Anthropogenic factors - the totality of various human impacts on inanimate and living nature. Only by their very physical existence do people have a noticeable impact on their environment: in the process of breathing, they annually release 1·10 12 kg of CO 2 into the atmosphere, and consume over 5-10 15 kcal with food.

As a result of human impact, the climate, surface topography, and chemical composition of the atmosphere are changing, species are disappearing and natural ecosystems etc. The most important anthropogenic factor for nature is urbanization.

Anthropogenic activity significantly influences climatic factors, changing their regimes. For example, massive emissions of solid and liquid particles into the atmosphere from industrial enterprises can dramatically change the mode of dispersion of solar radiation in the atmosphere and reduce the flow of heat to the Earth's surface. The destruction of forests and other vegetation, the creation of large artificial reservoirs on former land areas increase the reflection of energy, and dust pollution, for example, of snow and ice, on the contrary, increases absorption, which leads to their intensive melting.

To a much greater extent, the biosphere is influenced by human production activities. As a result of this activity, the relief, composition of the earth's crust and atmosphere, climate change, fresh water is redistributed, natural ecosystems disappear and artificial agro- and techno-ecosystems are created, cultivated cultivated plants, animals are domesticated, etc.

Human impact can be direct and indirect. For example, cutting down and uprooting forests has not only a direct effect, but also an indirect one - the living conditions of birds and animals change. It is estimated that since 1600, humans have destroyed 162 species of birds, over 100 species of mammals, and many other species of plants and animals. But, on the other hand, it creates new varieties of plants and breeds of animals, increases their yield and productivity. The artificial relocation of plants and animals also affects the life of ecosystems. Thus, rabbits brought to Australia multiplied so much that they caused enormous damage to agriculture.

The most obvious manifestation of anthropogenic influence on the biosphere is environmental pollution. The importance of anthropogenic factors is constantly growing as man increasingly subjugates nature.

Human activity is a combination of man’s transformation of natural environmental factors for his own purposes and the creation of new ones that previously did not exist in nature. The smelting of metals from ores and the production of equipment are impossible without the creation of high temperatures, pressures, and powerful electromagnetic fields. Obtaining and maintaining high yields of agricultural crops requires the production of fertilizers and chemical plant protection products from pests and pathogens. Modern healthcare cannot be imagined without chemotherapy and physiotherapy.

Achievements of scientific and technological progress began to be used for political and economic purposes, which was extremely manifested in the creation of special environmental factors that affected people and their property: from firearms to means of mass physical, chemical and biological influence. In this case, they talk about a set of anthropotropic (aimed at human body) and anthropocidal factors causing environmental pollution.

On the other hand, in addition to such purposeful factors, during the exploitation and processing of natural resources, by-product chemical compounds and zones are inevitably formed. high levels physical factors. In conditions of accidents and disasters, these processes can be abrupt in nature with severe environmental and material consequences. Hence it was necessary to create ways and means of protecting people from dangerous and harmful factors, which has now been implemented into the above-mentioned system - life safety.

Ecological plasticity. Despite the wide variety of environmental factors, a number of general patterns can be identified in the nature of their impact and in the responses of living organisms.

The effect of factors depends not only on the nature of their action (quality), but also on the quantitative value perceived by organisms - high or low temperature, degree of illumination, humidity, amount of food, etc. In the process of evolution, the ability of organisms to adapt to environmental factors within certain quantitative limits has developed. A decrease or increase in the value of a factor beyond these limits inhibits life activity, and when a certain minimum or maximum level is reached, the death of organisms occurs.

Coverage areas environmental factor and the theoretical dependence of the life activity of an organism, population or community depend on the quantitative value of the factor. The quantitative range of any environmental factor that is most favorable for life is called the ecological optimum (lat. ortimus - the best). Factor values ​​lying in the depression zone are called environmental pessimum (worst).

Minimum and maximum value factors that cause death are called accordingly ecological minimum And ecological maximum

Any species of organisms, populations or communities are adapted, for example, to exist in a certain temperature range.

The ability of organisms to adapt to existence in a particular range of environmental factors is called ecological plasticity.

The wider the range of environmental factors within which a given organism can live, the greater its ecological plasticity.

According to the degree of plasticity, two types of organisms are distinguished: stenobiont (stenoeki) and eurybiont (euryek).

Stenobiont and eurybiont organisms differ in the range of environmental factors in which they can live.

Stenobionts(gr. stenos- narrow, cramped), or narrowly adapted, species are able to exist only with small deviations

factor from the optimal value.

Eurybiont(gr. eyrys - broad) are widely adapted organisms that can withstand large amplitudes of environmental factor fluctuations.

Historically, adapting to environmental factors, animals, plants, and microorganisms are distributed across various environments, forming the entire diversity of ecosystems that form the Earth's biosphere.

Limiting factors. The idea of ​​limiting factors is based on two laws of ecology: the law of the minimum and the law of tolerance.

Law of the minimum. In the middle of the last century, the German chemist J. Liebig (1840), while studying the effect of nutrients on plant growth, discovered that the yield does not depend on those nutrients that are required in large quantities and are present in abundance (for example, CO 2 and H 2 0 ), and from those that, although the plant needs them in smaller quantities, are practically absent in the soil or are inaccessible (for example, phosphorus, zinc, boron).

Liebig formulated this pattern as follows: “The growth of a plant depends on the nutrient element that is present in minimal quantities.” This conclusion later became known as Liebig's law of minimum and has been extended to many other environmental factors. Heat, light, water, oxygen, and other factors can limit or limit the development of organisms if their value corresponds to the ecological minimum. For example, the tropical fish angelfish dies if the water temperature drops below 16 °C. And the development of algae in deep-sea ecosystems is limited by the depth of penetration sunlight: There are no algae in the bottom layers.

Liebig's law of minimum general view can be formulated as follows: the growth and development of organisms depend, first of all, on those environmental factors whose values ​​approach the ecological minimum.

Research has shown that the law of the minimum has two limitations that should be taken into account in practical application.

The first limitation is that Liebig's law is strictly applicable only under conditions of a stationary state of the system. For example, in a certain body of water, the growth of algae is limited under natural conditions by a lack of phosphates. Nitrogen compounds are found in excess in water. If wastewater from the river begins to be discharged into this reservoir high content mineral phosphorus, then the reservoir may “bloom”. This process will progress until one of the elements is used up to the restrictive minimum. Now it may be nitrogen if phosphorus continues to be supplied. At the transition moment (when there is still enough nitrogen and enough phosphorus), the minimum effect is not observed, i.e., none of these elements affects the growth of algae.

The second limitation relates to the interaction of several factors. Sometimes the body is able to replace the deficient element with another, chemically similar one. Thus, in places where there is a lot of strontium, in mollusk shells it can replace calcium when there is a deficiency of the latter. Or, for example, the need for zinc in some plants is reduced if they grow in the shade. Therefore, a low zinc concentration will limit plant growth less in the shade than in bright light. In these cases, the limiting effect of even an insufficient amount of one or another element may not manifest itself.

Law of Tolerance(lat . tolerance- patience) was discovered by the English biologist W. Shelford (1913), who drew attention to the fact that not only those environmental factors whose values ​​are minimal, but also those that are characterized by an ecological maximum can limit the development of living organisms. Excess heat, light, water and even nutrients can be just as destructive as their lack. V. Shelford called the range of the environmental factor between the minimum and maximum limit of tolerance.

The tolerance limit describes the amplitude of factor fluctuations, which ensures the most fulfilling existence of the population. Individuals may have slightly different tolerance ranges.

Later, tolerance limits for various environmental factors were established for many plants and animals. The laws of J. Liebig and W. Shelford helped to understand many phenomena and the distribution of organisms in nature. Organisms cannot be distributed everywhere because populations have a certain tolerance limit in relation to fluctuations in environmental environmental factors.

V. Shelford's law of tolerance is formulated as follows: the growth and development of organisms depend primarily on those environmental factors whose values ​​approach the ecological minimum or ecological maximum.

The following was found:

Organisms with a wide range of tolerance to all factors are widespread in nature and are often cosmopolitan, for example many pathogenic bacteria;

Organisms may have a wide range of tolerance for one factor and a narrow range for another. For example, people are more tolerant to the absence of food than to the lack of water, i.e., the tolerance limit for water is narrower than for food;

If conditions for one of the environmental factors become suboptimal, then the tolerance limit for other factors may also change. For example, when there is a lack of nitrogen in the soil, cereals require much more water;

The actual limits of tolerance observed in nature are less than the potential capabilities of the body to adapt to this factor. This is explained by the fact that in nature the limits of tolerance in relation to the physical conditions of the environment can be narrowed by biotic relationships: competition, lack of pollinators, predators, etc. Any person better realizes his potential in favorable conditions (athletes gather for special training before important competitions, for example ). The potential ecological plasticity of the organism, determined in laboratory conditions, is greater than the realized possibilities in natural conditions. Accordingly, a distinction is made between potential and realized ecological niches;

The limits of tolerance in breeding individuals and offspring are less than in adult individuals, i.e. females during the breeding season and their offspring are less hardy than adult organisms. Thus, the geographic distribution of game birds is more often determined by the influence of climate on eggs and chicks, rather than on adult birds. Caring for offspring and careful attitude towards motherhood are dictated by the laws of nature. Unfortunately, sometimes social “achievements” contradict these laws;

Extreme (stressful) values ​​of one of the factors lead to a decrease in the tolerance limit for other factors. If heated water is released into a river, fish and other organisms spend almost all their energy coping with stress. They lack energy to obtain food, protect themselves from predators, and reproduce, which leads to gradual extinction. Psychological stress can also cause many somatic (gr. soma- body) diseases not only in humans, but also in some animals (for example, dogs). With stressful values ​​of the factor, adaptation to it becomes more and more “expensive”.

Many organisms are capable of changing tolerance to individual factors if conditions change gradually. For example, you can get used to high temperature water in the bath, if you get into warm water, and then gradually add hot water. This adaptation to a slow change in factor is a useful protective property. But it can also be dangerous. Unexpected, without warning signs, not even small change may turn out to be critical. A threshold effect occurs: the “last straw” may be fatal. For example, a thin twig can cause a camel's already overloaded back to break.

If the value of at least one of the environmental factors approaches a minimum or maximum, the existence and prosperity of an organism, population or community becomes dependent on this factor limiting life activity.

A limiting factor is any environmental factor that approaches or exceeds the extreme values ​​of tolerance limits. Such factors that strongly deviate from the optimum become of paramount importance in the life of organisms and biological systems. They are the ones who control the conditions of existence.

The value of the concept of limiting factors is that it allows us to understand the complex relationships in ecosystems.

Fortunately, not all possible environmental factors regulate the relationship between the environment, organisms and humans. Various limiting factors turn out to be priority in a given period of time. It is these factors that the ecologist should focus on when studying and managing ecosystems. For example, the oxygen content in terrestrial habitats is high and it is so accessible that it almost never serves as a limiting factor (with the exception of high altitudes and anthropogenic systems). Oxygen is of little interest to ecologists interested in terrestrial ecosystems. And in water it is often a factor limiting the development of living organisms (“killing” of fish, for example). Therefore, a hydrobiologist always measures the oxygen content in water, unlike a veterinarian or ornithologist, although oxygen is no less important for terrestrial organisms than for aquatic ones.

Limiting factors also determine the geographical range of the species. Thus, the movement of organisms to the south is limited, as a rule, by a lack of heat. Biotic factors also often limit the distribution of certain organisms. For example, figs brought from the Mediterranean to California did not bear fruit there until they decided to bring there a certain type of wasp - the only pollinator of this plant. Identification of limiting factors is very important for many activities, especially agriculture. At targeted influence under limiting conditions, you can quickly and effectively increase plant yields and animal performance. Thus, when growing wheat on acidic soils, no agronomic measures will be effective unless liming is used, which will reduce the limiting effect of acids. Or if you grow corn in soils that are very low in phosphorus, even with enough water, nitrogen, potassium and other nutrients, it stops growing. Phosphorus in in this case- limiting factor. And only phosphorus fertilizers can save the harvest. Plants can die from too much large quantity water or excess fertilizer, which in this case are also limiting factors.

Knowledge of limiting factors provides the key to ecosystem management. However, in different periods life of the organism and different situations Various factors act as limiting factors. Therefore, only skillful regulation of living conditions can give effective management results.

Interaction and compensation of factors. In nature, environmental factors do not act independently of each other - they interact. Analyzing the influence of one factor on an organism or community is not an end in itself, but a way of assessing comparative significance various conditions, acting together in real ecosystems.

Joint influence of factors can be considered using the example of the dependence of the mortality of crab larvae on temperature, salinity and the presence of cadmium. In the absence of cadmium, the ecological optimum (minimum mortality) is observed in the temperature range from 20 to 28 °C and salinity from 24 to 34%. If cadmium, which is toxic to crustaceans, is added to the water, then the ecological optimum shifts: the temperature lies in the range from 13 to 26 °C, and the salinity from 25 to 29%. The limits of tolerance are also changing. The difference between the ecological maximum and minimum for salinity after the addition of cadmium decreases from 11 - 47% to 14 - 40%. The tolerance limit for the temperature factor, on the contrary, expands from 9 - 38 °C to 0 - 42 °C.

Temperature and humidity are the most important climatic factors in terrestrial habitats. The interaction of these two factors essentially creates two main types of climate: maritime and continental.

Reservoirs soften the climate of the land, since water has high specific heat melting and heat capacity. Therefore, the maritime climate is characterized by less sharp fluctuations in temperature and humidity than the continental one.

The effects of temperature and humidity on organisms also depend on the ratio of their absolute values. Thus, temperature has a more pronounced limiting effect if humidity is very high or very low. Everyone knows that high and low temperatures are less tolerated with high humidity than with moderate humidity.

The relationship between temperature and humidity as the main climatic factors is often depicted in the form of climogram graphs, which make it possible to visually compare different years and regions and predict the production of plants or animals for certain climatic conditions.

Organisms are not slaves of the environment. They adapt to living conditions and change them, that is, they compensate for the negative impact of environmental factors.

Compensation of environmental factors is the desire of organisms to weaken the limiting effect of physical, biotic and anthropogenic influences. Compensation of factors is possible at the organism and species level, but is most effective at the community level.

At different temperatures the same appearance, having a wide geographical distribution, can acquire physiological and morphological (gr. torphe - shape, outline) features adapted to local conditions. For example, the colder the climate, the shorter the ears, tails, and paws of animals, and the more massive their bodies.

This pattern is called Allen's rule (1877), according to which the protruding parts of the body of warm-blooded animals increase as they move from north to south, which is associated with adaptation to maintaining a constant body temperature in different climatic conditions. Thus, foxes living in the Sahara have long limbs and huge ears; the European fox is more squat, its ears are much shorter; and the Arctic fox - the arctic fox - has very small ears and a short muzzle.

In animals with well-developed motor activity, compensation of factors is possible due to adaptive behavior. Thus, lizards are not afraid of sudden cold weather, because during the day they go out into the sun and at night they hide under heated stones. Changes that occur during the adaptation process are often genetically fixed. At the community level, compensation of factors can be carried out by changing species along a gradient of environmental conditions; for example, with seasonal changes there is a natural change in plant species.

Organisms also use the natural periodicity of changes in environmental factors to distribute functions over time. They "program" life cycles in such a way as to make the most of favorable conditions.

The most striking example is the behavior of organisms depending on the length of the day - photoperiod. The amplitude of day length increases with geographical latitude, which allows organisms to take into account not only the time of year, but also the latitude of the area. Photoperiod is a "time relay" or sequence trigger physiological processes. It determines the flowering of plants, molting, migration and reproduction in birds and mammals, etc. Photoperiod is associated with the biological clock and serves as a universal mechanism for regulating functions over time. Biological clocks link the rhythms of environmental factors with physiological rhythms, allowing organisms to adapt to daily, seasonal, tidal and other dynamics of factors.

By changing the photoperiod, you can also cause changes in body functions. Thus, flower growers, by changing the light regime in greenhouses, get off-season flowering of plants. If after December you immediately increase the length of the day, this can cause phenomena that occur in the spring: flowering of plants, molting of animals, etc. For many higher organisms adaptations to photoperiod are fixed genetically, i.e. the biological clock can work even in the absence of regular daily or seasonal dynamics.

Thus, the point of analyzing environmental conditions is not to compile an endless list of environmental factors, but to discover functionally important, limiting factors and assess the extent to which the composition, structure and function of ecosystems depend on the interactions of these factors.

Only in this case will it be possible to reliably predict the results of changes and disturbances and manage ecosystems.

Anthropogenic limiting factors. As examples of anthropogenic limiting factors that make it possible to manage natural and human-made ecosystems, it is convenient to consider fires and anthropogenic stress.

Fires as an anthropogenic factor are often assessed only negatively. Research over the past 50 years has shown that natural fires may be part of the climate in many terrestrial habitats. They influence the evolution of flora and fauna. Biotic communities have “learned” to compensate for this factor and adapt to it, like temperature or humidity. Fire can be considered and studied as an environmental factor, along with temperature, precipitation and soil. At correct use fire can be a valuable environmental tool. Some tribes burned forests for their own needs long before people began to systematically and purposefully change the environment. Fire is a very important factor, including because a person can control it to a greater extent than other limiting factors. It is difficult to find a piece of land, especially in areas with dry periods, that has not experienced a fire at least once in 50 years. The most common cause of fires in nature is a lightning strike.

Fires come in different types and lead to different consequences.

Crown, or wildland, fires are usually very intense and cannot be contained. They destroy the crown of trees and destroy all organic matter in the soil. Fires of this type have a limiting effect on almost all organisms in the community. It will take many years before the site is restored again.

Ground fires are completely different. They have a selective effect: for some organisms they are more limiting than for others. Thus, ground fires promote the development of organisms with high tolerance to their consequences. They can be natural or specially organized by man. For example, planned burning in a forest is undertaken to eliminate competition for the valuable species of swamp pine from deciduous trees. Swamp pine, unlike deciduous trees, is resistant to fire, since the apical bud of its seedlings is protected by a bunch of long, poorly burning needles. In the absence of fires, the growth of deciduous trees choke out pine, as well as cereals and legumes. This leads to oppression of partridges and small herbivores. Therefore, virgin pine forests with abundant game are ecosystems of the “fire” type, i.e., requiring periodic ground fires. In this case, the fire does not lead to the loss of nutrients in the soil and does not harm ants, insects and small mammals.

A small fire is even beneficial for nitrogen-fixing legumes. Burning is carried out in the evening so that the fire is extinguished by dew at night, and the narrow fire front can be easily crossed. In addition, small ground fires complement the action of bacteria in converting dead remains into minerals. nutrients, suitable for a new generation of plants. For the same purpose, fallen leaves are often burned in spring and autumn. Planned burning is an example of managing a natural ecosystem using a limiting environmental factor.

The decision as to whether the possibility of fire should be eliminated entirely or whether fire should be used as a management factor should depend entirely on what type of community is desired at the site. The American ecologist G. Stoddard (1936) was one of the first to “defend” controlled planned burning to increase the production of valuable timber and game back in the days when, from the point of view of foresters, any fire was considered harmful.

Burning's close relationship with grass composition plays a key role in maintaining the amazing diversity of antelopes and their predators in the East African savannas. Fires have a positive effect on many cereals, since their growth points and energy reserves are underground. After the dry above-ground parts burn out, the nutrients quickly return to the soil and the grass grows luxuriantly.

The question “to burn or not to burn,” of course, can be confusing. Through negligence, humans often cause an increase in the frequency of destructive “wild” fires. The fight for fire safety in forests and recreation areas is the second side of the problem.

In no case does a private person have the right to intentionally or accidentally cause a fire in nature - this is the privilege of specially trained people familiar with land use rules.

Anthropogenic stress can also be considered as a kind of limiting factor. Ecosystems are largely capable of compensating for anthropogenic stress. It is possible that they are naturally adapted to acute periodic stress. And many organisms require occasional disturbances to promote their long-term stability. Large bodies of water often have a good ability to self-purify and restore their quality after pollution, just like many terrestrial ecosystems. However, long-term impairment can lead to pronounced and persistent negative consequences. In such cases, the evolutionary history of adaptation cannot help organisms - compensation mechanisms are not unlimited. This is especially true when highly toxic wastes are dumped, which are constantly produced by an industrialized society and which were previously absent from the environment. environment. If we are unable to isolate these toxic wastes from global life support systems, they will directly threaten our health and become a major limiting factor for humanity.

Anthropogenic stress is conventionally divided into two groups: acute and chronic.

The first is characterized by a sudden onset, a rapid increase in intensity and a short duration. In the second case, low-intensity disturbances last a long time or are repeated. Natural systems often have sufficient capacity to cope with acute stress. For example, the dormant seed strategy allows a forest to recover after being cleared. The effects of chronic stress can be more severe because the reactions to it are not so obvious. It may take years for changes in organisms to be noticed. Thus, the connection between cancer and smoking was discovered only a few decades ago, although it existed for a long time.

The threshold effect partly explains why some environmental problems appear unexpectedly. In fact they accumulated long years. For example, forests begin to experience massive tree mortality after prolonged exposure to air pollutants. We begin to notice the problem only after the death of many forests in Europe and America. By this time, we were 10-20 years late and could not prevent the tragedy.

During the period of adaptation to chronic anthropogenic influences, the tolerance of organisms to other factors, such as diseases, decreases. Chronic stress is often associated with toxic substances that, although in small concentrations, are constantly released into the environment.

The article “Poisoning America” (Times Magazine, September 22, 1980) provides the following data: “Of all the human interventions in the natural order of things, none is increasing at such an alarming rate as the creation of new chemical compounds. In the USA alone, cunning “alchemists” create about 1,000 new drugs every year. There are approximately 50,000 different chemicals on the market. Many of them are undoubtedly of great benefit to humans, but nearly 35,000 compounds used in the United States are definitely or potentially harmful to human health.”

The danger, possibly catastrophic, comes from contamination of groundwater and deep aquifers, which make up a significant portion of water resources on the planet. Unlike surface groundwater, groundwater is not subject to natural self-purification processes due to the lack of sunlight, rapid flow and biotic components.

Concerns are not only caused by harmful substances entering water, soil and food. Millions of tons of hazardous compounds are released into the atmosphere. Only over America in the late 70s. emitted: suspended particles - up to 25 million tons/year, SO 2 - up to 30 million tons/year, NO - up to 23 million tons/year.

We all contribute to air pollution by using cars, electricity, industrial products, etc. Air pollution is a clear negative feedback signal that can save society from destruction, since it is easily detected by everyone.

Solid Waste Treatment for a long time was considered a minor matter. Before 1980, there were cases when residential areas were built on former radioactive waste dumps. Now, although with some delay, it has become clear: the accumulation of waste limits the development of industry. Without the creation of technologies and centers for their removal, neutralization and recycling, further progress of industrial society is impossible. First of all, it is necessary to safely isolate the most toxic substances. The illegal practice of “night discharges” must be replaced with reliable isolation. We need to look for substitutes for toxic chemicals. With the right leadership, waste treatment and recycling can become a distinct industry that will generate new jobs and contribute to the economy.

Solving the problem of anthropogenic stress must be based on a holistic concept and requires a systematic approach. Trying to treat each pollutant as an independent problem is ineffective - it only moves the problem from one place to another.

If environmental degradation is not contained in the next decade, it is likely that it will not be a shortage of natural resources, but the impact harmful substances will become a factor limiting the development of civilization.

Environmental factors are all environmental factors that affect the body. They are divided into 3 groups:

The best value of a factor for an organism is called optimal(optimum point), for example, the optimal air temperature for humans is 22º.

Anthropogenic factors

Human impacts are changing the environment too quickly. This leads to many species becoming rare and becoming extinct. Biodiversity is decreasing because of this.

For example, consequences of deforestation:

• The habitat for forest inhabitants (animals, mushrooms, lichens, herbs) is being destroyed. They may disappear completely (decrease in biodiversity).
• The forest holds the top fertile layer of soil with its roots. Without support, the soil can be carried away by the wind (you get a desert) or water (you get ravines).
• The forest evaporates a lot of water from the surface of its leaves. If you remove the forest, the air humidity in the area will decrease, and the soil moisture will increase (a swamp may form).

1. Choose three options. What anthropogenic factors influence the size of the wild boar population in the forest community?
1) increase in the number of predators
2) shooting animals
3) feeding animals
4) distribution infectious diseases
5) cutting down trees
6) harsh weather conditions in winter

Answer

2. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What anthropogenic factors influence the population size of the May lily of the valley in the forest community?
1) cutting down trees
2) increase in shading

4) collection of wild plants
5) low temperature air in winter
6) trampling of soil

Answer

3. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What processes in nature are classified as anthropogenic factors?
1) destruction of the ozone layer
2) daily change in illumination
3) competition in the population
4) accumulation of herbicides in the soil
5) relationships between predators and their victims
6) increased greenhouse effect

Answer

4. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What anthropogenic factors influence the number of plants listed in the Red Book?
1) destruction of their living environment
2) increase in shading
3) lack of moisture in summer
4) expansion of the areas of agrocenoses
5) sudden temperature changes
6) trampling of soil

Answer

5. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. Anthropogenic environmental factors include
1) adding organic fertilizers to the soil
2) decrease in illumination in reservoirs with depth
3) precipitation
4) thinning of pine seedlings
5) cessation of volcanic activity
6) shallowing of rivers as a result of deforestation

Answer

6. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What environmental disturbances in the biosphere are caused by anthropogenic intervention?
1) destruction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere
2) seasonal changes in illumination of the land surface
3) decline in the number of cetaceans
4) accumulation of heavy metals in the bodies of organisms near highways
5) accumulation of humus in the soil as a result of leaf fall
6) accumulation of sedimentary rocks in the depths of the World Ocean

Answer

1. Establish a correspondence between the example and the group of environmental factors that it illustrates: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic
A) pond overgrowing with duckweed
B) increase in the number of fish fry
C) eating fish fry by a swimming beetle
D) ice formation
D) flushing of mineral fertilizers into the river

Answer

2. Establish a correspondence between the process occurring in the forest biocenosis and the environmental factor that it characterizes: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic
A) relationship between aphids and ladybugs
B) waterlogging of the soil
B) daily change in illumination
D) competition between thrush species
D) increasing air humidity
E) the effect of the tinder fungus on birch

Answer

3. Establish a correspondence between the examples and the environmental factors that these examples illustrate: 1) abiotic, 2) biotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the correct order.
A) increase in atmospheric air pressure
B) change in ecosystem topography caused by an earthquake
C) a change in the population of hares as a result of an epidemic
D) interaction between wolves in a pack
D) competition for territory between pine trees in the forest

Answer

4. Establish a correspondence between the characteristics of an environmental factor and its type: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the correct order.
A) ultraviolet radiation
B) drying up of water bodies during drought
B) animal migration
D) pollination of plants by bees
D) photoperiodism
E) a decrease in the number of squirrels in lean years

Answer

Answer

6f. Establish a correspondence between the examples and the environmental factors that these examples illustrate: 1) abiotic, 2) biotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) an increase in soil acidity caused by a volcanic eruption
B) change in the relief of meadow biogeocenosis after a flood
C) a change in the wild boar population as a result of an epidemic
D) interaction between aspens in the forest ecosystem
D) competition for territory between male tigers

Answer

7f. Establish a correspondence between environmental factors and groups of factors: 1) biotic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) daily fluctuations in air temperature
B) change in day length
B) predator-prey relationship
D) symbiosis of algae and fungus in lichen
D) change in environmental humidity

Answer

Answer

2. Establish a correspondence between the examples and the environmental factors that these examples illustrate: 1) Biotic, 2) Abiotic, 3) Anthropogenic. Write the numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the correct order.
A) Autumn leaf fall
B) Planting trees in the park
C) Formation of nitric acid in the soil during a thunderstorm
D) Illumination
D) The struggle for resources in the population
E) Emissions of freons into the atmosphere

Answer

3. Establish a correspondence between the examples and environmental factors: 1) abiotic, 2) biotic, 3) anthropogenic. Write numbers 1-3 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) change in the gas composition of the atmosphere
B) distribution of plant seeds by animals
C) drainage of swamps by humans
D) increase in the number of consumers in the biocenosis
D) change of seasons
E) deforestation

Answer

Answer

Answer

1. Choose three correct answers out of six and write them down in the numbers under which they are indicated. The following factors lead to a decrease in the number of squirrels in a coniferous forest:
1) reduction in the number of birds of prey and mammals
2) cutting down coniferous trees
3) harvest of fir cones after a warm, dry summer
4) increase in predator activity
5) outbreak of epidemics
6) deep snow cover in winter

Answer

Answer

Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. The destruction of forests over vast areas leads to
1) an increase in the amount of harmful nitrogen impurities in the atmosphere
2) destruction of the ozone layer
3) violation of the water regime
4) change of biogeocenoses
5) violation of the direction of air flows
6) reduction in species diversity

Answer

1. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. Among the environmental factors, indicate biotic ones.
1) flood
2) competition between individuals of the species
3) decrease in temperature
4) predation
5) lack of light
6) formation of mycorrhiza

Answer

2. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. Biotic factors include
1) predation
2) forest fire
3) competition between individuals different types
4) increase in temperature
5) formation of mycorrhiza
6) lack of moisture

Answer

1. Select three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the table. Which of the following environmental factors are considered abiotic?
1) air temperature
2) greenhouse gas pollution
3) the presence of non-recyclable waste
4) availability of a road
5) illumination
6) oxygen concentration

Answer

2. Select three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the table. Abiotic factors include:
1) Seasonal bird migration
2) Volcanic eruption
3) The appearance of a tornado
4) Construction of platinum by beavers
5) Ozone formation during a thunderstorm
6) Deforestation

Answer

3. Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated in the answer. The abiotic components of the steppe ecosystem include:
1) herbaceous vegetation
2) wind erosion
3) mineral composition of the soil
4) precipitation regime
5) species composition of microorganisms
6) seasonal grazing of livestock

Answer

Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. What environmental factors may be limiting for brook trout?
1) fresh water
2) oxygen content less than 1.6 mg/l
3) water temperature +29 degrees
4) water salinity
5) illumination of the reservoir
6) river flow speed

Answer

1. Establish a correspondence between the environmental factor and the group to which it belongs: 1) anthropogenic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the correct order.
A) artificial irrigation of land
B) meteorite fall
B) plowing virgin soil
D) spring flood
D) construction of a dam
E) movement of clouds

Answer

2. Establish a correspondence between the characteristics of the environment and the environmental factor: 1) anthropogenic, 2) abiotic. Write numbers 1 and 2 in the order corresponding to the letters.
A) deforestation
B) tropical showers
B) melting glaciers
D) forest plantations
D) draining swamps
E) increase in day length in spring

Answer

Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. The following anthropogenic factors can change the number of producers in an ecosystem:
1) collection of flowering plants
2) increase in the number of first-order consumers
3) trampling of plants by tourists
4) decrease in soil moisture
5) cutting down hollow trees
6) increase in the number of consumers of the second and third orders

Answer

Read the text. Select three sentences that describe abiotic factors. Write down the numbers under which they are indicated. (1) The main source of light on Earth is the Sun. (2) Light-loving plants, as a rule, have strongly dissected leaf blades, big number stomata in the epidermis. (3) Environmental humidity is an important condition for the existence of living organisms. (4) During evolution, plants have developed adaptations to maintain the water balance of the body. (5) The carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere is essential for living organisms.

Answer

Choose three correct answers out of six and write down the numbers under which they are indicated. With a sharp decline in the number of pollinating insects in a meadow over time
1) the number of insect-pollinated plants is decreasing
2) the number of birds of prey is increasing
3) the number of herbivores increases
4) the number of wind-pollinated plants increases
5) the soil water horizon changes
6) the number of insectivorous birds is decreasing

Answer

© D.V. Pozdnyakov, 2009-2019

All processes occurring in the biosphere are inextricably linked, and humanity is only a small fraction, or rather, just one species of organic life. Throughout his existence, man has strived and continues to strive not to adapt to the environment, but to use it with maximum benefit for himself. But now we are realizing that the deterioration of the biosphere is dangerous for us. According to statistics, up to 85% of human diseases are associated with negative environmental conditions.

Human influence on the environment

Let's start by explaining what anthropogenic factors are. It is a human activity that has an impact on the environment.

Types of anthropogenic factors

1. Chemical - the use of pesticides, mineral fertilizers, as well as pollution of the earth's shells with industrial and transport waste. Alcohol, smoking, and medications also fall into this category.

2. Physical factors environment - movement in airplanes, trains, nuclear energy, noise and vibration.

4. Social anthropogenic factors are associated with society.

Basics Negative influence

Over the past few years, in Russia alone, the birth rate has decreased by 30%, and the mortality rate has increased by 15%. Half of young people of conscription age are unfit for military service due to health conditions. Since the 70s of the last century, the incidence of cardiovascular and oncological diseases increased by 50%. In many regions, allergies occur in more than half of children. This is far from full list what anthropogenic factors lead to.

Implications for the atmosphere

As you know, today there are a huge number of industrial enterprises operating around the world that discharge pollutants into the atmosphere around the clock. As a result sanitary violations in many areas they exceed all permissible figures by tens of times. This leads to a steadily increasing number of patients with bronchitis, allergies, asthma, and ischemia in cities.

Greenhouse effect

If we talk about whether anthropogenic factors influence climate change, we can assure you that in such a global sense, humans do not have such an effect. Forests are cut down, the atmosphere is polluted, cities are built up, and so on, but one active large volcano is capable of filling the air with carbon dioxide in such large volume, which is not produced by all of humanity in five years. We know that not long ago the Eyjafjallajokull volcano awoke, causing flights to be canceled in many countries. So in this sense, anthropogenic environmental factors play only a small role.

Flora and fauna

The situation is much worse with animals and flora. Although, as has been repeatedly proven, in the old days there was a completely different flora and fauna, but as a result global disasters everything changed dramatically and quickly. Of course, now man is doing his part in the destruction of many species, although there is no urgent need for food. Huge areas of land are polluted by humans, making living conditions unsuitable for animals.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that to a greater extent, anthropogenic activity is negative not so much for nature as for man himself. This means that we ourselves create negative conditions for existence, slowly destroying each other. Man-made disasters, an increase in the number of diseases, the emergence of new viruses, excess mortality rates and a decrease in the birth rate in developed countries are proof of this.

News and society

Anthropogenic factors: examples. What is the anthropogenic factor?

November 10, 2014

The scale of human activity has increased immeasurably over the past few hundred years, which means that new anthropogenic factors have appeared. Examples of the impact, place and role of humanity in changing the environment - all this is discussed later in the article.

What is the living environment?

The part of the Earth's nature in which organisms live is their habitat. The relationships that arise in this case, the way of life, productivity, and 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 three, for example, coastal plants.

Individual elements interacting with living beings and among themselves are environmental factors. Each of them is irreplaceable. But in recent decades planetary significance acquired by anthropogenic factors. Although half a century ago the influence of society on nature was not given enough attention, and 150 years ago the science of ecology itself was in its infancy.

What are environmental factors?

Conditions of the natural environment can be very diverse: space, information, energy, chemical, climatic. Any natural components of physical, chemical or biological origin are environmental factors. They directly or indirectly affect an individual biological individual, population, or entire biocenosis. There are no less phenomena associated with human activity, for example, the anxiety factor. The life activity of organisms, the state of biocenoses and the geographical envelope are influenced by many anthropogenic factors. Examples:

• increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leads to climate change;
• monoculture in agriculture causes outbreaks of certain pests;
• fires lead to a change in plant communities;
• deforestation and the construction of hydroelectric power stations change the regime of rivers.

Video on the topic

What are the environmental factors?

Conditions affecting living organisms and their habitat can be classified according to their properties into 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, and plants that influence each other and inanimate nature;
• anthropogenic environmental factors - the cumulative impact 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 replenish the amount of mineral elements and light necessary for plant nutrition.

What is the anthropogenic factor?

The main sciences that study the environment are global ecology, human ecology and nature conservation. They are based on data from theoretical ecology and widely use the concept of “anthropogenic factors”. Anthropos means "man" in Greek and genos means "origin". The word “factor” comes from the Latin factor (“doing, producing”). This is the name given to the conditions that influence processes and their driving force.

Any human impact on living organisms and the entire environment are anthropogenic factors. Examples exist both positive and negative. There are cases of favorable changes in nature due to environmental activities. But more often society has a negative, sometimes destructive effect on the biosphere.

The place and role of the anthropogenic factor in changing the appearance of the Earth

Any type of economic activity of the population affects the connections between living organisms and the natural environment, often leading to their disruption. In place of natural complexes and landscapes, anthropogenic ones arise:

• fields, gardens and orchards;
• reservoirs, ponds, canals;
• parks, forest belts;
• cultivated pastures.

The similarities of natural complexes created by man are further influenced by anthropogenic, biotic and abiotic environmental factors. Examples: formation of deserts - to agricultural plantations; overgrowing of ponds.

How does man influence nature?

Humanity, part of the Earth's biosphere, has been completely dependent on the surrounding natural conditions for a long period. As the nervous system, in particular the brain, developed, thanks to the improvement of tools, man himself became a factor in evolutionary and other processes on Earth. First of all, we must mention the mastery of mechanical, electrical and atomic energy. As a result, the upper part of the earth's crust changed significantly, and the biogenic migration of atoms increased.

All the diversity of society's impact on the environment is anthropogenic factors. Examples of negative influence:

• reduction of mineral reserves;
• deforestation;
• soil pollution;
• hunting and fishing;
• extermination of wild species.

The positive impact of humans on the biosphere is associated with environmental measures. Reforestation and afforestation, landscaping and landscaping are underway settlements, 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 and human intervention in nature indicate that the impact can be positive and negative. These characteristics are conditional, because a positive influence under changed conditions often becomes its opposite, that is, it acquires a negative connotation. The activities of the population more often cause harm to nature than benefit. This fact is explained by the violation of natural laws that have been in effect for millions of years.

Back in 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 changes in the environment. In recent years, adult and children's environmental organizations, scientific institutions very concerned about the conservation of biological diversity.

How to improve the health of the environment?

We found out what the anthropogenic factor is in ecology, biology, geography and other sciences. Let us 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 increasingly negative role of anthropogenic factors.

According to researchers, even preserving biodiversity is not enough to ensure a healthy environment. It may be unfavorable for human life with its previous biodiversity, but strong radiation, chemical and other types of pollution.

The connection between the health of nature, humans and the degree of influence of anthropogenic factors is obvious. To reduce them negative impact it is necessary to form a new attitude towards the environment, responsibility for the safe existence of wildlife and the conservation of biodiversity.

The influence of man as an environmental factor is extremely strong and versatile. Not a single ecosystem on the planet escaped this influence, and many ecosystems were completely destroyed. Even entire biomes, such as the steppes, almost completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Anthropogenic means “born by man,” and anthropogenic are those factors that owe their origin to any human activity. In this way, they are fundamentally different from natural factors that arose even before the advent of man, but exist and operate to this day.

Anthropogenic factors (AF) arose only with the advent of man during the ancient stage of its interaction with nature, but then they were still very limited in scope. The first significant AF was the impact on nature with the help of fire; The set of AFs expanded significantly with the development of livestock and crop production, and the emergence of large settlements. Of particular importance for the organisms of the biosphere were such AFs, the analogues of which had not existed in nature before, since during the course of evolution these organisms were unable to develop certain adaptations to them.

Nowadays, human influence on the biosphere has reached gigantic proportions: there is total pollution of the natural environment, geographic envelope is saturated with technical structures (cities, factories, pipelines, mines, reservoirs, etc.); technical objects (that is, the remains of spacecraft, containers with toxic substances, landfills) new substances, are not assimilated by biota; new processes - chemical, physical, biological and mixed (thermonuclear fusion, bioengineering, etc.).

Anthropogenic factors are bodies, substances, processes and phenomena that arise as a result of economic and other human activities and act on nature together with natural factors. The entire variety of anthropogenic factors is divided into the following main subgroups:

o Body factors are, for example, artificial terrain (mounds, cockroaches), bodies of water (reservoirs, canals, ponds), structures and buildings, and the like. Factors of this subgroup are characterized by clear spatial definition and long-term action. Once produced, they often last for centuries and even millennia. Many of them are spread over large areas.

o Factors-substances are ordinary and radioactive chemicals, artificial chemical compounds and elements, aerosols, wastewater, and the like. They, unlike the first subgroup, do not have a specific spatial definition; they constantly change concentration and move, accordingly changing the degree of influence on the elements of nature. Some of them are destroyed over time, others can be present in the environment for tens, hundreds and even thousands of years (for example, some radioactive substances), which makes it possible for them to accumulate in nature.

o Factors-processes are a subgroup of AF, which includes the influence on the nature of animals and plants, the destruction of harmful and breeding of beneficial organisms, random or purposeful movement of organisms in space, mining, soil erosion, and the like. These factors often occupy limited areas of nature, but sometimes they can cover large areas. In addition to the direct impact on nature, they often cause a number of indirect changes. All processes are highly dynamic and often unidirectional.

o Factors-phenomena are, for example, heat, light, radio waves, electrical and electromagnetic field, vibration, pressure, sound effects, etc. Unlike other AF subgroups, phenomena generally have precise parameters. As a rule, as they move away from the source, their impact on nature decreases.

Based on the above, only those human-made bodies, substances, processes and phenomena that did not exist in nature before the advent of man can be called anthropogenic factors. In the event that certain AF did not exist before the appearance of man only in some (certain) region, they are called regional anthropogenic factors; if they were not there only for a certain season, then they are called seasonal anthropogenic factors.

In cases where a body, substance, process or phenomenon produced by a person is similar in its qualities and properties to a natural factor, then it can be considered an anthropogenic factor only when it quantitatively predominates over the natural one. For example, heat is natural factor, becomes anthropogenic if the amount of it released by the enterprise into the environment causes an increase in the temperature of this environment. Such factors are called quantitative anthropogenic.

Sometimes, under the influence of a person, bodies, processes, substances or phenomena transform into a new quality. In this case, we are talking about qualitative-anthropogenic factors, for example, sands that become mobile due to the destruction by humans of the vegetation that fixed them, or water that is formed from a glacier when it melts under the influence of anthropogenic warming.

Let's consider such a simple anthropogenic impact as livestock grazing. Firstly, this immediately leads to the suppression of a number of species in the biocenosis that are eaten by domestic animals. Secondly, as a result of this, groups are formed on the territory with a relatively small number of species that are not accepted by livestock, so each of them has a significant number. Thirdly, the biogeocenosis that has arisen in this way becomes unstable, easily susceptible to fluctuations in population numbers, and therefore, if the effect of the factor (livestock grazing) increases, this can lead to profound changes and even complete degradation of the biogeocenosis.

When identifying and studying AF, the main attention is paid not to the means by which they are made, but to those elements that cause changes in nature. From the standpoint of the doctrine of factors, anthropogenic impact on nature can be defined as conscious and unconscious influence through human-made AF. This influence is exercised not only during human activity, but also after its completion. The influence of a person, which is classified by type of activity, is a complex factor. For example, if we analyze the plowing of a field with a tractor as the action of a complex anthropogenic factor, we can cite the following components: 1) soil compaction; 2) crushing soil organisms; 3) loosening the soil; 4) turning over the soil; 5) cutting organisms with a plow; 6) soil vibration; 7) soil contamination with fuel residues; 8) air pollution from exhausts; 9) sound effects, etc.

There are many classifications of AF according to various criteria. By nature, AFs are divided into:

Mechanical - pressure from car wheels, deforestation, obstacles to the movement of organisms, and the like;

Physical - heat, light, electric field, color, changes in humidity, etc.;

Chemical - action of various chemical elements and their compounds;

Biological - the influence of introduced organisms, breeding of plants and animals, forest planting and the like.

Landscape - artificial rivers and lakes, beaches, forests, meadows, etc.

It should be noted that any type of human activity cannot be defined simply as the sum of AF, since this activity involves elements that in no way can be considered factors in the natural sense, for example, technical means, products, people themselves, their production relations Technological processes and etc. Only in some cases, technical means (for example, dams, communication lines, buildings) can be called factors if their presence directly causes changes in nature, for example, it is an obstacle to the movement of animals, a barrier to air flows, etc.

Based on the time of origin and duration of action, anthropogenic factors are divided into the following groups:

Factors produced in the past: a) those that have ceased to act, but its consequences are still felt now (destruction of certain types of organisms, excessive grazing, etc.); b) those that continue to operate in our time (artificial relief, reservoirs, introduction, etc.);

Factors that are produced in our time: a) those that act only at the moment of production (radio waves, noise, light); b) those that operate for a certain time and after the end of production (persistent chemical pollution, cut down forest, etc.).

Most AFs are common in areas of intensive industrial and agricultural development. However, some produced in limited areas can be found in any region of the globe due to their ability to migrate (for example, radioactive substances with a long decay period, persistent toxic chemicals). Even those active substances that are very widespread on the planet or in a particular region are distributed unevenly in nature, creating zones of high and low concentrations, as well as zones of their complete absence. Since tillage of the soil and grazing of livestock are carried out only in certain areas, it is necessary to know for sure.

So, the main quantitative indicator of AF is the degree of saturation of space with them, called the concentration of anthropogenic factors. The concentration of active substances in a specific territory is determined, as a rule, by the intensity and nature of active substance production; the degree of migration ability of these factors; the property of accumulation (accumulation) in nature and the general conditions of a particular natural complex. Therefore, the quantitative features of AF change significantly in time and space.

According to the degree of migration ability, anthropogenic factors are divided into those that:

They do not migrate - they act only at the place of production and at some distance from it (relief, vibration, pressure, sound, light, stationary organisms introduced by humans, etc.);

Migrate with flows of water and air (dust, heat, chemicals, gases, aerosols, etc.);

They migrate with the means of production (ships, trains, planes, etc.);

They migrate independently (mobile organisms introduced by humans, feral domestic animals).

Not all AFs are produced continuously by humans; They are already of different frequency. So, haymaking occurs at a certain period, but annually; Air pollution from industrial enterprises occurs either at certain hours or around the clock. Studying the dynamics of factor production is very important for correctly assessing their impact on nature. With an increase in the number of periods and their duration, the impact on nature increases due to a decrease in the possibilities for self-restoration of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the elements of nature.

The dynamics of the number and set of various factors is clearly expressed throughout the year, which is due to the seasonality of many production processes. Identification of AF dynamics is carried out for a certain territory for a selected time (for example, a year, a season, a day). This has a very great importance to compare them with the dynamics of natural factors, allows us to determine the degree of influence on the nature of AF. Wind erosion of soils is most dangerous in the summer, and water erosion in the spring when the snow melts, when there is no vegetation yet; wastewater of the same volume and composition changes the chemistry of the river in winter more than in spring, due to the small volume of winter runoff.

According to this important indicator, as the ability to accumulate in nature, AFs are divided into:

Existing only at the moment of production, therefore by their nature they are not capable of accumulation (light, vibration, etc.);

Those that can survive in nature long time after their production, which leads to their accumulation - accumulation - and increased impact on nature.

The second group of AF includes artificial terrain, reservoirs, chemical and radioactive substances, and the like. These factors are very dangerous, since their concentrations and areas increase over time, and, accordingly, the intensity of their impact on the elements of nature. Some radioactive substances obtained by humans from the bowels of the Earth and introduced into the active cycle of substances can exhibit radioactivity for hundreds and thousands of years, while having a negative impact on nature. The ability to accumulate sharply enhances the role of AF in the development of nature, and in some cases is even decisive in determining the possibility of existence individual species and organisms.

During the migration process, some factors can move from one environment to another and act in all environments that are in a certain region. Thus, in the event of an accident at a nuclear power plant, radioactive substances spread in the atmosphere, and also pollute the soil, penetrate into groundwater and settle in water bodies. And solid emissions from industrial enterprises from the atmosphere end up on the soil and water bodies. This feature is inherent in many AFs from a subgroup of factor-substances. Some stable chemical factors, in the process of the cycle of substances, are carried out of water bodies with the help of organisms onto land, and then from it they are washed away again into water bodies - this is how long-term circulation and action of the factor occurs in a number of natural environments.

The effect of an anthropogenic factor on living organisms depends not only on its quality, but also on its quantity per unit of space, called the dose of the factor. The dose of a factor is a quantitative characteristic of a factor in a certain space. The dose of the grazing factor will be the number of animals certain type per hectare of pasture per day or grazing season. The determination of its optimum is closely related to the dose of the factor. Depending on their dose, APs can have different effects on organisms or be indifferent to them. Some doses of the factor cause maximum positive changes in nature and practically do not cause negative (direct and indirect) changes. they are called optimal, or optimum.

Some active substances act continuously on nature, while others act periodically or sporadically. Therefore, according to frequency, they are divided into:

Continuously operating - pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil by emissions from industrial enterprises and extraction of minerals from the subsoil;

periodic factors - plowing the soil, growing and harvesting crops, grazing domestic animals, etc. These factors directly affect nature only at certain hours, therefore they are associated with the seasonal and daily frequency of the action of AF;

Sporadic factors - accidents Vehicle, lead to environmental pollution, explosions of nuclear and thermonuclear devices, forest fires, etc. They operate at any time, although in some cases they can be tied to a specific season.

It is very important to distinguish anthropogenic factors by the changes in which they have or may have an impact on nature and living organisms. Therefore, they are also divided according to the stability of zoological changes in nature:

AF causing temporary reverse changes - any temporary impact on nature does not lead to the complete destruction of species; water or air pollution from unstable chemicals, etc.;

AF causing relatively irreversible changes - individual cases introduction of new species, creation of small reservoirs, destruction of some reservoirs, etc.;

AFs that cause absolutely irreversible changes in nature - the complete destruction of certain species of plants and animals, complete withdrawal from mineral deposits, etc.

The action of some AF can cause the so-called anthropogenic stress of ecosystems, which comes in two varieties:

Acute stress, which is characterized by a sudden onset, rapid increase in intensity and short duration of disturbances in ecosystem components;

Chronic stress, which is characterized by disturbances of minor intensity, but they last for a long time or are often repeated.

Natural ecosystems have the ability to withstand or recover from acute stress. Potential stressors include, for example, industrial waste. Particularly dangerous among them are those that contain new chemicals produced by humans, for which the components of the ecosystem do not yet have adaptations. The chronic action of these factors can lead to significant changes in the structure and functions of communities of organisms in the process of acclimatization and genetic adaptation to them.

In the process of social metabolism (that is, metabolism in the process of environmental management), substances and energy created through technological processes (anthropogenic factors) appear in the environment. Some of them have long been called "pollution". So, pollution should be considered those AFs that negatively affect organisms and inanimate resources valuable to humans. In other words, pollution is everything that appears in the environment and in the wrong place, at the wrong time and in the wrong quantities that are usually inherent in nature, and takes it out of balance. In general, there are a huge number of forms of pollution (Fig. 3.5).

All the variety of forms of human pollution of the natural environment can be reduced to the following main types (Table 3.2):

o Mechanical pollution - pollination of the atmosphere, the presence of solid particles in water and soil, as well as in outer space.

o Physical pollution - radio waves, vibration, heat and radioactivity, etc.

o Chemical - pollution by gaseous and liquid chemical compounds and elements, as well as their solid fractions.

o Biological pollution includes pathogens of infectious diseases, pests, dangerous competitors, and some predators.

o Radiation - excess of the natural level of radioactive substances in the environment.

o Information pollution - changes in the properties of the environment, worsens its functions as an information carrier.

Table 3.2. Characteristics of the main types of environmental pollution

Type of pollution		Characteristic
1. Mechanical		Contamination of the environment with agents that have only a mechanical effect without physical and chemical consequences (for example, garbage)
2. Chemical		Changes in the chemical properties of the environment, which negatively affects ecosystems and technological devices
3. Physical	Changes in the physical parameters of the environment: temperature and energy (thermal or thermal), wave (light, noise, electromagnetic), radiation (radiation or radioactive), etc.
3.1. Thermal (thermal)	Increase in environmental temperature, mainly as a result of industrial emissions of heated air, gases and water; may also arise as a secondary result of changes in the chemical composition of the environment
3.2. Light	Disturbance of natural illumination of the area as a result of the action of artificial light sources; can lead to abnormalities in the life of plants and animals
3.3. Noise	Increasing noise intensity to a more natural level; in humans it causes increased fatigue, decreased mental activity, and when it reaches 90-130 dB, gradual hearing loss
3.4. Electromagnetic	Changes in the electromagnetic properties of the environment (caused by power lines, radio and television, the operation of some industrial and household installations, etc.); leads to global and local geographical anomalies and changes in fine biological structures
4. Radiation	Exceeding the natural level of radioactive substances in the environment
5. Biological	Penetration into ecosystems and technological devices various types animals and plants that disturb the ecological balance or cause socio-economic losses
5.1. Biotic	Distribution of certain, usually undesirable for people, nutrients (excretions, dead bodies, etc.) or those that disturb the ecological balance
5.2. Microbiological	o The appearance of an extremely large number of microorganisms as a result of their mass reproduction on anthropogenic substrates or in environments modified by humans during economic activities. o The acquisition of pathogenic properties or the ability of a previously harmless form of microorganisms to suppress other organisms in communities
6. Informational	Changing the properties of the environment impairs the functions of the storage medium

Rice. 3.5.

One of the indicators characterizing a particular degree of environmental pollution is the specific capacity for pollution, that is, the numerical ratio of a ton of products passing through one of the social metabolic systems to the weight of substances emitted into nature and per ton. For example, for agricultural production, the substances released into nature per ton of product include undeveloped fertilizers and pesticides washed away from the fields, organic matter from livestock complexes, etc. For industrial enterprises, these are all solid, gaseous and liquid substances released into nature. For different types of transport, calculations are carried out per ton of transported products, and pollution should include not only vehicle emissions, but also those goods that were dispersed during transportation.

The concept of “specific capacity for pollution” should be distinguished from the concept of “specific contamination”, that is, the degree of environmental pollution has already been achieved. This degree is determined separately for ordinary chemicals, thermal and radiation pollution, which is due to their different qualities. Also, specific pollution must be calculated separately for soil, water and air. For soil, this will be the total weight of all contaminants per 1 m2 per year, for water and air - per 1 m3 per year. For example, specific thermal pollution is the number of degrees by which the environment is heated by anthropogenic factors at a certain moment or on average per year.

The effect of anthropogenic factors on ecosystem components is not always negative. A positive anthropogenic impact will be one that causes changes in nature that are favorable for humans given the existing nature of interaction between society and nature. But at the same time, for certain elements of nature it can be negative. For example, destruction pests is positive for humans, but at the same time harmful for these organisms; the creation of reservoirs is beneficial for humans, but harmful to nearby soils, etc.

AFs differ in the results in the natural environment that their action leads or can lead to. Therefore, according to the nature of the aftereffect of the influence of AF, the following possible groups of consequences in nature are distinguished:

Destruction or complete destruction of individual elements of nature;

Changes in the properties of these elements (for example, a sharp decrease in the supply of sun rays to the Earth as a result of atmospheric dust, which leads to climate changes and worsens the conditions for photosynthesis by plants)

Increasing those that already exist and creating new elements of nature (for example, increasing and creating new forest belts, creating reservoirs, etc.);

Movement in space (many species of plants and animals, including pathogens, move with vehicles).

When studying the consequences of exposure to AF, one should take into account the fact that these consequences can manifest themselves not only in our time, but also in the future. Thus, the consequences of human introduction of new species into ecosystems appear only after decades; ordinary chemical pollution often causes serious disturbances in vital functions only when they accumulate in living organisms, that is, some time after direct exposure to the factor. Modern nature, when many of its elements are direct or indirect results of human activity, is very little similar to the previous one as a result of changes made by man. All these changes at the same time are anthropogenic factors that can be considered elements of modern nature. However, there are a number of AF that cannot be called elements of nature, because they belong exclusively to the activities of society, for example, the influence of vehicles, cutting down trees, etc. At the same time, reservoirs, artificial forests, relief and other human works should be considered anthropogenic elements of nature , which are simultaneously secondary AF.

It is important to demonstrate all types of anthropogenic activities and their scale in each region. For this purpose, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of anthropogenic factors are carried out. Qualitative assessment of AF is carried out in accordance with conventional methods natural sciences; evaluate the main qualitative indicators of the AF: general character - Chemical substance, radio waves, pressure, etc.; basic parameters - wavelength, intensity, concentration, speed of movement, etc.; time and duration of action of the factor - continuously during the day, during the summer season, etc.; as well as the nature of the influence of the AF on the object under study - movement, destruction or change in properties, etc.

Quantitative characterization of active substances is carried out to determine the scale of their impact on the components of the natural environment. In this case, the following main quantitative indicators of AF are studied:

The size of the space in which the factor is detected and operates;

The degree of saturation of space with this factor;

The total number of elementary and complex factors in this space;

The degree of damage caused to objects;

The degree of coverage of the factor by all objects that it influences.

The size of the space in which the anthropogenic factor is detected is determined on the basis of expeditionary research and determination of the area of ​​action of this factor. The degree of saturation of space by a factor is the percentage of the space actually occupied by it to the area of ​​action of the factor. The total number of factors (elementary and complex) is an important comprehensive indicator of the degree of human impact as an anthropogenic factor on nature. To solve many issues related to nature conservation, it is important to have general idea about the power and breadth of the effect of AF on nature, which is called the intensity of anthropogenic impact. An increase in the intensity of anthropogenic impact should be accompanied by a corresponding increase in the scale of environmental protection measures.

All of the above indicates the urgency of production management tasks and the nature of the action of various anthropogenic factors. In other words, AF control is the regulation of their set, distribution in space, quality and quantitative features in order to ensure optimal conditions for the development of society in its interaction with nature. Today there are many ways to control AF, but they all require improvement. One of these ways is a complete cessation of production of a certain factor, the other is a decrease or, conversely, an increase in the production of certain factors. Another effective way is to neutralize one factor by another (for example, deforestation is neutralized by their replanting, the destruction of landscapes is neutralized by their reclamation, etc.). Man's ability to control the effect of AF on nature will ultimately make rational management of all social metabolism.

To summarize, it should be emphasized that any impact of natural abiotic and biotic factors in living organisms produced in the process of evolution certain adaptive (adaptive) properties, while for the majority of anthropogenic factors that act predominantly suddenly (unpredictable impact), there are no such adaptations in living organisms . It is precisely this feature of the action of anthropogenic factors on nature that people must constantly remember and take into account in any activity related to the natural environment.