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IGCSE Biology CIE 

20. Human Influences on Ecosystems

CONTENTS
20.1 Human Impact: Biodiversity, Pollution & Conservation
20.1.1 Ensuring Food Supply
20.1.2 The Importance of Biodiversity
20.1.3 Water Pollution
20.1.4 Other Pollution
20.1.5 Sustainability
20.1.6 Endangered Species
20.1.7 Reasons for Conservation: Extended

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20.1 Human Impact: Biodiversity, Pollution & Conservation YOUR NOTES

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20.1.1 Ensuring Food Supply

Intensive Food Production

Making food production more intensive means producing food more efficiently with a
finite amount of land and other resources
Modern technology has increased food supply substantially in the following ways:
Agricultural machinery has replaced humans and improved efficiency due to the
ability to farm much larger areas of land
Chemical fertilisers improve yields - fertilisers increase the amount of nutrients in the
soil for plants, meaning that they can grow larger and produce more fruit
Insecticides and herbicides - these chemicals kill off unwanted insects and weed
species, meaning that there is less damage done to plants and fruit lost to insects
(insecticides), as well as reducing competition from other plant species (herbicides)
Selective breeding - animals and crop plants which produce a large yield are
selectively bred to produce breeds that reliably produce high yields

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Modern agricultural processes allows for cultivation of much larger areas of land for crop
plants

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Monocultures YOUR NOTES

Monoculture farming means that on a given area of agricultural land only one type of crop 
is grown (eg trees for palm oil grown in Indonesian rainforest)
This large scale growth of a single variety of plant does not happen naturally in
ecosystems, where there are usually many different species of plants growing which, in
turn, support many species of animals (high biodiversity)
In monocultures, biodiversity is much lower
Another issue with monocultures is the increase in pest populations – if a particular pest
feeds on a crop, farming it in large areas repeatedly means there is an ample supply of food
for the pest, causing the population to increase
Often farmers will spray insecticides onto crops in order to control the pests. This leads to:
harmless insects being killed as well
pollution by pesticides (which are often persistent chemicals which accumulate in
food chains)
in many instances where they are used repeatedly for specific pests, the pests may
eventually become resistant to them, reducing their effectiveness

Palm oil production has increased rapidly over the last 30 years

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20.1.2 The Importance of Biodiversity YOUR NOTES

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Human Pressures on Other Species
Biodiversity
Is defined as the number of different species that live in a particular area
Human activities have tended to force biodiversity downwards, whereas, high bidiversity
is needed for stable ecosystems
Habitat destruction by humans is a major downward pressure on biodiversity
Reasons for Habitat Destruction
The increasing human population of the planet is causing destruction of many habitats
from rainforest to woodland to marine
Many habitats are destroyed by humans to make space for other economic activities, or by
pollution from these activities, and this reduces the biodiversity of these areas
This interrupts food chains and webs, meaning that more species may die because their
prey is gone
The main reasons for habitat destruction include:

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Deforestation YOUR NOTES

Deforestation is the clearing of trees (usually on a large scale) 
If trees are replaced by replanting it can be a sustainable practise
Generally the trees are being cleared for the land to be used in a different way (for building,
grazing for cattle, planting of monocultures such as palm oil plantations etc) and therefore
it is not sustainable
As the amount of the Earth’s surface covered by trees decreases, it causes increasingly
negative effects on the environment and is a particularly severe example of habitat
destruction
Undesirable effects of deforestation include:
Extinction of species
Loss of soil
Flooding
Increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

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20.1.3 Water Pollution YOUR NOTES

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Untreated Sewage & Excess Fertiliser
Human activities have led to the pollution of land, water and air
Pollution comes from a variety of sources, including industry and manufacturing
processes, waste and discarded rubbish, chemicals from farming practices, nuclear fall-
out, and untreated sewage

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Eutrophication: Extended YOUR NOTES

Runoff of fertiliser from farmland enters the water and causes increased growth of algae 
and water plants
The resulting ‘algal bloom’ blocks sunlight so water plants on the bottom start to die, as
does the algae when competition for nutrients becomes too intense
As water plants and algae die in greater numbers, decomposing bacteria increase in
number and use up the dissolved oxygen whilst respiring aerobically
As a result there is less oxygen dissolved in water, so aquatic organisms such as fish and
insects may be unable to breathe and would die

Sequence of events causing eutrophication in lakes and rivers

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20.1.4 Other Pollution YOUR NOTES

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Plastic Pollution
Plastics have a large negative impact on both land and water habitats due to their non-
biodegradability
In marine habitats:
Animals often try to eat plastic or become caught in it, leading to injuries and death
As the plastic breaks down it can release toxins that affect marine organisms
Once it has broken down into very small particles, it is commonly ingested by animals
and enters the food chain
On land:
Plastic is generally disposed of by burying in landfills
As it breaks down, it releases toxins into the surrounding soil and as such the land is no
good for growing crops or grazing animals and can only be used for building on
several decades after burial

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Air Pollution YOUR NOTES

Acid Rain 
Combustion of fossil fuels that contain sulfur impurities creates sulfur dioxide
This is released into the atmosphere where it combines with oxygen to form sulfur trioxide
Sulfur trioxide dissolves in water droplets in clouds and forms acid rain

Methane and Carbon Dioxide

Both gases insulate the Earth and act as a 'blanket' around the atmosphere
Higher levels of both have led to global warming and climate change
Human activity has increased levels of both gases in the atmosphere
Burning fossil fuels increases carbon dioxide
Keeping livestock generates methane gas
Global warming melts the permafrost in sub-polar regions, which results in even more
trapped methane being released into the atmosphere

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20.1.5 Sustainability YOUR NOTES

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Sustainable Use of Resources
We use many resources from the Earth; some, such as food, water and wood, are
sustainable resources
A sustainable resource is one which is produced as rapidly as it is removed from the
environment so that it does not run out
Some resources, such as fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), are non-renewable
because what we use cannot be replaced
These resources, once used, cannot be produced anymore and so they need to be
conserved by reducing the amount we use and finding other, sustainable resources to
replace them
Fossil fuels are being used as an energy source in increasing amounts
In addition, they are the raw materials for many other products we make - eg almost all
plastics that are made start with oil as a raw material
Some products, especially those made from paper, plastic, glass or metal, can be reused
and recycled - this reduces waste in the environment and reduces the amounts of raw
materials and energy needed to make new products
Some resources, such as forests and fish stocks, can be maintained - enabling us to
harvest them sustainably so that they will not run out in the future

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Sustainable Production Examples: Extended YOUR NOTES

Sustainable development is defined as development providing for the needs of an 
increasing human population without harming the environment
When developing the way in which we use resources to manage them sustainably, we have
to balance conflicting demands - eg:
the need for local people to be able to utilise the resources they have in their
immediate environment with the needs of large companies to make money from
resources such as forests and fish
the need for balancing the needs of humans for resources with the needs of the
animals and plants that live in the areas the resources are taken from (preventing loss
of habitat and extinction)
the need to balance what current populations need with what future populations
might need - for example if we harvest all the fish we need to feed people now, this
might lead to overfishing which would deplete stocks for future generations
For development to occur sustainably, people need to cooperate at local, national and
international levels in the planning and management of resources
Sustaining Forests
Forests are needed to produce paper products and provide wood for timber
Much of the world’s paper is now produced from forests which replant similar trees when
mature trees are cut, ensuring that there will be adequate supply in the future
Tropical hardwoods such as teak and mahogany take many years to regrow but are highly
desirable for furniture
Using these types of wood has now been made more sustainable due to the introduction
of several schemes designed to monitor logging companies and track the wood
produced (eg the Forestry Stewardship Council)
Education helps to ensure logging companies are aware of sustainable practices and
consumers are aware of the importance of buying products made from sustainable
sources

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More efforts are being made to manage forests sustainably so consumers know they are not
causing damage to forests
Sustaining Fish Stocks
Managing fish stocks sustainably includes:
Controlling the number of fish caught each year (quotas)
Controlling the size of fish caught (to ensure there are enough fish of a suitable age for
breeding remaining)
Controlling the time of year that certain fish can be caught (to prevent large scale
depletion of stocks when fish come together in large numbers in certain areas to
breed)
Restocking (breeding and keeping offspring until they are large enough to survive in
their natural habitat then releasing)
Educating fishermen as to local and international laws and consumers so they are
aware of types of fish which are not produced sustainably and can avoid them when
buying fish

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Ways of controlling fishing to make it more sustainable

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20.1.6 Endangered Species YOUR NOTES

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Conservation for Endangered Species
Endangered Species
An endangered species is at risk of becoming extinct
There are several reasons why a species can become endangered - the population of the
species may fall below a critical level due to
hunting
climate change
pollution
loss of habitat
introduction of non-native species that outcompete native species
Endangered species can be helped by conservation measures such as:
education programmes
captive breeding programmes
monitoring and legal protection of the species and of their habitats
seed banks as a conservation measure for plants - seeds of endangered plant
species are carefully stored so that new plants may be grown in the future
A species may be at risk of becoming extinct if there is not enough genetic variation in the
population as random changes in the environment may quickly cause extinction because
the remaining organisms are all very similar and may not have the adaptations to survive
such changes
There are moral, cultural and scientific reasons for conservation programmes, including:
reducing extinction rates of both plant and animal species
keeping damage to food chains and food webs to a minimum and protecting
vulnerable ecosystems (eg the rainforests)
protecting our future food supply and maintaining nutrient cycles and possible
sources of future medical drugs and fuels

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20.1.7 Reasons for Conservation: Extended YOUR NOTES


Reasons for Conservation: Extended
There are numerous reasons why conservation programmes are important
Maintaining or increasing biodiversity
Which allows ecosystems to remain stable
Reducing extinction
Helps to retain iconic species and maintain biodiversity
Protecting vulnerable ecosystems which would have been quickly lost to human
activity
Maintaining ecosystem functions
Nutrient cycling eg. carbon cycling to hold back climate change
Resource provision, such as
Food - making sure we have enough for the population
Drugs - having access to plants for plant-based remedies
Fuel - for improtant activities such as cooking
Genes - so the gene pool remains wide and variety exists in all species

Conservation Techniques: Extended

Certain conservation techniques can be used to maintain biodiversity
Examples include
Artificial insemination (AI) in captive breeding programmes
This allows large numbers of offspring to be produced without the need for
conventional sexual intercourse between males and females
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) in captive breeding programmes
This allows gametes with known alleles to be used in ensuring the next generation
remains biodiverse
Risks to a species
If its population size decreases, a species will experience reduced genetic variation
This renders the species more susceptible to environmental change
The species is less resilient and has a greater risk of extinction

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