The biosphere is a dynamic planetary ecosystem, in all periods of evolutionary development it was constantly changing under the influence of various natural processes. As a result of long evolution, the biosphere has developed the ability to self-regulate and neutralize negative processes, due to the complex mechanism of substance circulation. Organisms, in the process of evolution, adapted to changing external environmental conditions by changing intraspecific information.
The planetary ecosystem, adapted to the influence of natural factors, increasingly began to experience the influence of new influences unprecedented in strength, power and diversity. They are caused by man, called anthropogenic.
The famous ecologist B. Commoner identified the main types of anthropogenic influence:
Simplifying the ecosystem and breaking biological cycles;
Concentration of dissipated energy in the form of thermal pollution;
An increase in the amount of toxic waste from chemical production;
Introduction of new species into the ecosystem;
The appearance of genetic changes in plants and animals.
Most of the anthropogenic impacts are purposeful nature , that is, carried out by a person consciously in the name of achieving specific goals. There are also anthropogenic influences spontaneous (involuntary) , having an aftereffect. For example, this category of impacts includes processes of flooding of the territory that occur after its development, etc.
Anthropogenic impact can also be divided into:
- positive impacts: reproduction natural resources, stock restoration groundwater, land reclamation at the site of mining, etc.
- negative impact: deforestation on large areas, salinization and desertification of lands, reduction in numbers and extinction of animal and plant species.
The main and most common type of negative human impact on the biosphere is pollution- this is the entry into the natural environment of any solid, liquid and gaseous substances, microorganisms or energies (in the form of sounds, noise, radiation) in quantities harmful to human health, animals, the state of plants and ecosystems.
By pollution objects differentiate surface contamination And groundwater, pollution atmospheric air, soil pollution etc. IN last years Problems related to pollution of near-Earth space.
By type of pollution allocate chemical, physical And biological pollution.
In terms of its scale and distribution, pollution May be local(local) regional And global.
Human economic activity has repeatedly led to the deterioration natural conditions, gave rise to local environmental crises. Man, destroying flora and fauna in large areas, led to the formation of deserts. Scientific and technological progress (STP) increases the potential for impact on the environment, creating the preconditions for the emergence of major environmental crises. On the other hand, this same progress expands the possibilities of preventing such crises.
These opposing trends manifested themselves most clearly in the second half of the 20th century. For example, the vegetation cover of most of the surface of the continents is of a secondary nature, i.e. replaced by plants needed by humans. This circumstance led to a disruption of the soil formation process, a change physical and chemical properties soils and their erosion. On an increasing scale, humans are polluting the atmosphere and waters of continents and oceans.
Understanding the environmental crisis as irreparable deterioration of the natural environment in a short period of time, we cannot talk about a global crisis at the present time. Now there are many local crises that are not always solvable and, accumulating, can take on global proportions. Environmental damage to the biosphere cannot always be compensated, for example, the destruction of the gene pool of modern organisms.
Demographic processes, accompanied by population growth, contribute to an increase in the scale of industrial and agricultural production, the depletion mineral resources and increased waste.
Of particular note is the human influence on the climate of cities, regions and the planet as a whole due to atmospheric pollution. The Earth's atmosphere as a component of the biosphere is a transformer of local human impacts on the environment into global changes in natural conditions. Thus, modern cities, thanks to growing urbanization, can be considered as “heat islands” and sources of gases, vapors and aerosols. This circumstance causes the formation of fogs, leading to smog, accompanied by an increase in the concentration in the atmosphere of substances hazardous to the biosphere.
The constant increase in the amount of organic fuel burned for energy purposes contributes to an increase in temperature at the Earth's surface, which causes climate change on both a regional and planetary scale. At the same time, the natural course of evolution of biogeocenoses and the biosphere as a whole is disrupted.
Global changes in the biosphere include:
"Acid Rain". The essence of the problem of acid precipitation is that solutions of sulfuric and nitric acids are formed in the atmosphere when sulfur and nitrogen dioxides entering the air combine with atmospheric moisture. These acids then fall to the surface of the Earth in the form of “acid rain,” “acid fog,” “acid snow,” and “acid dry precipitation.” Rainwater, which forms water vapor upon condensation, must have a neutral reaction (pH = 7.0). The entry into the atmosphere of large quantities of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and other nitrogen oxides causes a change in the pH of atmospheric precipitation (pH = 5.6–5.7). The greatest contribution to the formation of acid precipitation is made by sulfur dioxide (70–80%), since the scale of formation of H2SO4 is an order of magnitude higher than that of HNO3. Acid precipitation has a negative impact on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Because of “acid rain,” fish disappear from lakes, forests dry out and die (especially coniferous trees), soil productivity decreases, crop yields fall, etc. Acid rain not only kills wildlife, but also cause irreparable damage to historical and architectural monuments, turning marble into plaster, etc. The environment becomes chemically aggressive, heavy metals and other dangerous compounds become mobile, ending up in drinking water, they pose a threat to human health.
"Ozone holes".
The stratospheric ozone layer protects all living organisms on the planet, including humans, from hard ultraviolet and soft X-ray radiation from the Sun (wavelength 200 - 320 nm). Its depletion increases the flow of X-rays and ultraviolet rays to the surface of the Earth, which causes a number of dangerous disorders in humans, leading to skin cancer, cataracts, and decreased immunity. Impact ultraviolet radiation leads to mutations at the gene level, the main target being DNA molecules.
It is believed that the natural ozone cycles in the stratosphere are disrupted due to its destruction by catalysts that can actively add atomic oxygen (chlorine, fluorine, nitrogen oxides, as well as other atoms and radicals). Among such catalysts, the most important role belongs to chlorine atoms, which are formed as a result of the photochemical destruction of freons (CFCs). Due to their high stability, freons are able to reach the ozone layer, in aggressive environment which releases chlorine from them. Each chlorine atom as a catalyst is capable of destroying up to 100 thousand ozone molecules.
"Greenhouse effect." The atmosphere containing “greenhouse gases” (including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, freons, nitrogen oxides, ozone and other gases) acts like a greenhouse roof: on the one hand, it allows solar radiation inside, on the other, almost does not allow heat emitted by the Earth to pass out. “Greenhouse gases,” and, first of all, carbon dioxide, trap long-wave thermal radiation from the Earth’s surface, causing an increase in the temperature of the surface air layer and creating the “greenhouse effect.” This process has been present on the planet throughout the history of the Earth, creating favorable conditions for the life of organisms. In recent decades, there has been an increase in anthropogenic input of “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere and an increase in their concentration, which leads to an increase in the “greenhouse effect”, an increase in the average annual air temperature on Earth and poses a threat to climate stability. Climate change towards warming will contribute to the melting of eternal snow and ice and a rise in the level of the World Ocean. Climate warming will be accompanied by an increase in weather instability and shifting boundaries natural areas, an increase in the number of storms and hurricanes, droughts, an accelerating rate of extinction of animals and plants, as well as worsening socio-economic problems due to a lack of food resources and fresh water.
Thus, without limiting the scale of their activities, without applying specific eco-protective (environmental) measures, people will contribute to the gradual degradation of the biosphere.
The biosphere, as a global ecosystem, has changed during all periods of its evolution under the influence of various natural processes. As a result of long-term evolution, the biosphere has developed the ability to self-regulate and neutralize the consequences of negative processes. This was achieved through the mechanism of substance circulation. The main stabilizing quality of the biosphere was the ability of organisms to adapt to change, formed in the process of evolution. external conditions by changing intraspecific genetic information.
With the emergence, improvement and spread of new technologies such as hunting, agriculture, industry, the planetary ecosystem, adapted to the influence of natural factors, increasingly began to be influenced by new powerful and diverse factors. They are caused by human activity, and therefore are called anthropogenic.
There are five main types of human intervention in environmental processes:
1. Simplifying the ecosystem and breaking biological cycles;
2. Thermal pollution environment;
3. Increase in discharges of toxic waste from chemical production;
4. Introduction of new species into the ecosystem;
5. The appearance of genetic changes in plant and animal organisms.
The overwhelming majority of anthropogenic impacts are goal-oriented character, i.e. carried out by a person consciously to achieve specific goals. Therefore, it is precisely targeted anthropogenic impacts that disrupt the homeostasis of the biosphere.
The human impact on the biosphere can be positive. Positive impacts include the reproduction of natural resources, protective afforestation, land reclamation at the site of mining, etc.
Negative are such types of human impact on the biosphere as deforestation over large areas, depletion of fresh groundwater reserves, salinization and desertification of lands, a sharp reduction in population numbers, and sometimes the complete disappearance of individual biological species, and etc.
Pollution in ecology they call the entry into the natural environment of any solid, liquid or gaseous substances, microorganisms or portions of energy (in the form of noise, radiation), etc. in quantities dangerous to human health, animals, the condition of plants and ecosystems in general.
Based on the objects of pollution, they distinguish between pollution of surface and groundwater, atmospheric air pollution, soil pollution, etc. In recent years, problems associated with pollution of near-Earth space have also become relevant.
Sources of anthropogenic pollution are industrial enterprises (chemical, metallurgical, pulp and paper, building materials etc.), thermal power engineering, transport, agriculture and other technologies. Under the influence of urbanization, the territories of large cities and industrial agglomerations are most polluted.
By type of pollution they distinguish chemical, physical And biological pollution. In terms of scale and distribution, pollution can be local, regional And global.
The most important substances from the point of view of the consequences of pollution, both locally and globally, are the following:
Sulfur dioxide SO 2 (taking into account fallout from the atmosphere and the ingress of resulting sulfuric acid and sulfates onto vegetation, soil and water bodies);
Heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury);
Carcinogenic substances (benzopyrene);
Oil and petroleum products (especially in the seas and oceans);
Organochlorine pesticides (in rural areas);
Carbon and nitrogen oxides (in cities);
Radioactive substances;
Dioxins (dangerous pollutants from the class of chlorinated hydrocarbons).
Since the beginning of mankind, there has been human intervention in the environment. The extent of its influence depends on the nature of the damage caused. Anthropogenic impact on the biosphere occurs due to human activity. Today this is the most important environmental factor, affecting the world.
The biosphere is part of the earth's shell. It is inhabited by living organisms that form chains, biological cycles and other connections. Their violations lead to irreversible consequences. Human intervention or anthropogenic impact on the biosphere is not always positive. Toxic sources have appeared that are harmful not only to living organisms, but for all humanity.
The balance in nature, the composition of the soil, the number of animals and the diversity of plants change.
Harmful emissions industrial enterprises reach enormous sizes. The air and water are polluted, which leads to a decrease in people's living standards. The construction of buildings and the expansion of cities changes the landscape of the area. Those plants and animals that were characteristic of a given area disappear.
Pollution of reservoirs, rivers and other water bodies affects not only the surrounding nature, but also the environment of the entire planet. The anthropogenic impact on the biosphere in this case is large-scale. Sewage water ends up in rivers and lakes, but, as you know, all water flows into the World Ocean. Therefore, all harmful substances invariably pollute other areas. Toxic substances, salts of heavy metals, petroleum products and other chemical compounds get into the water.
1. Anthropogenic impact on soil composition.
2. Soil erosion.
3. Soil salinization or waterlogging
4. Desertification of lands
5. Alienation of land.
Subsoil development affects all components of the environment that surrounds humans.
People need to prevent environmental disasters that have been occurring recently. A massive oil spill leads to the death of marine living organisms and pollution of water spaces. Accidents on nuclear power plants are the biggest disasters. As a result, not only living organisms die, but also people.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
SECONDARY SCHOOL No. 30
ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT
TO THE BIOSPHERE
Abstract on geography
Students of class 11A
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Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Introduction 2
1. General characteristics of environmental pollution 4
2.Ecological problems of the biosphere 7
1.Atmosphere - the outer shell of the biosphere. Air pollution 7
2.Water is the basis of life processes in the biosphere. Pollution natural waters 10
3. Soil is an important component of the biosphere. Soil pollution 12
4. Human influence on flora and fauna. 15
5.Radioactive contamination of the biosphere. 16
3. Ways to solve environmental problems. Rational environmental management 19
Conclusion 25
Literature 27
Introduction
Man and nature are inseparable from each other and are closely interconnected. For humans, as well as for society as a whole, nature is the environment for life and the only source of resources necessary for existence. Nature and natural resources are the basis on which human society lives and develops, the primary source of satisfying the material and spiritual needs of people. Man is a part of nature and, as a living being, with his elementary life activities has a tangible impact on the natural environment.
The transformative influence of man on nature is inevitable. The changes introduced by its economic activities into nature intensify as the productive forces develop and the mass of substances involved in economic circulation increases.
Global processes of formation and movement of living matter in the biosphere are connected and accompanied by the circulation of matter and energy. Unlike purely geological processes biogeochemical cycles involving living matter have a significantly higher intensity, speed and amount of substance involved in circulation.
With the advent and development of humanity, the process of evolution has changed noticeably. On early stages civilization, cutting down and burning forests for agriculture, grazing livestock, fishing and hunting wild animals, wars devastated entire regions, led to the destruction of plant communities, extermination individual species animals. As civilization developed, especially after industrial revolution At the end of the Middle Ages, humanity acquired ever greater power, an ever greater ability to involve and use enormous masses of matter to satisfy its growing needs.
Real shifts in biosphere processes began in the 20th century as a result of the next industrial revolution. The rapid development of energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, transport has led to the fact that human activity has become comparable in scale to the natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human consumption of energy and material resources is growing in proportion to the population size and even outpacing its growth. V.I. Vernadsky wrote: “Man becomes a geological force capable of changing the face of the Earth.” 1 This warning was prophetically borne out. The consequences of anthropogenic (man-made) activities are manifested in the depletion of natural resources, pollution of the biosphere with industrial waste, destruction natural ecosystems, changes in the structure of the Earth's surface, climate change. Anthropogenic impacts lead to disruption of almost all natural biogeochemical cycles.
In accordance with population density, the degree of human impact on the environment also changes. At the current level of development of productive forces, the activities of human society affect the biosphere as a whole.
The purpose of this work is to study the main factors of the influence of human activity on the state of the natural environment. In the process of working on the abstract, the main problems solved by humanity in the course of its impact on the biosphere will be outlined. When preparing the work, textbooks on ecology were used, as well as materials from scientific conferences and manuals for students.
General characteristics of environmental pollution
Appearance in natural environment new components caused by human activity or any grandiose natural phenomena(for example, volcanic activity) are characterized by the term pollution. IN general view pollution is the presence in the environment of harmful substances that disrupt the functioning of ecological systems or their individual elements and reduce the quality of the environment from the point of view of human habitation or activities economic activity. This term characterizes all bodies, substances, phenomena, processes that in a given place, but not at the time and not in the quantity that is natural for nature, appear in the environment and can bring its systems out of balance.
The environmental effects of polluting agents can manifest themselves in different ways; it can affect either individual organisms (manifest at the organismal level), or populations, biocenoses, ecosystems and even the biosphere as a whole.
At the organismal level, there may be a violation of certain physiological functions of organisms, changes in their behavior, a decrease in the rate of growth and development, and a decrease in resistance to the effects of other unfavorable environmental factors.
At the population level, pollution can cause changes in their numbers and biomass, fertility, mortality, changes in structure, annual migration cycles and a number of other functional properties.
At the biocenotic level, pollution affects the structure and functions of communities. The same pollutants have different effects on different components of communities. Accordingly, the quantitative relationships in the biocenosis change, up to the complete disappearance of some forms and the appearance of others. The spatial structure of communities changes, chains of decomposition (detritus) begin to predominate over pasture ones, and death begins to prevail over production. Ultimately, ecosystems degrade, deteriorate as elements of the human environment, reduce their positive role in the formation of the biosphere, and depreciate in economic terms.
Distinguish natural and anthropogenic pollution. Natural pollution occurs as a result of natural causes - volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, catastrophic floods and fires. Anthropogenic pollution is the result of human activity.
Currently, the total power of anthropogenic pollution sources in many cases exceeds the power of natural ones. Thus, natural sources of nitric oxide emit 30 million tons of nitrogen per year, and anthropogenic sources - 35-50 million tons; sulfur dioxide, respectively, about 30 million tons and more than 150 million tons. As a result of human activity, almost 10 times more lead enters the biosphere than through natural pollution.
Pollutants resulting from human activities and their impact on the environment are very diverse. These include: compounds of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, heavy metals, various organic substances, artificially created materials, radioactive elements and much more.
Thus, according to experts, about 10 million tons of oil enter the ocean annually. Oil on water forms a thin film that prevents gas exchange between water and air. As oil settles to the bottom, it enters bottom sediments, where it disrupts the natural life processes of bottom animals and microorganisms. In addition to oil, there has been a significant increase in the release of domestic and industrial wastewater into the ocean, containing, in particular, such dangerous pollutants as lead, mercury, and arsenic, which have a strong toxic effect. Background concentrations of such substances in many places have already been exceeded tens of times.
Each pollutant has a certain negative impact on nature, so their release into the environment must be strictly controlled. Legislation establishes for each pollutant a maximum permissible discharge (MPD) and a maximum permissible concentration (MAC) in the natural environment.
Maximum permissible discharge(MPD) is the mass of a pollutant emitted by individual sources per unit of time, the excess of which leads to adverse consequences in the environment or is dangerous to human health. Maximum permissible concentration(MPC) is understood as the amount of a harmful substance in the environment that does not have a negative impact on the health of a person or his offspring with permanent or temporary contact with it. Currently, when determining maximum permissible concentrations, not only the degree of influence of pollutants on human health is taken into account, but also their impact on animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms, as well as natural community generally. 2
Special environmental monitoring (surveillance) services monitor compliance with established MPC and MPC standards harmful substances. Such services have been created in all regions of the country. Their role is especially important in major cities, near chemical plants, nuclear power plants and other industrial facilities. Monitoring services have the right to take measures provided for by law, including suspension of production and any work, if environmental protection standards are violated.
In addition to environmental pollution, anthropogenic impact is expressed in the depletion of natural resources of the biosphere. The huge scale of natural resource use has led to significant changes in landscapes in some regions (for example, in the coalfields). If at the dawn of civilization a person used for his needs only about 20 chemical elements, at the beginning of the 20th century, 60 flowed in, now more than 100 - almost the entire periodic table. About 100 billion tons of ore, fuel, and mineral fertilizers are mined (extracted from the geosphere) annually.
The rapid increase in demand for fuel, metals, minerals and their extraction has led to the depletion of these resources. Thus, according to experts, if current rates of production and consumption are maintained, proven reserves of oil will be exhausted in 30 years, gas - in 50 years, coal - in 200. A similar situation has developed not only with energy resources, but also with metals (depletion of reserves aluminum is expected in 500-600 years, iron - 250 years, zinc - 25 years, lead - 20 years) and mineral resources, such as asbestos, mica, graphite, sulfur.
This is not a complete picture of the environmental situation on our planet at the present time. Even individual successes in environmental protection activities cannot noticeably change the overall course of the process of the harmful influence of civilization on the state of the biosphere.
Ecological problems of the biosphere
The atmosphere is the outer shell of the biosphere. Air pollution
The mass of our planet's atmosphere is negligible - only one millionth the mass of the Earth. However, its role in the natural processes of the biosphere is enormous: it determines the general thermal regime of the surface of our planet, protects it from the harmful effects of cosmic and ultraviolet radiation. Atmospheric circulation influences local climatic conditions, and through them - the regime of rivers, soil and vegetation cover, and relief formation processes.
The current composition of the atmosphere is the result of the long historical development of the globe. The composition of the atmosphere is oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide and inert gases.
In the process of their activities, people pollute the environment. Over cities and industrial areas in the atmosphere, the concentration of gases increases, which are usually found in very small quantities or completely absent in rural areas. Polluted air is harmful to health. In addition, harmful gases, combining with atmospheric moisture and falling in the form of acid rain, deteriorate the quality of the soil and reduce crop yields.
According to scientists, every year in the world as a result of human activity, 25.5 billion tons of carbon oxides, 190 million tons of sulfur oxides, 65 million tons of nitrogen oxides, 1.4 million tons of freons, organic lead compounds, hydrocarbons, including carcinogenic, large amounts of solid particles (dust, soot, soot). 3
Global air pollution affects the state of natural ecosystems, especially the green cover of our planet.
Acid rain, caused mainly by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, causes enormous damage to forest biocenoses. Forests, especially coniferous ones, suffer from them.
The main cause of air pollution is the combustion of natural fuels and metallurgical production. If in the 19th and early 20th centuries the combustion products of coal and liquid fuel entering the environment were almost completely assimilated by the vegetation of the Earth, now the content of combustion products is steadily increasing. From stoves, furnaces, and car exhaust pipes, it gets into the air. whole line pollutants. Among them, sulfur dioxide stands out - a poisonous gas, easily soluble in water. Concentration sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere is especially high in the vicinity of copper smelters. It causes the destruction of chlorophyll, underdevelopment of pollen grains, drying and falling of leaves and needles.
As a result of the combustion of various fuels, about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere annually. Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide exceed natural ones and currently constitute a large proportion of its quantity, disrupting the transparency of the atmosphere, and, consequently, its heat balance. Half of the carbon dioxide produced by the combustion of fossil fuels is absorbed by the ocean and green plants, while half remains in the air. Content carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is gradually increasing and has increased by more than 10% over the past 100 years. Carbon dioxide prevents thermal radiation into outer space, creating the so-called “greenhouse effect” there, i.e. an increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere by several degrees, which can cause the melting of glaciers in the polar regions, an increase in the level of the World Ocean, changes in its salinity, temperature and other adverse consequences.
Particularly dangerous is the destruction of the ozone layer, which has been observed in recent years. Most scientists attribute this to human activity.
Pollution of the natural environment with heavy metals poses a great danger. Lead, cadmium, mercury, copper, nickel, zinc, chromium, and vanadium have become almost constant components of the air in industrial centers. The problem of lead air pollution is particularly acute.
Thus, changes in the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere significantly affect the Earth's climate.
Water is the basis of life processes in the biosphere. Natural water pollution
Water is the most abundant inorganic compound on the planet. Water is the basis of all life processes, the only source of oxygen in the main driving process on Earth - photosynthesis.
With the advent of life on Earth, the water cycle became relatively complex, because... To simple phenomenon evaporation added more complex processes associated with the life of living organisms, especially humans.
The use of water resources is increasing rapidly. This is due to population growth and improvement of sanitary and hygienic conditions of human life, the development of industry and irrigated agriculture. Daily water consumption for household needs in rural areas is 50 liters per person, in cities - 150 liters. Huge amounts of water are used in industry. To smelt 1 ton of steel, 200 m 3 is required. To produce 1 ton of paper, 100 m3 is required, to produce 1 ton of synthetic fiber - from 2500 to 5000 m3. Industry absorbs 85% of all water consumed in cities, leaving about 15% for domestic purposes.
More more water necessary for irrigation. During the year, 12-14 m3 of water is consumed per 1 hectare of irrigated land. In our country, more than 150 km 3 is spent annually on irrigation, while about 50 km 3 is spent on all other needs.
If consumption continues at this rate, and taking into account population growth and production volumes, by 2100 humanity may exhaust all fresh water reserves.
The constant increase in water consumption on the planet leads to the danger of “water famine”, which necessitates the development of measures for the cost-effective use of water resources.
Except high level consumption, water shortage is caused by its growing pollution due to the discharge of industrial waste into rivers and especially chemical production and communication wastewater. Bacterial contamination and toxic chemical substances(for example, phenol) lead to the death of water bodies. Harmful substances entering waters: oil, oil products (as a result of oil production, transportation, refining, use of oil as fuel and industrial raw materials), toxic synthetic substances (used in industry, transport, public utilities), metals (mercury , lead, zinc, copper, chromium, tin, manganese). The rafting of timber along rivers, which is often accompanied by congestion, also has harmful consequences.
Rivers and lakes also receive mineral fertilizers washed out of the soil by rain - nitrates and phosphates, which in high concentrations can dramatically change the appearance and composition of water bodies, as well as various pesticides - pesticides used in agriculture to control insect pests.
One type of pollution is thermal pollution (power plants and industrial enterprises often discharge heated water into a reservoir, which reduces the amount of oxygen, increases the toxicity of impurities, and disrupts biological balance). The discharge of warm water by enterprises is an unfavorable factor for aerobic organisms living in fresh waters. Oxygen is poorly soluble in warm water, and its deficiency in some places leads to the death of many organisms.
The waters of the seas and oceans are subject to significant pollution. With river runoff, as well as from sea transport, pathogenic waste, oil products, salts of heavy metals, toxic organic compounds, incl. pesticides. DDT has even been found in the bodies of penguins living in Antarctica. Pollution of the seas and oceans reaches such proportions that in some cases, caught fish and shellfish are unfit for consumption.
Soil is an important component of the biosphere. Soil pollution
The soil - upper layer land formed under the influence of plants, animals, microorganisms and climate from the parent rocks on which it is located. This is an important and complex component of the biosphere, closely connected with its other parts.
The following main components interact in complex ways in soil:
mineral particles (sand, clay), water, air;
detritus - dead organic matter, the remains of the vital activity of plants and animals;
many living organisms that decompose detritus into humus.
Soils go through several stages in their development and formation. Young soils are usually the result of weathering of parent rocks or transport of sediment deposits (eg alluvium). Microorganisms, pioneer plants - lichens, mosses, grasses, and small animals - settle on these substrates. Gradually, other species of plants and animals are introduced, the composition of the biocenosis becomes more complex, and a whole series of relationships arises between the mineral substrate and living organisms. As a result, mature soil is formed, the properties of which depend on the original parent rock and climate. 4
The process of soil development ends when equilibrium is achieved, matching the soil with the vegetation cover and climate.
Soil is like a living organism within which various complex processes take place. In order to maintain the soil in good condition, it is necessary to know the nature of the metabolic processes of all its components.
Surface layers of soil usually contain many remains of plant and animal organisms, the decomposition of which leads to the formation of humus. The amount of humus determines the fertility of the soil.
Plants absorb essential minerals from the soil, but after the death of plant organisms, the removed elements return to the soil. Soil organisms gradually process all organic residues. Thus, under natural conditions there is a constant cycle of substances in the soil.
Under normal natural conditions, all processes occurring in the soil are in balance. But often people are to blame for disturbing the equilibrium state of the soil. As a result of the development of human economic activity, pollution occurs, changes in the composition of the soil and even its destruction. Currently, there is less than one hectare of arable land for every inhabitant of our planet. And these small areas continue to shrink due to inept human economic activities.
Huge areas of fertile land are destroyed during mining operations and during the construction of enterprises and cities. The destruction of forests and natural grass cover, repeated plowing of the land without following the rules of agricultural technology leads to the emergence of erosion soil - destruction and washing away of the fertile layer by water and wind. Erosion has now become a worldwide evil. It is estimated that over the last century alone, 2 billion hectares of fertile land for active agricultural use have been lost on the planet as a result of water and wind erosion.
One of the consequences of increased human production activity is intensive soil pollution. The main soil pollutants are metals and their compounds, radioactive elements, as well as fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture.
The most dangerous soil pollutants include mercury and its compounds. Mercury enters the environment with pesticides and industrial waste containing metallic mercury and its various compounds.
Soil contamination with lead is even more widespread and dangerous. It is known that when one ton of lead is smelted, up to 25 kg of lead is released into the environment with waste. Lead compounds are used as additives in gasoline, so motor vehicles are a serious source of lead pollution. Lead is especially high in soils along major highways.
Near large centers of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, soils are contaminated with iron, copper, zinc, manganese, nickel, aluminum and other metals. In many places their concentration is tens of times higher than the maximum permissible concentration.
Radioactive elements can enter the soil and accumulate in it as a result of fallout from atomic explosions or during the disposal of liquid and solid waste from industrial enterprises, nuclear power plants or research institutions related to the study and use of atomic energy. Radioactive substances from soils enter plants, then into the bodies of animals and humans, and accumulate in them.
Modern agriculture, which widely uses fertilizers and various chemicals to control pests, weeds and plant diseases, has a significant impact on the chemical composition of soils. Currently, the amount of substances involved in the cycle during agricultural activities is approximately the same as during industrial production. At the same time, the production and use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture increases every year. Their inept and uncontrolled use leads to disruption of the cycle of substances in the biosphere.
Particularly dangerous are persistent organic compounds used as pesticides. They accumulate in soil, water, and bottom sediments of reservoirs. But the most important thing is that they are included in ecological food chains, pass from soil and water to plants, then to animals, and ultimately enter the human body with food.
Human influence on flora and fauna.
Human impact on wildlife consists of direct influence and indirect changes in the natural environment. One form of direct impact on plants and animals is forest cutting. Finding themselves suddenly in open habitat conditions, plants in the lower tiers of the forest experience the adverse effects of direct solar radiation. In heat-loving plants of the herbaceous and shrub layers, chlorophyll is destroyed, growth is inhibited, and some species disappear. Light-loving plants that are resistant to elevated temperatures and lack of moisture settle in cleared areas. The animal world is also changing: species associated with the tree stand disappear or migrate to other places.
Mass visits to forests by vacationers and tourists have a noticeable impact on the state of vegetation. In these cases, the harmful effect is trampling, compaction of the soil and its contamination. Woody plants dry out. The direct influence of man on the animal world is the extermination of species that provide food or other material benefits to him.
It is believed that since 1600, more than 160 species and subspecies of birds and at least 100 species of mammals have been exterminated by humans. The long list of extinct species includes the aurochs, a wild bull that lived in Europe. In the 18th century, it was exterminated, described by the Russian naturalist G.V. The Steller sea cow is an aquatic mammal belonging to the sirenidae category. A little over 100 years ago, the wild Tarpan horse, which lived in southern Russia, disappeared. Many animal species are on the verge of extinction or are preserved only in nature reserves. Such is the fate of bison, tens of millions of whom inhabited the prairies of North America, and bison, formerly widespread in the forests of Europe. In the Far East, sika deer have been almost completely exterminated. Intensified fishing for cetaceans has brought several species of whales to the brink of destruction: gray, bowhead, and blue. The number of animals is also influenced by human economic activities not related to fishing. The number of the Ussuri tiger has sharply decreased as a result of the development of territories within its range and a reduction in the food supply. In the Pacific Ocean, several tens of thousands of dolphins die every year: during the fishing season, they get caught in nets and cannot get out of them. 5
The disappearance of a relatively small number of animal and plant species may not seem very significant. However, the main value of living species does not lie in their sole significance.
Each species occupies a certain place in the biocenosis, in the food chain, and no one can replace it. The disappearance of one or another species leads to a decrease in the stability of biocenoses.
Radioactive contamination of the biosphere.
There are natural sources of radioactivity everywhere in the biosphere, and humans, like all living organisms, have always been exposed to natural radiation. External exposure occurs due to radiation of cosmic origin and radioactive nuclides in the environment. Internal radiation is created by radioactive elements entering the human body with air, water and food.
To quantitatively characterize the impact of radiation on a person, units are used - the biological equivalent of a roentgen (rem) or sievert (Sv): 1 Sv = 100 rem. Since radioactive radiation can cause serious changes in the body, every person should know the permissible doses.
As a result of internal and external radiation, a person receives an average dose of 0.1 rem over the course of a year and, therefore, about 7 rem over the course of his entire life. At these doses, radiation does not harm humans. However, there are areas where the annual dose is higher than average. For example, people living in high mountain areas can receive a dose several times higher due to cosmic radiation. Large doses of radiation can occur in areas where the content of natural radioactive sources is high. For example, in Brazil (200 km from Sao Paulo) there is a hill where the annual dose is 25 rem. This area is uninhabited.
The greatest danger is posed by radioactive contamination of the biosphere as a result of human activity. Currently, radioactive elements are widely used in various fields. Negligence in the storage and transportation of these elements leads to serious radioactive contamination. Radioactive contamination of the biosphere is associated, for example, with the testing of atomic weapons.
The problem of radioactive contamination arose in 1945 after the explosion of atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tests nuclear weapons produced in the atmosphere caused global radioactive contamination. Radioactive contamination has a significant difference from others. Radioactive nuclides are nuclei of unstable chemical elements that emit charged particles and short-wave electromagnetic radiation. It is these particles and radiation that enter the human body that destroy cells, as a result of which various diseases can arise, including radiation. In case of explosion atomic bomb Very strong ionizing radiation occurs, radioactive particles are scattered over long distances, contaminating the soil, water bodies, and living organisms. Many radioactive isotopes have long half-lives, remaining dangerous throughout their existence. All these isotopes are included in the cycle of substances, enter living organisms and have a detrimental effect on cells. Strontium is very dangerous due to its proximity to calcium. Accumulating in the bones of the skeleton, it serves as a constant source of radiation to the body. During a nuclear explosion, a huge amount of fine dust is formed, which remains in the atmosphere for a long time and absorbs a significant part of solar radiation.
In the second half of the 20th century, nuclear power plants, icebreakers, and submarines with nuclear installations began to be put into operation. During normal operation of nuclear energy and industrial facilities, environmental pollution with radioactive nuclides is a negligible fraction of the natural background. A different situation arises during accidents at nuclear facilities.
Thus, during the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, only about 5% of the nuclear fuel was released into the environment. But this led to exposure of many people, and large areas were contaminated to such an extent that they became hazardous to health. This required the relocation of thousands of residents from contaminated areas. An increase in radiation as a result of radioactive fallout was noted hundreds and thousands of kilometers from the accident site. 6
Currently, the problem of warehousing and storing radioactive waste from the military industry and nuclear power plants is becoming increasingly acute. Every year they pose an increasing danger to the environment. Thus, the use of nuclear energy has posed new serious problems for humanity.
Thus, the only way out of the situation is rational use of natural resources.
Ways to solve environmental problems. Rational environmental management
The overall goal of natural resource management is to find the best or optimal ways to exploit natural and artificial (eg, agricultural) ecosystems. Exploitation refers to harvesting and the impact of certain types of economic activity on the conditions of existence of biogeocenoses.
Solving the problem of creating an optimal natural resource management system is significantly complicated by the presence of not one, but many optimization criteria. These include: obtaining maximum yield, reducing production costs, preserving natural landscapes, maintaining species diversity of communities, ensuring a clean environment, maintaining the normal functioning of ecosystems and their complexes.
Environmental protection and restoration of natural resources should include:
rational pest control strategy, knowledge and compliance with agricultural practices, dosage mineral fertilizers, good knowledge of ecological agrocenoses and the processes occurring in them, as well as at their boundaries with natural systems;
improvement of technology and extraction of natural resources;
the most complete and comprehensive extraction of all useful components from the deposit;
land reclamation after exploitation of deposits;
economical and waste-free use of raw materials in production;
deep cleaning and technologies for using production waste;
reuse of materials after products are no longer in use;
the use of technologies that allow the extraction of dispersed minerals;
use of natural and fossil substitutes for scarce mineral compounds;
closed production cycles (development and application);
application of energy-saving technologies;
development and use of new environmentally clean sources energy.
local and global logical monitoring, i.e. condition measurement and monitoring the most important characteristics environmental conditions, concentrations of harmful substances in the atmosphere, water, soil;
restoration and preservation of forests from fires, pests, diseases;
expansion and increase in the number of reserves, zones of reference ecosystems, unique natural complexes;
protection and breeding rare species plants and animals;
broad education and environmental education of the population;
international cooperation in environmental protection.
Such active work in all areas of human activity to form an attitude towards nature, the development of rational use of natural resources, and environmentally friendly technologies of the future will be able to solve ecological problems today and move on to harmonious cooperation with Nature.
Nowadays, the consumer attitude towards nature, the withdrawal of its resources without taking measures to restore them, are becoming a thing of the past. The problem of rational use of natural resources and the protection of nature from the destructive consequences of human economic activity is acquiring national importance.
Nature conservation and rational environmental management is a complex problem, and its solution depends both on the consistent implementation of government measures aimed at preserving ecosystems, and on the expansion of scientific knowledge, which is cost-effective and profitable for society to finance for its own well-being.
For harmful substances in the atmosphere, maximum permissible concentrations are legally established that do not cause noticeable consequences for humans. In order to prevent air pollution, measures have been developed to ensure proper combustion of fuel, the transition to gasified central heating, and the installation of treatment facilities at industrial enterprises. In addition to protecting air from pollution, treatment facilities allow you to save raw materials and return many valuable products to production. For example, capturing sulfur from released gases makes it possible to increase the production of sulfuric acid; capturing cement saves production equal to the productivity of several factories. In aluminum smelters, installing filters on pipes prevents the release of fluoride into the atmosphere. In addition to the construction of treatment facilities, a search is underway for a technology in which waste generation would be minimized. The same goal is served by improving car designs and switching to other types of fuel (liquefied gas, ethyl alcohol), the combustion of which produces fewer harmful substances. A car with an electric motor is being developed for movement within the city. The correct layout of the city and green spaces is of great importance. Trees clean the air from liquid and solid particles (aerosols) suspended in it and absorb harmful gases. For example, sulfur dioxide is well absorbed by poplar, linden, maple, horse chestnut, phenols - by lilac, mulberry, and elderberry.
Domestic and industrial wastewater is subjected to mechanical, physical and biological treatment. Biological treatment involves the destruction of dissolved organic substances by microorganisms. Water is passed through special tanks containing only the so-called activated sludge, which includes microorganisms that oxidize phenols, fatty acids, alcohols, hydrocarbons, etc.
Wastewater treatment does not solve all problems. Therefore, more and more enterprises are switching to a new technology - a closed cycle, in which purified water is re-entered into production. New technological processes make it possible to reduce the amount of water required for industrial purposes by tens of times.
Subsoil protection consists primarily of preventing unproductive waste of organic resources in their integrated use. For example, a lot of coal is lost in underground fires, and flammable gas burns in flares in oil fields. The development of technology for the complex extraction of metals from ores makes it possible to obtain additional valuable elements such as titanium, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, etc.
To increase agricultural productivity, it is of great importance correct agricultural technology and implementation of special measures for soil protection. For example, the fight against ravines is successfully carried out by planting plants - trees, shrubs, grasses. Plants protect soils from being washed away and reduce the speed of water flow. The cultivation of ravines allows them to be used for economic purposes. The diversity of plantings and crops along the ravine contributes to the formation of persistent biocenoses. Birds settle in the thickets, which is of no small importance for pest control. Protective forest plantations in the steppes prevent water and wind erosion of fields. The development of biological methods of pest control makes it possible to reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture. Currently, 2,000 plant species, 236 mammal species, and 287 bird species need protection. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has established a special Red Book, which provides information about endangered species and provides recommendations for their conservation. Many endangered animal species have now recovered their numbers. This applies to elk, saiga, egret, and eider.
The conservation of flora and fauna is facilitated by the organization of nature reserves and sanctuaries. In addition to protecting rare and endangered species, reserves serve as a base for the domestication of wild animals with valuable economic properties. Nature reserves are also centers for the resettlement of animals that have disappeared in the area and help enrich the local fauna. Caring for nature, based on deep knowledge of the biology of plants and animals, not only preserves it, but also provides a significant economic effect.
Conclusion
Due to the increasing scale of anthropogenic impact (human economic activity), especially in the last century, the balance in the biosphere is being disrupted, which can lead to irreversible processes and raise the question of the possibility of life on the planet. This is due to the development of industry, energy, transport, agriculture and other types of human activity without taking into account the capabilities of the Earth's biosphere. Already, humanity is facing serious environmental problems that require immediate solutions.
The consequences of human intervention in all areas of nature can no longer be ignored. Without a decisive turn, the future of humanity is unpredictable.
“Nature is not a temple, but a workshop, and man is a worker in it...” The great Russian writer I. Turgenev, who has an amazing gift to see and feel nature, put a special meaning into this phrase. He looked to the future. One can only admire the foresight of the great writer. Yes, nature is a workshop where all the benefits necessary for human existence are created. She requires a careful attitude towards her wealth, which, as we know, is by no means limitless.
We strive, on the basis of the known patterns in nature, to come to the harmony of our relations with nature, but why, nevertheless, in the management of nature does “discord” with it so often occur?
When we oppose ourselves to nature, enjoying the illusion of “freedom” from it, then we inevitably come into conflict with nature. It is believed that as a result of human economic activity over the past 50 years, our planet has changed to a greater extent than in the 800 thousand years that separate us from the beginning of mankind’s mastery of fire.
What primarily characterizes the problems in environmental management at the beginning of the 21st century?
Firstly, intensification of industrial intervention in the environment. This is expressed in extreme “squeezing” of resources, similar to “squeezing the sweat” from a worker.
Secondly, multilateral littering of the environment, all geospheres, including near-Earth space, with non-recyclable technological waste.
Eventually- a sharp deterioration in the state of ecological systems, often even the death of unique natural complexes, the reduction and disappearance of populations of certain species of plants and animals, the danger of irreversible changes in the structures of geographical spheres, which can lead to unpredictable negative consequences for humans and society as a whole. Humanity has reached the point beyond which the contours of a fairly close ecological drama clearly appear.
The time of spontaneous, reckless use of natural resources has already passed. Environmental management should be carried out only on a scientific basis, taking into account all those complex processes that occur in the environment both without and with human participation. It cannot be otherwise, since the impact of man and his activities on nature is becoming stronger and stronger. Environmental protection and rational use of natural resources are among the most relevant environmental areas. In solving these problems, the training of environmental personnel, environmental education and education of the country's population play a great role.
Literature
Anthropogenic impact on biosphere. Scope and consequences
Abstract >> Ecology... №10 Anthropogenic impact on biosphere. Scope and consequences. Global processes of formation and movement of living matter in biosphere connected... the Earth's surface, climate change. Anthropogenic impact lead to violation of almost everyone...
Kinds anthropogenic impacts on biosphere person on the atmosphere is in the center... which has reduced its assimilating capacity, biosphere, becomes the most important source... its assimilating capacity, biosphere, becomes the most important source...
Bogdanovsky G.A. Chemical ecology, M., 1994
Global environmental problems on the threshold of the 21st century: Materials scientific conference, M., 1998
Kriksunov E.A., Pasechnik V.V., Sidorin A.P. Ecology, M., 1995
on biosphereAbstract >> Ecology
... No. 1" Essay on ecology topic: Anthropogenic impact on biosphere. Completed by: student of class 9 "A" Yulia Melnikova... Tara gymnasium No. 1" 1 Abstract on ecology topic: Anthropogenic impact on biosphere. 1 Completed by: student of class 9 “A” Melnikova Yulia...
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
"KUZBASS STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY"
Department of Chemical Technology solid fuel and ecology
TEST
By discipline
"Ecology"
Completed by: group student
OPz-08 Vasiliev S. S.
Checked:
Kemerovo, 2009
Introduction
1. Current state of the natural environment
2. Atmosphere - the outer shell of the biosphere
2.1 Air pollution
2.2 Soil pollution
2.3 Pollution of natural waters
3. Radiation and environmental problems in the biosphere
Conclusion
Used Books
Man has always used the environment mainly as a source of resources, but for a very long time his activities did not have a noticeable impact on the biosphere. Only at the end of the last century, changes in the biosphere under the influence of economic activity attracted the attention of scientists. In the first half of this century, these changes increased and have now hit human civilization like an avalanche. In an effort to improve his living conditions, a person constantly increases the pace of material production, without thinking about the consequences. With this approach, most of the resources taken from nature are returned to it in the form of waste, often toxic or unsuitable for disposal. This poses a threat to both the existence of the biosphere and man himself. The purpose of the abstract is to highlight: the current state of the natural environment; characterize the main sources of biosphere pollution; identify ways to protect the environment from pollution.
Let's look at some features current state biosphere and processes occurring in it.
The global processes of formation and movement of living matter in the biosphere are connected and accompanied by the circulation of huge masses of matter and energy. In contrast to purely geological processes, biogeochemical cycles involving living matter have a significantly higher intensity, speed and amount of substance involved in circulation.
With the advent and development of humanity, the process of evolution has changed noticeably. In the early stages of civilization, cutting down and burning forests for agriculture, grazing livestock, fishing and hunting wild animals, and wars devastated entire regions, leading to the destruction of plant communities and the extermination of certain animal species. As civilization developed, especially rapidly after the industrial revolution at the end of the Middle Ages, humanity gained more and more power, more and more ability to involve and use huge masses of matter - both organic, living, and mineral, inert - to meet its growing needs.
Population growth and the expanding development of agriculture, industry, construction, and transport have caused massive destruction of forests in Europe, North America. Livestock grazing on a large scale led to the death of forests and grass cover, erosion (destruction) of the soil layer ( middle Asia, North Africa, southern Europe and the USA). Dozens of animal species have been exterminated in Europe, America, and Africa.
Scientists suggest that soil depletion on the territory of the ancient Central American Mayan state as a result of slash-and-burn agriculture was one of the reasons for the death of this highly developed civilization. Similarly in Ancient Greece Vast forests disappeared as a result of deforestation and excessive grazing. This increased soil erosion and led to the destruction of soil cover on many mountain slopes, increased the aridity of the climate and worsened agricultural conditions.
The construction and operation of industrial enterprises and mining have led to serious disturbances of natural landscapes, pollution of soil, water, and air with various wastes.
Real shifts in biosphere processes began in the 20th century. as a result of the next industrial revolution. The rapid development of energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and transport has led to the fact that human activity has become comparable in scale to the natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human energy consumption and material resources is growing in proportion to the population and even outpacing its growth.
Warning about the possible consequences of man's expanding invasion of nature, half a century ago, Academician V. I. Vernadsky wrote: “Man is becoming a geological force capable of changing the face of the Earth.” This warning was prophetically justified. The consequences of anthropogenic (man-made) activities are manifested in the depletion of natural resources, pollution of the biosphere with industrial waste, destruction of natural ecosystems, changes in the structure of the Earth's surface, and climate change. Anthropogenic impacts lead to disruption of almost all natural biogeochemical cycles.
As a result of burning various fuels About 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide and a corresponding amount of oxygen is absorbed. Natural reserve CO2 in the atmosphere is about 50,000 billion t. This value fluctuates and depends, in particular, on volcanic activity. However anthropogenic Carbon dioxide emissions exceed natural emissions and currently account for a large proportion of the total. An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, accompanied by an increase in the amount of aerosol (small particles of dust, soot, suspensions of solutions of some chemical compounds), can lead to noticeable climate changes and, accordingly, to a disruption of the equilibrium relationships that have developed over millions of years in the biosphere.
The result of a violation of the transparency of the atmosphere, and, consequently, the thermal balance may be the occurrence greenhouses effect”, that is, an increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere by several degrees. This can cause the melting of glaciers in the polar regions, an increase in the level of the World Ocean, changes in its salinity, temperature, global climate disturbances, flooding of coastal lowlands and many other adverse consequences.
Emission of industrial gases into the atmosphere, including compounds such as carbon monoxide CO (carbon monoxide gas nitrogen oxides sulfur, ammonia and other pollutants, leads to inhibition of plant life and animals, metabolic disorders, poisoning and death of living organisms.
Uncontrolled influence on the climate, coupled with irrational agricultural practices, can lead to a significant decrease in soil fertility and large fluctuations in crop yields. According to UN experts, in recent years fluctuations in agricultural production have exceeded 1%. But a decrease in food production by even 1% can lead to the death of tens of millions of people from starvation.
Forests on our planet are declining catastrophically; unsustainable deforestation and fires have led to the fact that in many places that were once completely covered with forests, to date they have survived only on 10-30% of the territory. Africa's tropical forest area has decreased by 70% South America- by 60%, in China only 8% of the territory is covered with forest.
1.1 Environmental pollution
The appearance of new components in the natural environment caused by human activity or any major natural phenomena (for example, volcanic activity) is characterized by the term
On organismal level may occur violation individual physiological functions of organisms, change their behavior, a decrease in the rate of growth and development, a decrease in resistance to the effects of other adverse environmental factors.
At the population level, pollution can cause changes in their numbers and biomass, fertility, mortality, changes in structure, annual migration cycles and a number of other functional properties.
At the biocenotic level, pollution affects the structure and functions of communities. The same pollutants have different effects on different components of communities. Accordingly, the quantitative relationships in the biocenosis change, up to the complete disappearance of some forms and the appearance of others. The spatial structure of communities changes, chains of decomposition (detritus) begin to predominate over pasture ones, and death begins to prevail over production. Ultimately, ecosystems degrade, deteriorate as elements of the human environment, reduce their positive role in the formation of the biosphere, and depreciate in economic terms.