ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEM

Human activities that threaten

ecosystem
● Deforestation
● Burning of fossil fuels
● Overuse of fertiliser
● Dumping of domestic and industrial waste
 Deforestation
● Forest are cleared for agriculture and
development
●
● The importance of forest in ecosystem:
● Consist of flora and fauna that useful to humans
– Medicine, food
● Regulate climate – influencing wind, rainfall and
temperature
● Carbon sink – absorb vast amount of carbon
dioxide
● Water catchment areas
● Impact of deforestation :
● Soil erosion
● Flash floods
● Landslides
● Disruption of the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle
● Severe climatic changes
● Loss of biodiversity
● Soil erosion
● Plant root system hold the soil together
● Absence of plant root system makes the soil
structure unstable
● Landslide
● Heavy rain occur, the top layer of the soil crumbles
and lead to landslide on steep hillsides
● Flash floods
● Eroded soil carried by moving water and deposited
at the bottom of the river
● River becomes shallower and cannot stored large
amount of water in heavy rain
● Flash flood occur
● Loss of biodisversity
● The removal of numerous food webs
● Loss of habitats
● Extinction of animal species
● Disruption of carbon and nitrogen cycle
● Level of atmospheric carbon dioxide rises as less
carbon dioxide is removed by plants during
photosynthesis
● Level of atmospheric oxygen drops as less oxygen
is released by plants during photosynthesis
● Recycling of nitrates and other ions slows down
because of leaching and run off
● Climatic change
● Removal of trees reduces transpiration, rainfall and
the rate of absorption of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere
● High level of carbon dioxide prevent heat from
escaping the atmosphere
– Lead to greenhouse effect and global warming
● Forest clearing and burning of wood release more
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
● Intensive farming and its effect
● Decrease the space and resources available for
other species
● The use of inorganic fertilisers lead to
eutrophication
● The fertilizer from the soil leached into the river and
lakes that cause the rapid growth of algae
(eutrophication)
● Dumping of domestic waste and industrial
waste
● The waste from the soil will leak into the water
source
● Toxic substances poses a threat to organism
● Depletion of dissolve oxygen in the water
●
 Pollution
● Undesireble change in the physical, chemical or
biological characteristics of the natural
environment, as the result of harmful
substances or energy released through human
activities
● Types of pollution :
● Air
● Water
● Thermal
● Noise pollution
● Air pollution
● Main source of air pollution is the burning of fossil
fuels
● Air pollutants :
● CO
● Sulphur dioxide ( SO 2 )
● Nitrogen monoxide (NO)
● Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
● Fine particulate matter, smoke, haze
● Lead
● Carbon dioxide
● Acid rain
● The release of sulphur dioxide and oxides of
nitrogen from burning of fossil fuels from vehicles
and factories
●
● These substances combines with water vapour in
the atmosphere to form sulphuric acid and nitric
acid
● They fall to earth as acid rain
● Soil becomes acidic and unsuitable for agriculture
● Leaching of minerals ( potassium, calcium and
magnesium) – affects the growth of plants
● The release of heavy metals ( cadmium, lead,
mercury) to the water
● Acidic condition kills phytoplankton
● Photosynthesis tissues are destroyed ( plant leaves
turn yellow)
● Metal railing and bridge corrode
● Limestone, stonework and marble are eroded
● Solutions :
● Install scrubbers at power stations and factories
– Spray water to trap pollution
● Install catalytic converter
 Air Pollution Index
● Air quality is measured by the air pollution index
(API)
● The index is calculated based on the
concentrations of several major air pollutants
API DESCRIPTOR
0 -50 Good

51 - 100 moderate
101 - 200 unhealthy
201 - 300 Very unhealthy
> 300 hazardous
 Water pollution
● Sources of water pollution:
● Agricultural run-offs and waste
● Untreated sewage – domestic waste and animal
waste
● Effluents from industries
● Underground pipes – lead
● Eutrophication
● The artificial nutrient enrichment of an aquatic
system with organic material or inorganic nutrients
causing an excessive growth of aquatic plant life
● Eutrophication is caused by :
● Leaching of inorganic fertilizer such as nitrates and
phosphates from agricultural lands
●
● Run-offs containing animal wastes from farmlands
into the lakes and river
● Input of untreated sewage and discharge from
sewage treatment plants
● Excess nutrients that flow into lakes or river
encourage the rapid growth of
photosynthesising organisms especially algae
● Excessive growth of algae – algal bloom
● Algal bloom restrict the penetrations of light into
the water
● Other aquatic plants below the surface cannot
do photosynthesis
● Dissolve oxygen supply decrease in
concentration
● Aerobic bacteria in the water decompose dead
plants and use up oxygen in the deeper water
● If the lake receive untreated sewage, its
stimulate the growth of aerobic bacteria
● Aerobic bacteria use up oxygen faster than it
can be replenished
●
● Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
● The amount of oxygen that is utilised when all the
organic matter in one liter of water is oxidised by
living organisms in the water
● Increase in BOD result in severe depletion of
oxygen
●
● Low level of oxygen kills larger aerobic aquatic
organisms such as fish
● If the water becomes completely deoxygenated
anaerobic bacteria will grow and release toxic
gases ( hydrogen sulphide )
● Other aquatic organisms will die
 Thermal pollution
● The temperature of a body of water is
unintentionally raised as a result of human
activities
● Causes of thermal pollution :
● Hot water discharged from factories
● Cooling water from power station
● Effects of thermal pollution :
● Oxygen becomes less soluble in higher water
temperature
● Some species of aquatic organism cannot
withstand the increase in temperature
● The death of one species can affect the food chain
and collapse the ecosystem
● Ways to prevent thermal pollution:
● Control the amount of hot water discharged
 Noise pollution
● Source of pollution :
● Motor vehicles
● Agricultural and industrial machinery
● Noise pollution – exceed 55 decibels (dB)
●
● Effect of noise pollution:
● Aggravation of stress related problem such as high
blood pressure, coronary disease, ulcers,
depression, headaches
● Increase heartbeat because of the release of
adrenaline
 The greenhouse effect
● The effect in the atmosphere as a result of the
presence of greenhouse gases
●
● Greenhouse gases :
● Carbon dioxide
● Chloroflourocarbons (CFC)
● Methane
● Nitrous oxide
● Low level ozone
● Water vapour
● Greenhouse effect is important because it
warm up the earth, and suitable for living
organisms
● The concentrations of carbon dioxide and
methane have increased since the beginning of
the industrial revolution
● Factor that increased the greenhouse gases
● The combustion of fossil fuels
● Industrial activities
● Higher concentrations of greenhouse gases
trapped more heat in the atmosphere
● Earth temperature rises – global warming
 The effects of global warming
● Occurrence of floods
● The melting of polar ice caps - Rise in sea level
● Occurrence of drought
- land becomes dry and infertile
● Climate changes
● Global warming leads to changes in wind direction
and distribution of rain fall
● This factors affect the agricultural activities
● Spread of diseases
● Warmer climates spread pest and vectors to new
areas
● This result in the outbreak of diseases
Solutions to global warming :
1. reduce the burning of fossil fuels
2. develop alternative sources of energy – wind,
solar, geothermal
3. reduce deforestation for farming
4. replant trees
The thinning of ozone layer

● Ozone layer is a region in the stratosphere

between 20 – 25 km above the earth surface
● Ozone layer consist of ozone molecules ( O 3 )
● Ozone layer absorb ultraviolet radiation (UV)
and shield organisms from its damaging effects
 UV
earth

Ozone layer
Causes of ozone depletion :
● Increasing level of chloroflourocarbons (CFC) in
the atmosphere
– Coolant in air conditioner
– Propellants in aerosol cans
– Foaming agennts in styrofoam packaging
● When CFC rises into the stratosphere, it is
broken down by ultraviolet rays
● It becomes chlorine radicals ( Cl )

Cl
● Chlorine radicals break down the ozone
molecules in a chain reaction
The effects of ozone depletion :
1. exposure to UV can lead to skin cancer
(melanoma)
2. cataracts
3. sunburns
4. weakened immune system
5. reduce nutrients contents in plants
6. UV kills microorganisms and phytoplankton at
the bottom of the marine food chain
7. increase in the temperature of the earth
8. damage the eggs of certain amphibians
Ways to reduce ozone deplation :
1. stop the use of CFCs
2. replace CFC with hydrochloroflourocarbons
(HCFCs)
Measures taken in the management of
development activities:
1. implementation of laws
- environmental quality act 1974, 1989
- national forestry act 1984
- Pesticides act 1974
- fisheries act 1974
2. Use of technology
- install catalytic converter
- use unleaded petrol
- sewage treatment plants
- hydrogen based fuel-cell vehicles
- reduce methane emisions by-product of cattle
and other livestock waste
4. Education on the management of resources
- educated the public on the concept of recycle,
reuse, reduce and renew ( 4R )
5. Preservation and conservation of natural
resources
● Preservation – effort to protect an ecosystem
so that natural resources are utilised in
sustainable manner and the equilibrium of the
ecosystem is maintained
●
● Conservation – efforts to return an affected
ecosystem to its natural equilibrium
Preservation and conservation of soil in
agriculture :
● Good farming technique prevent erosion and
soil depeltion
● Crop rotation
● Controlled grazing
●
● Planting cover crops
● Appropriate use of fertilisers
● Effective drainage and irrigation
Preservation and conservation of water :
● River must not be regarded as dumping sites
for domestic and toxic waste
● Controlled the use of fertiliser in agriculture
● Water treatment facility to treat water before
released into the water system
Preservation of forest :
● Selective harvesting. Only mature trees are
removed
● Reforestation – replanting programmes
● Establishment of forest reserves
6. Biological control :
● The use of natural predators to control the
population of pest
● The use of owl to control the population of rats
● The uses of a species of duck to control the
population of gold snails (siput gondang emas)
7. Renewable energy :
● Solar energy
● Wind energy
● Flowing water
● Wave energy
● Biomass energy
● Biofuel
Advantage of biological control:
● Does not kill harmless organisms as in the use
of pesticides
● The effect is not persistent as in the use of
pesticides
●
● Does not affect the food chain
● Pest cannot develop resistance
● Lower cost
● Does not pollute the environment