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Human Induced Changes (Degrading the Land (Soil Degration (refers to the…
Human Induced Changes
Degrading the Land
land degradation currently affects about one-quarter of the worlds total land area and 38% of the worlds farmed areas
as more land becomes infertile or unusable, less land is available for humans to farm or use as a resource
the loss of productivity and decline in fertility of land-based environments as a result of human activities are referred to as land degradation
Soil Degration
refers to the loss of fertility of the soil, often due to a chemical change
soil can degrade by becoming compacted by large machinery and hard-hooved animals (such as cattle/sheep), or becoming acidic due to a build-up of fertaliser or a loss of soil nutrients caused by farming the land too intensively
for Australia, one of the main problems is the build-up of salt in the topsoil (salinity)
Soil Erosion
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human activity such as clearing trees for farming, accelerates erosion in many places.
cleared land is more vulnerable to wind erosion, gully erosion (water scouring away the land) and sheet erosion (loss of topsoil over large area)
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Ecosystem Decline
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loss of vegetation, invasion of alien plants, animal pests or decline in water quality
when coupled with decline in soil quality, a degradation of ecosystems can lead to desertification particularly in areas close to existing deserts
Damming rivers
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Fewer nutrients reach the sea, damaging ocean ecosystems.
Water pollutants
Water pollution is the contamination of out rives, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, seas and oceans.
Human activities near the water that can affect it include shipping, fishing and oil drilling.
Activities on the land can also have an effect on the water such as the use of fertilizers and pesticides in farming, clearing land, littering, creating tips and landfill, processing sewage and other industrial activities.
Water is degraded by humans by extracting it from its natural source, damming it for water supply or agricultural use.
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