There can be so many different consequences from river diversion, downstream river discharge is reduced, the evaporation in the…
Reservoirs can lead to the chance of flooding which would not only affect the land but also the life. This could greatly affect life nearby the flooding, including loss of plant and animal life, which would have a huge impact on the areas ecosystem. Reservoirs also affect the sediment levels of water and thus lead to higher levels of erosion…
For example, there are three main Abiotic factors, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and suspended solids. Dissolved oxygen is a very important factor in the survival of organisms in the river. Studies show that “Both producers and consumers (like zebra mussels) take up oxygen during respiration causing oxygen levels to drop. Zebra mussels also reduce oxygen levels by eating producers (like phytoplankton) that release O2 during photosynthesis” (river ecology pg.5). This effect that the zebra mussels have is a very negative effect. The reduced oxygen levels will make it so animals can no longer live in the river. This causes the area to lose a major food supply to the larger animals surrounding it. This will have a huge impact on the environment and the food…
Depletion of ground water may lead to land compaction that in turn decreases its ability to store water.…
Runoff is a problem when farmers use too much nitrogen on their crops to help them grow and the excess nitrogen flows into creek and other bodies of water when it rains. This excess nitrogen causes more algae to grow in an algae bloom, which causes the bacteria that eats this algae to multiply as well and use up all the oxygen in the ecosystem. This leaves other organisms to die in the process called eutrophication. Another way that humans can affect a water ecosystem is by littering near or even far away from a body of water. Wind, runoff, and other conditions can carry the rubbish, such as plastic bags, bottles, and paper, into the creek which decomposes over time and leaves harmful chemicals and gases. These dangerous pollutants can decrease the water quality and cause organisms to die (Umgeni Water Amanzi). Overall, humans can impact water ecosystems in a lot of…
Industrial agriculture with its reliance on chemicals and its failure to adequately address soil erosion problems is guilty of depleting water resources. Ignorance and carelessness are in fact the main factors behind the increasing water quality deterioration. First, of course, any further ground water has to be pumped from deeper and deeper levels, and such water is not only more expensive to extract in terms of deeper wells and more powerful pumps, but is more likely to be chemically poor in quality. Second, the drop in the water table indicates that more ground water is being pumped than is being recharged, so that water supplies of the future are being mortgaged for present gain. Third, there are indirect effects of lowering the water table that are more insidious but more damaging. Natural vegetation may no longer be able to put down its roots deep enough to reach ground water, especially if there is a prolonged dry season, and it is…
Climate change in the southwestern US includes above averagetemperatures, and less rainfalls. These changes are contributors to the water shortage. GeoscientistBrad Udall, director of the University of Colorado Western Water Assessment, estimates the climate change will contributeto 5-20 percent of water loss in the next forty years. While the climate changedoescontribute to the water shortagein the region, it is not the main factor.…
Decreases in stream flow, impacts on coastal underground water and intertidal habitats, and increased salinity will be critical issues for the management of our water supply and natural resources.…
Animals adapt to their surroundings and so do plants. Climate change affects the plants and animals. A year of not enough or too much rainfall, a hot spell or cold snap at the wrong time, or extremes, like flooding and storms, can have a significant effect on local crop yields and livestock production. Animals start struggling to live due to climate change. Some animals need to live in cold and wet climates as other animals need to survive in warm and moist climates. Mainly poultry and pastoral farmers are affected by…
The abundance of native tallgrass prairies have been declining for the past century, and are being replaced by urbanized landscaping. As it has been studied, the area of tallgrass prairies have declined over 82% since the 1800s (Larsen et al. 2003).Tallgrass prairies harbor more plant and animal biodiversity, compared to urban landscaping. Thus, the conservation and preservation effort for prairies should increase, in order to maintain this biodiversity. Tallgrass prairies can be protected by either grazing or fire (Larsen et al. 2003). In addition to grazing, or fire, protecting prairies can also be done by conserving the landscape area and elimination any human land use and disturbances to be done on those prairies. If there is not much effort put into maintaining these environments, the prairies will decline more and more as time goes by, which can eventually disturb the populations of some native species. The declining of tallgrass prairies is also disturbing the population of some native species. Introduced species might not be affected by the habitat changes, in which those changes might be into their advantage, and they are able to adapt to their new habitat. This can result in allowing the introduced species to overcome the population of native species, eventually causing a major diversity changes.…
The most vulnerable impact of climate change in Canada is the production of forestry. Every year, almost 6 billion trees are cut down leaving not only pollutants of factories that produce greenhouse effects, but leaving ecosystems destroyed and animals vulnerable. In addition, as a result of human activities in Canada-that produce immense amounts of CO2-causes ice sheets and alpine glaciers to melt- taking a substantial toll on Arctic ecosystems. Moreover, the rising levels of CO2 affects Canada's weather and climate patterns as some regions may experience more extreme heat while others may cool slightly. Flooding, drought, and violent storms and other extreme weather events are some of the consequences and issues that affect our society.…
The heating of the earth has affected and is greatly affecting the Northwest region and its resources including higher temperatures, declines in snowpacks, and sea level rise. With the warming of the earth progressing, the Northwest will have low annual precipitation. This earlier rainfall will bring reduction in summer flows in snow-fed rivers, along with warming that will increase agricultural and other demands, will have drastic consequences for the Northwest…
Native Americans depend greatly on the environment and their ecological knowledge, as the environment around them continues to warm it causes life threatening changes for Native peoples. For starters, their food sources are dwindling as a result of melting arctic sea ice, causing species like seal and caribou to continue to deplete. The sea ice melting takes lives every year in Native American reservations around Alaska because they’re resorting to taking greater and greater risks when it comes to hunting and fishing on thin ice. Permafrost melting has caused heavy erosion on riverbanks, in some places losing hundreds of feet at a time during minor storms. This erosion is claiming homes along the river bedside forcing Natives to relocate. Relocation efforts have had a huge impact on the Native elders and children because of their lack in physical ability to walk hundreds of miles. Not only does this affect the less physically fit but it impacts the whole tribe costing them thousands of dollars in moving and construction which takes years to plan and build. Climate change impacts continue to threaten the traditional way of life of indigenous people, because of unfair impact distribution the IPCC has made progress in defending them in their struggle to live and adapt without taking away their Indigenous rights to live off the land. Much of the erosion is caused by human activities, which will be a main focus in restoring riverbanks. Fishing, recreation and pollution are a huge cause of the offset river balance and acidity as well as added nutrience and minerals, restoring the human induced damage will hopefully return the ecosystems back to their natural beauty.…
Third, the drought in California causes the environment to change. Drought affects our environment in many different ways, both temporary and permanently. For the temporary impact, since plants and animals depend on water just like us, we may lose a lot of food supply. However, drought can impact our environment in the most serious way, and it will last very long even when the drought is over. The permanent impact that created by drought may include such as, loss of wetlands (moisture), wind and water erosion of soils, poor soil quality, migration of wildlife, and more wildfire (Drought in California). Even some of the effects are short-term damages, and the conditions will return to normal when the drought is completely over. However, the…
It will take away shelter and protection, food and water sources, for the numerous species that rely on that environment. Clean, reliable water sources are vital in the overall health and wellness of any ecosystem. A study was done on Western Washington watersheds determining the effects certain forest practices had on stream water temperatures (Reiter, Maryanne, Robert E. Bilby, Storm Beech, and John Heffner, 2015). Samples were collected from various basins to determine the effects on water quality from forest management, which then led to required buffers to enable the protection of streams and…