil erosion
 It removes plant cover over the soil, thus increase soil degradation
 Tillage help to prepare a seabed, kills weeds, incorporate nutrients and
manage crop residues
4. FERTILIZERS:
 It supplements nutrient content in the soil
 It stimulates vegetative growth, hence it reduces soil erosion
 It may kill useful soil organisms that come into direct contact with the
fertilizers
 Prolonged use of chemical fertilizers may lead to development of poor soil
structure
 If washed into nearby water bodies, fertilizers pollute the water, lead to algal
bloom, may kill aquatic organisms and makes the water unfit for human
use

5. HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES

Herbicides and pesticides are used to control weeds and pests respectively.
Herbicides prevent crop failure or control invasive plants. Excessive use of these
chemicals has adverse effects on the ecosystem such as
 Pesticides pollute the atmosphere because most of the chemicals are
aerosols
 Insecticides may kill useful insects such as butterflies and bees that
pollinate flowers
 Pesticides may pollute soil and cause the damage of useful soil organisms
like earthworms
 Herbicides may kill crops if they are not selective
 Plants absorb pesticides from soil and become contaminated

EVALUATION:
1. Explain how three named agricultural practices can destroy the balance of
an ecosystem [SSCE JUNE 1992: 3c]
2. Distinguish between the following terms
(a) Fungicides (b) Herbicides (c) Pesticides (d) Insecticides