Human Use of Ecosystems 2

Lesson 10

September 8th, 2010

Human Impacts on Ontario Ecosystems• Ontarians use the land and water for:

farming, housing, industry, recreation, mining, and logging

• Each human activity affects the land and local biodiversity in different ways.

• By knowing how a human activity affects the ecosystem, steps can be taken to help lessen these effects.

A Freshwater Ecosystem

• The thriving cottage and recreational industries in Ontario put a great deal of stress on the lake ecosystems.

Make a Table for Stress and Effects

Stress Effects

Motor Boats -Oil Leaks contaminate lake waterOil reduces the water’s oxygen level and affects the health of fish

Sewage -Increases the nitrogen content of the water. -Reduces the biodiversity of aquatic organisms.

Docks - disturb fish spawning grounds - disturbs floating and submerged aquatic vegetation

Boat Wakes -disturb aquatic and terrestrial vegetation along the shoreline and nesting sites of loons and other birds

Beaches Removal of aquatic and terrestrial vegetation along the shoreline and means loss of habitat for other organisms

Clearing Shoreline

-Fish loose the shade and cover that the vegetation provides.

Stress and Effects

Stress• Motor Boats

Effects• -Oil Leaks

contaminate lake water

• -Oil reduces the water’s oxygen level and affects the health of fish

Stress and Effects

Stress• Sewage

Effects• -Increases the

nitrogen content of the water.

• -Reduces the biodiversity of aquatic organisms.

Stress and Effects

Stress• Docks

Effects• - disturb fish

spawning grounds • - disturbs floating

and submerged aquatic vegetation

Stress and Effects

Stress• Boat Wakes

Effects• -disturb aquatic

and terrestrial vegetation along the shoreline and nesting sites of loons and other birds

Stress and Effects

Stress• Beaches

Effects• Removal of aquatic

and terrestrial vegetation along the shoreline and means loss of habitat for other organisms

Stress and Effects

Stress• Clearing

Shoreline

Effects• -Fish loose the

shade and cover that the vegetation provides.

• All of the stresses affect the sustainability and biodiversity of the freshwater ecosystem.

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A Suburban Terrestrial Ecosystem• Do Not Copy this part• The Niagara Escarpment is a long

cliff that forms the boundary between two flat regions, each with a different elevation. The Niagara Escarpment runs through the Golden Horseshoe, one of the most heavily populated areas in Canada. Cities such as Hamilton are built on the edge of the escarpment.

Niagara Escarpment

Niagara Escarpment

Niagara Escarpment

A Suburban Terrestrial Ecosystem• As the population of southern Ontario

grew, so did the demand for land for housing developments, industry, farmland, vineyards, and rock quarries. Some parts of the escarpment gradually fell victim to urban sprawl.

A Suburban Terrestrial Ecosystem• Urban sprawl - the unplanned,

disorganized growth of urban and suburban development into the surrounding countryside. – Urban sprawl has affected local

biodiversity through habitat change and habitat fragmentation.

A Suburban Terrestrial Ecosystem• DO NOT COPY THIS• The Ontario government recognized

that the escarpment’s ecosystems were threatened, so it created the Niagara Escarpment Plan. It is a land-use plan that focuses on environmental protection. It has guidelines on how land in the escarpment area can be developed.

A Forest Ecosystem

• Boreal forest covers most of Ontario’s land area. Commercial logging is a major industry in northern Ontario. Logging companies often use clear cutting to remove trees.

Forest Ecosystem

• Clear cutting- removes all the trees in an area at one time, regardless of size.

• Clear cutting causes fragmentation which decreases biodiversity.

• About 30 percent of northern Ontario’s boreal forests are within three kilometres of a road.

Government Measures

• Companies must plant as many trees as they cut down.

• Cannot clear cut around bodies of water

• Work on the Fish assignment