Endangered Ecosystem.

9.1 HUMAN ACTIVITIES THAT ENDANGER AN ECOSYSTEM

Industrialisation

Agriculture

Human activities

Deforestation

Urbanisation

Effect of unplanned development & mismanagement of ecosystem.

landslide

Flash flood
Soil Erosion Effects eutrophication extinction Climatic changes

Deforestation
Global warming

Ozone depletion Pollution Domestic & industrial waste

Deforestation
Clearing of the forest. Trees are cut for Valuable timber, buildings, road, stock rearing & agriculture. Plants hold soil & trees absorb impact of raindrops. Soil erosion. Disrupt normal weather pattern causing climatic changes.

Slash & burn. Larger trees sell as timber.

Others are cut & burned

Air polllution.

Flash flood
Eroded soil will be deposited in rivers. Silting in river will block water flow. Caused flash flood in lowland area.

Landslide
Deforestation & unplanned development cause soil erosion that leads to landslide.

Extinction
Habitats of organisms are being cleared. Rainforest serves as water catchment area. Water taken byplant is lost through transpiration. Less trees, reduce transpiration fewer clouds & rainfall. Area becomes hotter & drier.

Global warming
Greenhouse gases slow down the loss of infrared radiation from atmosphere to space. Increase in atm temperature. CO2 level increases as more trees are being cut down. Burning of forest.

Ozone depletion

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) damaged ozone layer. Ozone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4 percent per decade in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere since around 1980. The Antarctic ozone hole is an area of the Antarctic stratosphere in which the recent ozone levels have dropped to as low as 33% of their pre-1975 values. The ozone hole occurs during the Antarctic spring, from September to early December, as strong westerly winds start to circulate around the continent and create an atmospheric container. Within this "polar vortex", over 50% of the lower stratospheric ozone is destroyed during the Antarctic spring

Interest in ozone depletion While the effect of the Antarctic ozone hole in decreasing the global ozone is relatively small, estimated at about 4% per decade, the hole has generated a great deal of interest because: The decrease in the ozone layer was predicted in the early 1980s to be roughly 7% over a sixty-year period. The sudden recognition in 1985 that there was a substantial "hole" was widely reported in the press. The especially rapid ozone depletion in Antarctica had previously been dismissed as measurement error. Many were worried that ozone holes might start to appear over other areas of the globe but to date the only other large-scale depletion is a smaller ozone "dimple" observed during the Arctic spring over the North Pole. Ozone at middle latitudes has declined, but by a much smaller extent (about 45% decrease). If the conditions became more severe (cooler stratospheric temperatures, more stratospheric clouds, more active chlorine), then global ozone may decrease at a much greater pace. Standard global warming theory predicts that the stratosphere will cool. When the Antarctic ozone hole breaks up, the ozone-depleted air drifts out into nearby areas. Decreases in the ozone level of up to 10% have been reported in New Zealand in the month following the break-up of the Antarctic ozone hole

Consequences of ozone depletion

Increased UV Effects on Humans

1. Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinomas -- The most common forms of skin cancer in humans, basal and squamous cell carcinomas, have been strongly linked to UVB exposure.] 2. Malignant Melanoma -- Another form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, is much less common but far more dangerous, being lethal in about 15% - 20% of the cases diagnosed. A study of people in Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, showed a 56% increase in melanoma and a 46% increase in nonmelanoma skin cancer over a period of seven years, along with decreased ozone and increased UVB levels.[15] 3. Cortical Cataracts -- Studies are suggestive of an association between ocular cortical cataracts and UV-B exposure, using crude approximations of exposure and various cataract assessment techniques. 4. Increased Tropospheric Ozone -- Increased surface UV leads to increased tropospheric ozone. Ground-level ozone is generally recognized to be a health risk, as ozone is toxic due to its strong oxidant properties. At this time, ozone at ground level is produced mainly by the action of UV radiation on combustion gases from vehicle exhausts.

Eutrophication
Too much organic salt being washed into lakes. Encourage the growth of algae. Decreased in oxygen content. Caused by decomposition of dead organism by bacteria in lake area. Block sunlight from reaching inner depth of the lake. Dumping of rubish, industrial & agriculture chemicals. Increases the Biochemical Oxygen Demand value in water.

B.O.D
B.O.D is the amount of oxygen needed by microorganism to decompose organic matter in water. B.O.D the more polluted the water. Water samples are added with 0.1% of methylene blue solution Kept in dark places for a period of time. Changes in the colour are taken. Time taken for methylene blue solution to turned colorless is shorter if oxygen content is lower. B.O.D if discolorisation is shortest. This shows the water sample is the most polluted.

Thermal pollution
Heated water from industrial plants cause thermal pollution.

Water Air Pollution Thermal Noise

Formation of acid rain

Sulphuric acid & nitric acid

Sulphure dioxide, nitrogen dioxide & nitrogen monoxide

+ water vapour

Greenhouse effect
Energy from sun reaches Earth through radiation

Heat in the form of infrared is emmited back to space. Radiation absorbed to warm surface of sea & land

Radiation prevented from escaping by greenhouse gases. Heat radiated back to earth. Warming the earth further

Greenhouse effect

Increase of CO2 increases greenhouse effect that leads to global warming. Temperature rise from 1.5 C to 4.5 C by 2030

Thinning of ozone layer

Ozone gas (O3) are abundant in stratosphere. This layer shield surface of Earth from UV radiation. CFC is unreactive, remain unchanged for 100 years & able to reach stratosphere. UV breaks down CFC releasing chlorine Cl + O3 ClO + O2
chlorine ozone chlorine monoxide oxygen molecules

Chlorine moxide is not altered. It will keep reacting & breaks down ozone molecules. ClO + O Cl + O2

Damaged of crops due to exposure to UV rays Damage to phytoplankton. Damaged to chlorophyll plants

environment

UV rays

Human

Increased surrounding tempeature. Change wind direction. Change in climate

Skin cancer Cataract. Weakened immune system

Sustainable development.