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Land pollution is the deterioration (destruction) of the earth's land surfaces, often directly or indirectly as a result of man's activities and their misuse of land resources

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What effect are humans having on land and resources?

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What effect are humans having on land and resources?

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-increasingly, land is being used for infrastructure - this destroys habitats of other living organisms and reduces biodiversity
-Billions of acres used for farming - destroys natural animal and plants populations
-Vast areas of land are dug up for quarries to obtain rocks and metal ore - reduces land available for organisms
-Waste products produced by human and processing it- pollutes environment and takes up land which affects biodiversity
-Humans drain the resources of the Earth and are rapidly using up our finite reserves of metal ores and non-renewable energy resources

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1) Fossil fuels that are burnt in vehicles and factories formed acid gases
2) Fossil fuels contain sulfur impurities, form sulfur dioxide gas when they react with oxygen and burn
3) Acidic sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide also dissolve in rain water and react with oxygen in the air to form dilute sulphur acid and nitric acid
4) Acid rain is formed when these acids fall as precipitation.

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The action of clearing a wide area of trees and not replacing these with replanting.

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Why are the levels of carbon dioxide and methane gas building up?

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Why are the levels of carbon dioxide and methane gas building up?

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- More fossil fuels are being burned causing more carbon dioxide and methane to be in the atmosphere
- Carbon dioxide is being added to the atmosphere at a higher rate than photosynthesis can remove the excess gas
- Deforestation means that less carbon dioxide is being taken out the atmosphere and also causing there to be less oxygen
-  Due to climate change the temperature is increasing or environment more moist, this is ideal weather for methane. e.g forest fires would release more methane

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The world population reached its first billion in 1804 from a steady increase from 1700. From 1927 to 2024 it has increased dramatically by quadrupled from 2 billion to 8 billion. And carries on increasing at a staggering rate in the following decades.

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What impact is excess waste having on the environment?

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What impact is excess waste having on the environment?

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Excess waste, when not handled properly, can cause very serious pollution.

Water maybe polluted by-
-sewage
-fertilisers from farms
-toxic chemicals from industry

Air we breathe maybe polluted by-
-smoke
-poisonous gases such as sulphur dioxide

Land can be polluted with-
-toxic chemicals from farming such as pesticides and herbicides
-it can also be contaminated with industrial waste

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- Farmers add more fertilisers to soil in order to grow more food, the minerals in these fertilisers, particularly the nitrates ,are easily washed from the soil into local streams, rivers and ponds.

- Untreated sewage that is washed into waterways and pumped out into the sea also causes high levels of nitrates in the water.

- These nitrates and other mineral ions stimulate the growth of algae which cause for an increase in competition for light so they can't photosynthesise.

- There is an increase in microorganisms feeding on dead plants

- This leads to a fall in levels of dissolved oxygen in water

- There isn't enough water to support all of the fish, they die and are decomposed.

- This uses up even more oxygen

- Eventually, oxygen levels in water fall so low that all of the aerobic aquatic animals die.

- The pond/ stream becomes "dead". This process is called EUTROPHICATION.

EUTROPHICATION: excessive richness of nutrients in lake or other body of water, frequently due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life.

How does bioaccumulation happen?
Bioaccumulation is the process of dangerous chemicals or toxins building up at each stage in the aquatic food chain, until dangerous levels build up in the top predators.

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Damages the environment by:
-it damages trees,flowers and fruit directly
-destroys the roots when it soaks into the soil
-plants and animals can no longer survive when the acid concentration is high because high ph will denature enzymes
-lakes and streams will be destroyed
-in frozen environment, the acid snow melt cause acid flush

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1. To grow staple foods e.g. rice, or ingredients for making cheap food in the developed world e.g. palm oil from oil palm
2. To rear more cattle, particularly for beef market
3. To grow crops that can be used to make biofuels based on ethanol. E.g. sugarcane, maize (readily fermented)

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Methane
Carbon dioxide

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Why has the population of humans increased so quickly? 

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Why has the population of humans increased so quickly? 

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- As the life expectancy has increased, thus, decreasing the death rate more rapidly than birth
- Advances in medicine, along with the improvement in hygiene, means that mothers and children have a much greater chance of surviving childbirth
- Unplanned pregnancies -in developing countries they do not understand the concept of contraception, thus, more pregnancies.
- Immigration - more people are moving to MEDCs to seek a better QOL, employment and hygiene to either get away from war or famine therefore they have a better chance of surviving in the new country.
- Humans also have no natural predators
- We have also developed more efficient farming methods to feed the growing global population.

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- Bodily waste and waste water (sewage), increases with population, results in soil becoming polluted with unpleasant chemicals and gut parasites
- Dangerous industrial waste and household waste goes into landfill sites, destroying natural habitats.  -  - Toxic chemicals from industrial waste can poison soil for miles around. E.g. in North Wales the radioactivity levels in the soil and grass increased meaning lamb from some affected farms could not be sold.
- Land polluted as side effect of farming. crops and weeds compete for resources and animals and fungal pests attack crops, therefore farmers combat this by using pesticides and herbicides.However these chemicals are poisonous once sprayed onto crops and often get into the soil. If animals eat poisonous crops their levels of toxins increase and cannot be broken down therefore as the food chain progresses more and more toxins build up in the organisms. This is known as bio accumulation and can lead to dangerous levels of toxins in top predators.

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Two methods of measuring water pollution:
- water can be analysed by measuring oxygen and pH levels. This is is used to show level of polluting chemicals i.e pesticides or chemical waste.
- BIOINDICATORS - are species that can live in very clean or very polluted water, for example Salmon or Bloodworms. they are used to monitor pollution in waterways.

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How are we attempting to reduce the impact of acid rain?

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How are we attempting to reduce the impact of acid rain?

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1. Uk and other countries introduced measure to reduce the levels of sulphur dioxide in the air by using low-sulphur petrol and diesel in vehicles
2.Catalytic converters are fitted to remove polluting gases from the exhaust fumes, and strict emission levels are set
3.In the UK and much Europe, cleaner, low-sulphur fuels have been introduced (eg.gas,rather than coal) in power stations and an increase in electricity generated from the nuclear power
4.Systems have been put in place in power station chimneys to clean the flue gases before they are released into the atmosphere

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What impact does it have on the carbon cycle?

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What impact does it have on the carbon cycle?

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1. Increases the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere
2. Burning trees leads to increase of CO₂
3. Dead vegetation after deforestation decomposes and the microorganisms use up O₂ and release more CO₂ as they respire
4. Reduce the rate of CO₂ removal by photosynthesis as less plants available.

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1) Most energy from the sun is radiated back out into the space.
2) However, gases like CO2 and methane (CH₄) will absorb some of the energy to keep the Earth and the surrounding atmosphere warm. 3) They are called greenhouse gases because they act like greenhouses around the Earth.
4) the way they keep the surface of the Earth warm is known as the greenhouse effect, this is vital for life.

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What is smoke pollution and how does this link to global dimming?

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What is smoke pollution and how does this link to global dimming?

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Smoke pollution
-causes an increase in the number of tiny solid particles-particulates in the air

The particulates reflect sunlight so less light hits the surface of the earth, causes a dimming effect that could lead to a cooling of temperatures at the surface of the earth - this is called GLOBAL DIMMING.

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Why does deforestation impact biodiversity and why is this a problem?

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Why does deforestation impact biodiversity and why is this a problem?

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Many species of animals and plants become extinct
- we could not study them and they could be possible new medicines or food for future
- organisms are replace by monoculture (single species) e.g. oil palms
-the amount of species extinct in a fast rate

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The gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other pollutants.

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Smog forms a haze of small particles and acidic gases that can be seen in the major cities around the world.
Issue: is harmful for people with heart and lung conditions

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What are the physical consequences of global warming?

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What are the physical consequences of global warming?

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1) Humidity increases
2) Sea surface temperature increases
3) Sea ice decreases
4) Sea level rises
5) Temperature over land increases
6) Unpredictable weather conditions

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Peat is made of plant material that cannot decay completely because the conditions are very acidic and lack oxygen.
Peat bog are very wet areas of land without trees in which many types of moss grow (acidic and very low nutrients, decomposition is very slow)
Peatlands and peat bogs act as massive carbon store.

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What are the biological consequences of global warming?

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What are the biological consequences of global warming?

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1) Loss of habitat - when low-lying areas are flooded by rising sea levels, habitats will be lost and so will the biodiversity of the area.

2) Changes in distribution - as temperatures rise or fall, and rainfall patterns change, climate change may make conditions more favourable for some animals and they may be able to extend their range. Others may find tat their range shrinks. Some will disappear completely from an area or a country.

3) Changes in migration patterns - as climate become colder or hotter, and the seasons change, the migration patterns of birds, insects, and mammals may change.

4) Reduced biodiversity  - as the climate changes, many organisms will be unable to survive and will become extinct, for example, the potential loss of polar bears as Arctic ice melts.

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1. Peat bogs have unique ecosystems, home to a wide range of plants, animals and microorganisms that have evolved to grow and survive in the acidic conditions. E.g. carnivorous plants like sundews and Venus fly traps

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- gardener to add to soil
-  burn as a fuel
- ideal environment for seed germination

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What are the consequences of peat bog destruction?

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What are the consequences of peat bog destruction?

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-  carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere
-  lost of biodiversity
-  global warming

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Biological consequence - Loss of habitat

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Biological consequence - Loss of habitat