Ecosystem Response Paper

The destruction of various ecosystems through modalities such as bulldozers, cranes, and irrigation systems have shaped the current state of the world. As countries continue to industrialize many parts of the world are becoming increasingly urban. The desire to turn undeveloped areas into bustling cities has been exorbitantly transformative in the state of the world's ecosystems. Increasing populations resulted in a greater amount of socio-economic, agricultural and industrial activities (Schultz). Therefore, a high stress was placed on local ecosystems to meet those demands. Cities now lack

Ecosystems can be restored by retaining and restoring the ecological sustainability of watersheds, forests, and rangelands for present and future generations.

Earth is always constantly changing and developing, especially the organisms that habitat on Earth. As a result, Earth is very biodiverse and has many different types of ecosystem. For instance, Earth has eight ecosystems (Tropical forest, Savanna, Desert, Chaparral, Temperate Grassland, Temperate Deciduous forest, Coniferous forest, and Tundra) and seven biomes (Wetland, Lakes, River and Streams, Intertidal zones, Oceanic pelagic biome, Coral reefs, Benthos). In these many different areas on Earth, there are many organisms, life, and valued nature. For example, Santa Cruz’s ocean are immensely important and valuable to the Cruz community because of its beautiful cinematic views and sea animals. Therefore, there are environmental justice

Ecosystems is the dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment that work together to form a functional unit and they are constantly changing due to the fluctuating equilibrium from natural stress and human action which has had adversarial impacts on ecosystems. This is evident in Minnamurra rainforest as human induced modifications and environmental stresses had resulted in a vulnerable ecosystem. Furthermore, the removal of factors that contribute to the vulnerability of an ecosystem is important as it affect the functioning of the ecosystem as processes are accelerated, biodiversity is decreased which greatly affects humans. Despite the negative effects caused by humans, they have discovered that ecosystems are susceptible from harm caused by natural environmental factors or human impacts and realised the importance of protecting and managing ecosystems therefore have implemented management strategies that are supposed to prevent further detriment and as a consequence may induce resiliency.

The article discussed the changes in many habitats due to anthropogenic activity. Anthropogenic is an adjective that describes changes in nature due to the people. Next, this article discussed climate change and the impact that it is having on species like clams, and fish due to ocean temperatures rising. The article also addressed carbon dating of fossils to look for cause of extinctions. Human development and agriculture have had a tremendous impact on the population of many species that are terrestrial. Deforestation is a big problem that has caused a decline in the bird species. Commercial fishing in many areas has led to a decline in fish populations. Furthermore this article

Restoration ecologists study the ecological communities before humans had any interaction with it. The importance of this study is that if the ecosystem can’t function we are able to do something about it.

The loss of Louisiana coastal land is one of the most major factors in our environment today. Louisiana has already loss 1,880 square miles of land in the past eight decades. This problem is effecting the state funding to help solve the problem before the state lose more coastal land. Human disturbance has had a massive impact on the balance of wetland growth and decline. (Wilson, 2013). In order to stop this situation the state needs to have a stronger structural protection for the coast line. (Wilson, 2013).

For example, the barrier islands on Louisiana’s coast are being destroyed or altered. The islands, reefs, and shelf protect Louisiana from storms and hurricanes. However, humans have altered the formation and existence of the protection. Stone et el. argues, based on statistical analysis of the coast, that the “physical loss of the barrier islands and marsh resulted in a considerable increase in modeled surge levels and wave heights.

Many communities are suffering due to coastal erosion. One example is the village of Cocodrie, LA in Terrebonne Parish. This village’s small population and its 220 residential and commercial buildings are surrounded by marshes. In Cocodrie, there is no barrier against hurricanes. Local marinas play host to recreational and commercial fishing, and The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium is located in Cocodrie. This facility of around 100,000 square ft houses laboratories, classrooms, and a research center. Infrastructure that will be affected by coastal erosion includes paved highway, dirt roads, a bridge, water supply systems, and natural gas lines. By 2050, Cocodrie will be surrounded by open water as the marshlands around the village give way to rising sea levels. Another community affected by this issue is Yscloskey, LA in St. Bernard Parish. The most important part of the economy here is fishing, and highways link the parish to New Orleans fishing communities. The Yscloskey area lies outside of the protective levees and is quite vulnerable to storms. Though losses in Yscloskey are not predicted to be as great as those in Cocodrie, a 16 percent loss by 2050 leaves the infrastructure of Yscloskey even more vulnerable (Coast 2050, 1998, p. 64-66). Local residents in these areas are watching the land disappear along with the beachfronts and Cyprus swamps that were on that land (Marshall, 2014).

Land-use change will likely pose a greater threat to biodiversity than climate change in this century. For the California Coastline, poorly planned extensive development will likely result in land use changes that will further fragment the coastline, posing a direct threat to continued conservation. In a recent spatial analysis, the California coast ecoregions had the lowest percentage of formally protected land and ranked highest in the conversion threat index (CTI). Continued conservation of the California Coast, involves preservation of areas that are not currently developed. The California Coastal Commission (CCC) currently has jurisdiction over the

Some amount of natural erosion is necessary to provide the sediment for beaches in estuaries and coastal bays. However, excessive erosion has occurred in the past due to development. Industrial and private development along the world’s coastlines has increased dramatically since the 1970s (Nepf). Developers and builders completed much of this construction without taking into account the effects of coastal erosion. New buildings were often placed too close to the existing shoreline so that

The construction of homes around lagoons and swamps, the utilization of wetlands for landfills and also the development of sand dunes for property and recreational functions have all had negative effects on Australia's coastal areas. The removal of vegetation has seen a big reduction in variety and conjointly noncontinuous the natural processes which kind involved coastal ecosystems.

When I chose to take the AP Environmental Science course around this time last year, I was unaware it would actually impact my decision making outside of the classroom. After learning the effects of human activities on our planet, I was determined to make an impact, even if it was a small one. Before taking this class, when seeing something on the floor that didn’t belong there, I occasionally put it in the trash if I wasn’t in a rush to get somewhere; but, while I was learning different topics in this course and as the class went on, I began to do that every time. In the past, I would sometimes be lazy to find a recycling bin for my plastic water bottles, and would put them in the trash. Now I refill my water bottles, or hold onto it until

The number of people living in urban areas is dramatically increasing across the world. Currently, 75 % of people live in cities in the developed world, (Bernhardt E.S. and Palmer M.A, 2007) despite such high percentage many do not get access to the green and blue spaces available, in other words cannot interact with nature. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency green spaces are ‘land that is partly or completely covered with grass, trees, shrubs or other vegetation’ (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014) This includes community gardens, parks as well as cemeteries. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014) On the other hand, blue spaces include rivers, canals and lakes. (Sally, M, 2010) As urbanisation increases, it will pose a greater threat to nature such as pollution, habitat destruction, erosion and colonisation of native species. There are various ways to engage with nature. However, one reason for green and blue spaces not being utilised effectively by people may be due to people being unaware of the values that these have and the crucial functions they undertake in the ecosystem such as recycling nutrients and controlling the hydrological cycle.

Seagrasses are essential primary producers that provide habitat and refuge to fauna. Anthropogenic influences have caused global loss of seagrasses and a major contributor is eutrophication, which increases phytoplankton and algal populations, reduces light availability, and causes daily hypoxic conditions. Eutrophication is commonly linked to declines in temperate conditions and is more difficult to link to tropical systems since decreases are typically related to physical damage and diminishing light conditions from runoff. Climate change, herbivore declines, disease and overfishing, along with anthropogenic impacts from coastal development, run-off, eutrophication, and aquaculture have caused declines in coral reefs and mangrove systems. These three systems are interconnected and when one system is impacted, secondary impacts are observed in the other systems; coastal ecosystems will be adversely effected and decline. Additional research, conservation, and ways to reduce anthropogenic impacts have been discussed. Restoration is used to reverse habitat loss, although success is varied. Coastal systems and the biological and ecosystem services they provide, may take decades to establish. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are instituted to protect systems from further degradation, restore communities and allow them to flourish naturally. However, local residents are affected by MPAs and may become displaced, have restriction placed on their livelihood, or elimination of their