The scale of human activity over the past few hundred years has grown immeasurably, which means that new anthropogenic factors have also appeared. Examples of impact, the place and role of humanity in changing the environment - all of this later in the article.
What is a living environment ?
Part of the nature of the Earth in which organisms live is their habitat. The resulting relationships, lifestyle, productivity, number of creatures are studied by ecology. The main components of nature are distinguished: soil, water and air. There are organisms that are adapted to live in one environment or in three, for example, coastal plants.
The individual elements interacting with living things and among themselves are environmental factors. Each of them is indispensable. But in recent decades, anthropogenic factors have acquired planetary significance. Although half a century ago, the influence of society on nature was not paid enough attention to, 150 years ago, the science of ecology itself was in its infancy.
What are environmental factors?
Environmental conditions can be very diverse: space, information, energy, chemical, climatic. Any natural components of a physical, chemical or biological origin are environmental factors. They directly or indirectly affect a single biological individual, population, and the entire biocenosis. There are no fewer phenomena associated with human activities, for example, the anxiety factor. Many anthropogenic factors influence the vital activity of organisms, the state of biocenoses and the geographical envelope . Examples:
- an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leads to climate change;
- monoculture in agriculture causes outbreaks of individual harmful organisms;
- fires lead to a change in the plant community;
- deforestation and the construction of hydropower plants changes the regime of rivers.
What are the environmental factors?
The conditions affecting living organisms and their environment, according to their properties, can be attributed to one of three groups:
- inorganic or abiotic factors (solar radiation, air, temperature, water, wind, salinity);
- biotic conditions that are associated with the cohabitation of microorganisms, animals, plants, affecting each other, inanimate nature;
- anthropogenic environmental factors - the combined effect of the Earth's population on nature.
All of these groups are important. Every environmental factor is irreplaceable. For example, the abundance of water does not make up for the amount of mineral elements and light necessary for plant nutrition.
What is an anthropogenic factor?
The main environmental sciences are global ecology, human ecology and nature conservation. They are based on data from theoretical ecology; they widely use the concept of “anthropogenic factors”. Anthropos translated from Greek means "man", genos is translated as "origin". The word "factor" comes from the Latin factor ("doing, producing"). So called conditions affecting the processes, their driving force.
Any human impact on living organisms, the entire environment - these are anthropogenic factors. Examples exist, both positive and negative. There are cases of favorable changes in nature in connection with environmental protection. But more often society negatively, sometimes destructively affects the biosphere.
Place and role of anthropogenic factor in changing the face of the Earth
Any type of economic activity of the population affects the relationship between living organisms and the natural habitat, often leads to their violation. On the site of natural complexes and landscapes there are anthropogenic:
- fields, gardens and kitchen gardens;
- reservoirs, ponds, canals;
- parks, forest belts;
- cultural pastures.
The similarities of natural complexes created by man are subsequently influenced by anthropogenic, biotic and abiotic environmental factors . Examples: desert formation - on agricultural plantations; overgrowing of ponds.
How does man affect nature?
Mankind - part of the Earth's biosphere - for a long period completely depended on the surrounding natural conditions. With the development of the nervous system, in particular the brain, thanks to the improvement of tools, man himself has become a factor in evolutionary and other processes on Earth. First of all, one must mention the mastery of mechanical, electrical, and atomic energy. As a result, the upper part of the earth's crust has changed significantly, the biogenic migration of atoms has increased .
The whole diversity of the environmental impact of society is anthropogenic factors. Examples of adverse effects:
- reduction of mineral reserves;
- deforestation;
- soil pollution;
- hunting and fishing;
- extermination of wild species.
The positive impact of man on the biosphere is associated with environmental measures. Reforestation and afforestation, landscaping and landscaping of settlements, the acclimatization of animals (mammals, birds, fish).
What is being done to improve the relationship between man and the biosphere?
The above examples of anthropogenic environmental factors, human intervention in nature indicate that the impact can be positive and negative. These characteristics are conditional in nature, because a positive influence under changing conditions often becomes its opposite, that is, it acquires a negative connotation. Population activities are more harmful to nature than good. This fact is explained by the violation of natural laws that have been in force for millions of years.
As far back as 1971, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved the International Biological Program called “Man and the Biosphere”. Its main task was to study and prevent adverse environmental changes. In recent years, adult and children's environmental organizations, scientific institutions are very concerned about the conservation of biological diversity.
How to improve environmental health?
We found out what the anthropogenic factor is in ecology, biology, geography and other sciences. Note that the well-being of human society, the life of present and future generations of people depend on the quality and degree of influence of economic activity on the environment. It is necessary to reduce the environmental risk associated with the ever-increasing negative role of anthropogenic factors.
According to the researchers, even the conservation of biological diversity is not enough to ensure a healthy environment. It can be unfavorable for human life with its former biodiversity, but with strong radiation, chemical and other types of pollution.
An obvious connection between the health of nature, man and the degree of influence of anthropogenic factors. To reduce their negative impact, it is necessary to form a new attitude to the environment, responsibility for the safe existence of wildlife and the conservation of biodiversity.