Human Impacts on Vegetation

Question 1

are human actions that impact the environment. These activities can include:

Answer 1

Anthropogenic activities

Question 2

The clearing of land for other uses, such as construction or agriculture

Answer 2

Deforestation

Question 3

The development of cities, which destroys natural habitats and reduces green spaces

Answer 3

Urbanization

Question 4

The release of harmful substances into the environment, such as from industrial processes

Answer 4

Pollution

Question 5

The variation in average climate parameters, caused by the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

Answer 5

Climate change

Question 6

The excessive use of non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels

Answer 6

Overexploitation of natural resources

Question 7

The intentional release of non-native species into an environment

Answer 7

Introduction of invasive species

Question 8

The cultivation of crops and raising of animals to provide food and materials

Answer 8

Agriculture

Question 9

the most potent cause of change.

Answer 9

deforestation

Question 10

T or F: Humans have done much to transform the vegetation cover of the Earth.

Answer 10

True

Question 11

: those that develop in the absence of human activities

Answer 11

Natural habitats

Question 12

those produced by sporadic, yet incomplete, disturbances; for example, the cutting of a forest, burning and the non-intensive grazing of
natural grassland.

Answer 12

Degraded habitats

Question 13

where disturbance is sustained but here there is no intentional substitution of vegetation. Roadsides are an example of a ruderal habitat.

Answer 13

Ruderal habitats

Question 14

when constant disturbance is accompanied by the intentional introduction of plants.

Answer 14

Cultivated habitats

Question 15

which are developed when humans modify the ambient climate and soil, as in greenhouse cultivation

Answer 15

Artificial habitats

Question 16

Promote the growth of certain fire-adapted plant species, to improve grazing land for domestic animals or to attract them

Answer 16

Ecological benefits

Question 17

• fire has been used to clear land for agriculture by burning existing vegetation, a practice known as

Answer 17

“slash and burn”

Question 18

– through the practice of prescribed burning, reducing underbrush cover, preventing large-scale wildfires, promote regeneration of certain tree species

Answer 18

Forest management

Question 19

– to manage landscapes for hunting, agriculture and maintaining biodiversity

Answer 19

Cultural practices

Question 20

may lead to loss of habitat for wildlife and disruption of ecological balance

Answer 20

Habitat destruction

Question 21

reduce soil fertility and increase risk of erosion

Answer 21

Soil erosion

Question 22

could significantly impact air quality and human health

Answer 22

Air quality issues

Question 23

should only be conducted under specific weather conditions to minimize risk of uncontrolled spread

Answer 23

Weather conditions

Question 24

training and expertise are crucial to manage fire safely and effectively.

Answer 24

Trained personnel

Question 25

requiring permits and trained personnel

Answer 25

Regulations

Question 26

to assess ecological impact and adjust management strategies.

Answer 26

Monitoring and adaptation

Question 27

The consequences of tropical deforestation.

Answer 27

1 Reduced biological diversity, habitat loss 2 Changes in local and regional environments 3 Changes in global environments – climate change 4 Cultural impact

Question 28

to reduce the mounting pressures on landless peasants caused by inequalities in land ownership

Answer 28

land reform

Question 29

by setting aside areas of rain forest as National Parks or nature reserves;

Answer 29

conservation of natural resources

Question 30

while protecting the habitat, allows a type and level of economic activity that can be sustained into the future with minimum damage to people or forest

Answer 30

sustainable development

Question 31

swaps whereby debt-ridden tropical countries set a monetary value on their ecological capital assets (in this case forests) and literally trade them for their international financial debt;

Answer 31

‘debt-for-nature’

Question 32

may increase the productivity of wild pastures

Answer 32

Light grazing

Question 33

can kill plants or lead to a marked reduction in their level of photosynthesis

Answer 33

Heavy grazing

Question 34

Hunting and killing animals for profit

Answer 34

Poaching

Question 35

Gaseous forms such as sulfur dioxide, most oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide (from industries); ozone and products of photochemical reactions, are formed as a consequence of subsequent chemical processes in the atmosphere (involving the primary pollutants and other agents such as sunlight).

Answer 35

Air pollutants exist in gaseous or particulate forms

Question 36

or liquid-suspended droplets (e.g. dust, smoke and aerosolic salts), and contain a wide range of insoluble components (e.g. quartz) and of soluble components (e.g. various common cations, together with chloride, sulfate and nitrate)

Answer 36

Particulate pollutants consist of very small solid

Question 37

active shedding leaves while still green, with no indication of disease; shedding of whole green shoots, especially in spruce; altered branching habit; altered morphology of leaves.

Answer 37

Abnormal growth symptoms

Question 38

altered water balance; increased incidence of wet wood disease.

Answer 38

Water-stress symptoms

Question 39

discoloration and loss of needles and leaves; loss of feeder-root biomass (especially in conifers); decreased annual increment (width of growth rings); premature ageing of older needles in conifers; increased susceptibility to secondary root and foliar pathogens; death of herbaceous vegetation beneath affected trees; prodigious production of lichens on affected trees; death of affected trees.

Answer 39

Growth-decreasing symptoms

Question 40

T or F: The introduction of pests, can also lead to a decrease in the range and numbers of a particular species

Answer 40

True