How have humans made an impact on the deciduous forest?
Humans have impacted the forest ecosystem in many ways. Cutting down trees and littering were the two human impacts most prevalent in the forest I observed.
Littering is the process of inappropriately disposing waste products. Whether it is done deliberately or not, littering plays a major impact on the forest ecosystem. Litter in an animal's habitat may harm the animal by trapping, hurting, or even killing it. For example, shards of glass could cut an animal's paw or pieces of plastic could be mistaken for food that an animal would try to eat and choke on.
Luckily, the ecosystem I observed did not contain much litter. There were, however, a few plastic bottles, pieces of paper, and even a tire laying around. This shows evidence of human impact because obviously that litter was not put there naturally.
Cutting down trees is also an impact that humans have had on the forest ecosystem. When a tree is cut down it has many effects on the surrounding area. It removes the oxygen that the tree was producing during photosynthesis and also destroys the home of birds, squirrels, insects, or any other organism that was living in the tree. Cutting down too many trees can interrupt the water cycle, decrease biodiversity, and cause substantial soil erosion.
The forest ecosystem that I observed did not have too many trees cut down, but there were quite a few around the perimeter. Evenly cut stumps left behind show evidence that it was humans who cut down the trees.
Littering is the process of inappropriately disposing waste products. Whether it is done deliberately or not, littering plays a major impact on the forest ecosystem. Litter in an animal's habitat may harm the animal by trapping, hurting, or even killing it. For example, shards of glass could cut an animal's paw or pieces of plastic could be mistaken for food that an animal would try to eat and choke on.
Luckily, the ecosystem I observed did not contain much litter. There were, however, a few plastic bottles, pieces of paper, and even a tire laying around. This shows evidence of human impact because obviously that litter was not put there naturally.
Cutting down trees is also an impact that humans have had on the forest ecosystem. When a tree is cut down it has many effects on the surrounding area. It removes the oxygen that the tree was producing during photosynthesis and also destroys the home of birds, squirrels, insects, or any other organism that was living in the tree. Cutting down too many trees can interrupt the water cycle, decrease biodiversity, and cause substantial soil erosion.
The forest ecosystem that I observed did not have too many trees cut down, but there were quite a few around the perimeter. Evenly cut stumps left behind show evidence that it was humans who cut down the trees.