The environment of direct impact and the environment of indirect human impact finds a practical reflection on the number of animal and plant populations in nature. Human impact provokes an increase in the number of certain species, a decrease in others, and extinction in others. The consequences of any direct and indirect impact of the organization can be very different.
Direct Impact Environment
The direct destruction of certain species by humans is called direct impact. This definition includes: deforestation, trampling grass in picnic areas, the desire to catch and dry a rare and even unique butterfly, the desire to collect a large, beautiful bouquet of flowers from the meadow.
Targeted shooting of animals also falls into this category of human impact.
Indirect influence
Indirectimpact on the environment consists in the deterioration, destruction or introduction of any changes in the habitat of animals or plants. Entire populations of plants and aquatic animals are harmed by water pollution.
For example, the population of the Black Sea dolphins is not recovering, because with the indirect human impact on environmental pollution, a large amount of harmful substances enter the sea waters, which increases the mortality of the population.
Across the Volga in recent years, infection of fish has become very frequent. In its delta, fish (in particular, sturgeons) were found to have parasites that were not characteristic of them before. The analysis made by scientists confirmed that the infection is the result of indirect human impact on environmental pollution.
The immune system of fish was suppressed for a long time due to technical waste that was dumped into the Volga.
Habitat destruction
A fairly common reason for the decline in numbers and extinction of populations is the destruction of their habitat, the division of large populations into several small ones that are isolated from each other.
Indirect environmental impacts can result from deforestation, road construction, land development for agriculture. For example, the population of Ussuri tigers has declined sharply due to human development of the territory in the habitat of tigers and the reduction of the natural food base.
Another example of an indirect impact on the environment is the extinction of bison in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. In this case, it happenedviolation of the habitat of a population of a certain species when a population of a different species is settled there.
Bison, which for a long time were inhabitants of dense forests, adhered to old habitats, in which there were many thickets of succulent grass. Their food was the tree bark, along with the leaves of the trees, which the bison got by tilting the branches.
Towards the end of the 19th century, people began to settle deer in the Pushcha, and then the rapid extinction of bison became noticeable. The thing is that the deer ate all the young foliage, leaving the bison without food. The streams began to dry up, because they were left without the coolness that the shade from the leaves provided.
The latter also affected bison, who drink only clean water, but were left without it. This is how deer, which do not pose any danger to bison, became the cause of their death. Or rather, human error.
Methods of direct and indirect influence
Man is capable of influencing the environment in a variety of ways:
- Anthropogenic. A consequence of human activity, directly related to the realization of the interests of the economy, culture, military, restoration and others. It brings biological, chemical and physical changes to the environment.
- Destructive. The actions of people that lead to the loss by the natural environment of its qualities that are useful for the person himself. For example, the exploitation of rainforests for plantations or pastures. As a result, there is a change in the biogeochemical cycle, and the soil loses itsfertility for a couple of years.
- Stabilizing. The activity is aimed at slowing down the destruction of the environment as a result of both natural processes and human activities. For example, measures to protect the soil, which are aimed at reducing its erosion.
- Constructive. Human impact, which is aimed at restoring the environment that has suffered damage from natural processes or environmental factors of direct and indirect impact. For example, restoration of landscapes, restoration of rare populations of plants and animals.
Impacts are divided into intentional and unintentional. The first is when a person expects certain results from their actions, and the second is when a person does not even predict any consequences.
Causes of deterioration of the environment
Expanding every year more and more use of natural resources, active population growth, progress in science and technology will inevitably lead to resource depletion and increased pollution of the environment with consumption waste.
Thus, two reasons for the deterioration of the natural environment can be identified:
- Decrease in natural resources.
- Environment pollution.
Deforestation in the river basin can lead to the drying up of small tributary rivers, a decrease in groundwater, soil moisture and a decrease in the water level in the river and lake. As a result of this and some other environmental factors of direct and indirect impact, there is a lack of water in the urban environment, the fish begins to gradually die. Due to increased eutrophication (fillingnutrients) of water bodies begin to actively develop algae and pathogenic aquatic organisms.
The construction of a pumping system or a dam to accumulate water in the river and restore the moisture regime of the fields does not solve the issue of maintaining a normal level of groundwater and stopping the drought in the lake. At the same time, water consumption for evaporation in irrigation systems and from the surface of the reservoir only exacerbates the problem of lack of river flow into the lake. Delayed solid runoff and a dam that backs up the water causes flooding of the area.
It should be noted that the higher the level of use of natural resources, the greater the level of environmental pollution. It can be concluded that solving the problem of rational use of natural resources will save resources from depletion and reduce environmental pollution.
How strong is the impact?
The strength of environmental consequences of direct and indirect human impact depends on certain variables: population size, lifestyle and environmental awareness.
High population and luxurious lifestyles deplete nature's resources more and pollute the environment. The more environmentally aware the population is, the less pronounced the consequences become.
A simple lifestyle close to nature does not lead to a negative impact on nature. An example of this is the banal deforestation for firewood and crops.
In order for humanity to progress further, the most importantthe conditions will be lifestyle changes and increased environmental awareness.
Restoring populations
People are now faced with the question of taking measures to protect and restore rare populations, endangered species of animals and plants. This type of nature protection activity is called population-specific.
To stop the extinction of entire species of plants and animals, to increase their number in nature, the following measures are being practiced in the world:
- explore the flora and fauna of the state (region or region);
- identify exceptional and endangered species;
- create Red Books;
- make gene banks;
- carry out propaganda activities regarding the protection of flora and fauna;
- develop and comply with the criteria of internationally recognized measures of human behavior in nature;
- carry out all kinds of environmental activities.
International Red Book
There are more than 30 international organizations in the world that coordinate the study and practice of protection from the environment of direct impact and the environment of indirect impact, as well as the optimal use of natural resources. The world famous organization is UNESCO (United Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
On the initiative of UNESCO, IUCN was created - an international association for the protection of nature and its resources, headquartered inSwitzerland in Glan. Just the IUCN organized the creation of the first international Red Book in 1965.
Initially, the Red Book included 5 volumes with a list of endangered animal species. It was published on sheets of red color, which served as a kind of warning. Following this, the Red Books began to be issued in several states in a slightly different form: in them, the names of endangered animal species were listed on white pages. Only the covers were left in red.
In the 80s, the "Red Book of the RSFSR: Animals" was already published, which included 247 species, and the "Red Book of the RSFSR: Plants" with 533 species of endangered plants. Now the formation of the Red Books of the republics and regions of the Russian Federation is underway. At the beginning of the 2000s, the Red Book dedicated to the Yaroslavl region was published.
Successful results
In Russia, the result of conservation activities from the environment of direct impact and the environment of indirect impact can be called the restoration of many beaver populations, as well as the restoration of the stability of the populations of the walrus of the Far East, the sea otter from the north and gray whales.
Thanks to the efforts of the workers of the Astrakhan state reserve, the areas of the pink lotus or walnut lotus fields were increased by about 8 or even 10 times.
Finland's protection activities from the environment of direct impact and the environment of indirect impact in forests can also be called successful. In recent years, the number of wolverines and bears has increased, and the number of lynxes has increased by about 8 times. With the support of the governments of Bangladesh,Nepal and India have almost tripled the population of the Indian tiger.
It is already known that different populations in a community actively interact with each other, resulting in biotic connections. Work on the protection of populations of certain species is often ineffective. For example, in order to maintain the population of the Ussuri tigers, it is necessary to normalize its nutrition, carry out work to protect not only individual species, but entire communities.
Breeding in reserves
Plants are usually bred artificially in botanical gardens, and animals in nature reserves or zoos. Species that are preserved in this way are needed as a reserve for their restoration in their natural habitats.
For example, in the reserve on the banks of the Rybinsk reservoir or Darwin, they breed upland game in enclosures. That is, capercaillie, black grouse, partridge, etc. Then the game moves to their natural habitats. A rare muskrat is bred in the Khopersky Reserve.
There are special centers where they deal with rare species. In nurseries, young individuals of endangered or rare species of animals and plants are propagated and raised, and then they are settled in natural habitats.
For example, the Oksky Nursery, where cranes are bred, and the Prioksko-Terrasny Bison Nursery have become famous. Thanks to the hard work of the workers of the last nursery, which was established in 1959, one of the first in Russia, the restoration of the bison population became realin the Caucasus and in the forests of Europe (also in Belovezhskaya Pushcha).
Currently bison can survive in the wild only in the reserve mode.
There are many examples of fish factories that breed different types of fish, which are also released into lakes and rivers. Populations of sterlet, stellate sturgeon and sturgeon can be maintained in this way.
In the countries of France, Austria, Sweden and Germany, a lynx that was bred in captivity was relocated to the forests.
Gene banks
Genebanks are repositories that contain embryos, germ cells, animal larvae, spores and plant seeds under special conditions.
In Russia, the very first gene bank can be considered a collection of seeds of cultivated plants, which was created in the 20-40s of the last century by N. I. Vavilov. The collection is an absolute treasure without price.
She was kept in Leningrad. The employees of the institute who survived the blockade preserved it during the Second World War. They didn't touch a grain of the collection even during the famine.
Now the national gene bank of plants is located in the Kuban station of the former N. I. Vavilov. More than 350,000 plant seed samples are stored in bunkers underground. A huge number of ancient varieties that have long disappeared, and wild species related to cultivated plants, are waiting in the wings. In addition, everything modern and the best of what breeders have created in recent times is stored here.
The collection is constantly updated.
Low temperature preservation of cells
In order to restore an endangered species or save it, the method of preserving cells at low temperature is now used. Many genebanks around the world use this method. In Russia, for example, there are sperm banks of cattle, fish species for fishing, and rare domesticated bird breeds.
A specialized research center was established in Pushchino at the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation, which is constantly developing ways to preserve and restore populations of endangered or rare animal species.
But in order to restore the whole species, it is necessary to create a sufficiently large population in which individuals will be adapted for reproduction, for settlement and adaptation to the environment on their own.
It is necessary to create a species-specific population structure. It is clear that this is an extremely complex, lengthy and financially costly work. It is much easier to reduce external factors of direct and indirect impacts, while maintaining natural populations of various species.
