Human impact on environment

consequences of overfishing

-small nets catch fish that haven't reached sexual maturity meaning less fish left to reproduce

-population of fish decreasing steeply

methods to regulate fishing

-mesh size of nets to allow young fish to swim through

-set quotas

-prohibit fishing in certain areas at certain times of the year

consequences of deforestation

-lowland flooding

-reduced biodiversity due to habitat loss

-less rainfall

methods of environmental monitoring

-air monitoring = conc of air pollutants

-soil monitoring = structure + density

-water monitoring = chemical + biological + microbiological aspects

planetary boundaries

-biosphere integrity

-climate change

-novel entities

-ozone depletion

-atmospheric aerosol

-ocean acidification

-biochemical flows

-freshwater consumption

-land-system change

climate change

-boundary crossed

-production of biofuels

biosphere integrity

-boundary crossed

-biodiversity loss

-habitat changes to marine, tundra, coral reefs and costal plains

novel entities

-boundary unquantified

-emission of toxic, long-lived, radioactive substances

ozone depletion

-boundary avoided

-use of CFCs

-montreal protocol banned CFCs so ozone continues to rebuild

atmospheric aerosols

-boundary unquantified

-atmospheric pollutants that cause problems like lung disease

-deposition on leaves = reduced light absorption = reduced yield

ocean acidification

-boundary avoidable

-fish farming + burning of fossil fuels

biochemical flows

-boundary crossed

-eutrophication

freshwater consumption

-boundary avoidable

-globally freshwater becoming scarce

-desalination (removal of salt from water) to produce freshwater

land-system change

-boundary crossed

-large forest areas cleared for crops