Human Society's Impact on Ecosystems - Essay Example

Human Society’s Impact on EcosystemsHuman society forms part and parcel of the earth’s ecosystem. However, human society seems to take up more than is thought to be their fair share of the resources availed for all. This is not to say that their impact on the ecosystem is all negative. This essay takes an incisive look at human society’s impact on ecosystems and the cost and benefits of human enterprise. According to the Ecological Society of America (2000), an ecosystem is a community of animals and plants interacting with one another and their physical environment.

This includes physical and chemical components that support the organisms in that ecosystem. Humans are part of ecosystems as their well being is dependent on the services provided by ecosystems and their components.Ecosystem degradation Human society engages in various activities that negatively affect the ecosystem. These include overhunting, deforestation, creating pollution, overpopulation and non-native species introductions. Overhunting affects the animals’ targeted leading to in extreme cases, extinction.

Indirectly, it affects the ecosystem as other species of animals or plants that may have been dependent on the threatened animal for food or as a way to keep their population in check. An example is the white rhino in Africa because of overhunting by poachers the species is nearly extinct (Morgan, 2012). Human Activity Effects Deforestation directly affects plant life and indirectly affects other forms of life. Human society needs wood for different purposes. However, the overexploitation of forests and woodlands is detrimental to the ecosystem.

Apart from plant life being destroyed, habitats are also affected. According to Butler (2005), Nigeria has the world's utmost deforestation pace. The country of Brazil, on the other hand, loses the biggest area of forest annually, while the Congolese consume more bush meat than any other humid country all due to human activity. Overpopulation puts undue stress on the ecosystem thus forcing human society to compete with other members for limited resources. Pollution of the ecosystem is another negative impact of humans on the ecosystem.

Pollution kills plants and animals and at the same time destroys habitats. Humans also introduce non-native species to new habitats for their own purposes. An animal may be introduced to a new area where it did not exist before to help cut down on an existing pest problem. Soon the new animal begins to have its own impact on the new area, and often it results in problems for other native species. The same may happen in the case of plants (Morgan, 2012).Cost and Benefits of Human Enterprise Grim as it sounds so far, the human society has some positive effects on the ecosystem.

Environmental management and preservation, global water management, pollution control and environmental awareness are some of the ways human society positively affects the ecosystem. Although some activities in the list are forced on by human beings, they all have a positive impact (Dinesen, 2012). According to Dinesen (2012), environmental management aims to restore balance and minimize disturbances in an ecosystem. Through conservation measures such as creation of national parks, unique ecosystems are preserved so that future generations may experience nature as it ought to be.

He goes on to say that, through pollution control, humans have reduced the amount of pollution they create. This allows ecosystems to recover from past impacts such as acid rain. Through environmental awareness efforts, human society is now more careful with how they interact with the ecosystem. According to a Harris Interactive Poll, over two-thirds of Americans recycle, thereby reducing their environmental impact and benefiting the ecosystem.ReferencesButler, A. R. (2005). World deforestation rates and forest cover statistics 2000-2005.

Retrieved from mongabay.com http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1115-forests.htmlDinesen, C. R. (2012). Positive effects of humans on the ecosystem. New York: Bantam Books.Ecological Society of America. (2000). Ecosystem services. Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America.Morgan, L. (2012). Human activities that threaten the ecosystem. Chicago: Free Press.