Human Activities That Cause Habitat Loss

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

The conquering and development of natural land has in the past, been seen as a mark of human civilization. In the United States, our progress is often measured by growth and development, but should this be re-examined? There are many opinions on the subject of urban sprawl and its effects on wildlife, but one thing is for certain, we are expanding. From 1955 to 2005, urban and suburban areas grew by 300%, however, the population only increased by 75% over the same period (Ewing, Kostyack and Chen). According to NatureServe, a non-profit conservation organization, urban sprawl threatens one of every three endangered species in the United States. NatureServe’s analysis states, “rare and endangered species data shows that three-fifths (60

The scale and pace of change is dramatic; for example, the extinction of species is occurring at around 100-fold pre-human rates4. The population sizes of vertebrate species have, on average, declined by half over the last 45 years5. More than 2.3 million km2 of primary forest has been felled since 20006. About

I care deeply about the planet Earth, the home humans originate from, so it pains me to watch “modern” society devastate natural life across the board. I feel personally connected to the issue of how we use our land. Having lived in the Lee County area since birth, I have noticed just in our own little part of the world how much “development” can change things. There used to be so much more plant life: trees, grasses, flowers and a myriad of other greenery. What was once considered “empty” lots, by some, have been adapted to suit human desires be it additional roads, restaurants, shopping malls, and a continuing spread of “chain” corporate industries. Beyond human structures, huge amounts of land also are cultivated for industrial farming

Actually, habitat fragmentation occurs when urbanization occurs. Fragmentation is when infrastructure increases and becomes more advanced, biological entities such as forests and plains are broken up. When these areas go from one large being to multiple smaller ones, the population of species splits up. Small habitat patches are usually not able to support the same level of diversity as they were when the area was a whole, and this ends to some species becoming endangered, even sometimes extinct (Kapoor). A study conducted in a Michigan forest that was fragmented due to rapid urbanization showed that predation increased for many bird species and

“People who will not sustain trees, will soon live in a world that cannot sustain people”(Bryce Nelson). Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. Deforestation has overtime become a leading environmental problem in the U.S. It is estimated that at the beginning of the european settlement, in 1630, the area of forest was 423 million hectares. By 1907, the area had declined to 307 million, according to,”U.S forest facts and historical trends”. Deforestation is caused and will affect the human who call the U.S home. Issues with the environment such as global warming, the thinning of the ozone, and deforestation all contribute to critical problems in the U.S. deforestation highly

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

Since the 1950s, Florida 's population has risen at an annual rate of approximately four percent. In the [past] 50 years, more than eight million acres of forest and wetland habitats (about 24 percent of the state) have been cleared to accommodate the expanding human population. In 1990, about 19 acres per hour of forest, wetland, and agricultural land [were] being converted for urban uses. Because of this growth, Florida’s ecosystems are now

The news article I chose is titled Songbirds Divorce, Flee, and Fail to Reproduce Due to Suburban Sprawl written by Michelle Ma (2017). This news article is about one of the potential effects of suburban sprawl. Suburban sprawl is defined as the expansion of the human population away from the urban areas. Many people argue that sprawl has many negative effects on the environment such as taking agricultural lands and forests and turning them into an industrial warehouse that causes additional pollution. The negative effect on the environment in relation to this article is the displacement of wildlife that could lead to extinction.

Visit Land Use in Pinchot Lab (accessible through the Labs section of Contemporary Environmental Issues) and complete the virtual lab. In this lab you will apply the scientific method to examine how thresholds of land use changes such as deforestation and urban sprawl can impact communities, predator/prey relationships, species diversity, and quality of life in human communities.

Did you know that in 1990 there were only 2,500 Hyacinth Macaws left living in the will. In our paper we will discuss how humans affect the rainforest, endangered hyacinth macaws, and how we can prevent humans from destroying rainforests.

Some of the most notable effects of urban sprawl are loss of open space and natural habitats such as farmland, more air pollution, an increase in traffic due to longer commutes to work, and a depletion of water quality (Pope, 1999). Farmland is important to residents because it provides open space, absorbs rainwater, which improves water balance, and offers protection against flooding. Also, farmland vegetation helps air pollution by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. Aside from these benefits, nutrient farmland is vital for crop production (Frenkel, 2003). Cities such as Scranton, McKeesport, Wilkes-Barre and New Castle have lost more than a third of their residents due to urban sprawl. Pennsylvania alone has lost more than four million acres of farmland since the 1950s. The area of farmland that has been lost in Pennsylvania is equivalent to the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. One may argue that Pennsylvania had to expand our cities in order to accommodate an influx of population. However, unlike rapidly growing states such as California and Florida, Pennsylvania has only seen a 20 percent population increase in the past fifty years (Hylton, 1998,

Deforestation for agricultural purposes and the expansion of human habitats is happening around the world. This

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.

The health of the earth degrades with the destructive activity of human beings. A recent study by a group of scientists looked at twenty four different services that the earth’s ecosystems provide for humans, ecosystem services, and found that fifteen of them are in need of desperate help (Gazette 31 March 2005). These services are vital to the survival of both human and nonhuman life and include filtering water and providing nutrient rich soils and ocean waters. Many of the members of these various ecosystems are also decreasing in numbers. In a British survey of bird populations found that in the 200 birds of Britain tracked there was about a 54% population decrease between the 1968-1971 tacking period and the 1988-1991 tacking period. In two other surveys of 254 native plant species from the same area there was a decrease of about 28% during the past 40 years. Humans are pushing the sixth mass extinction (Gazette March 19, 2004).