Environmental imbalance can be defined, in a simplified way, as changes in the environment that negatively interfere in a ecosystem. Man is responsible for a series of actions that negatively impact the environment, causing imbalance. One of them is the fires, which kill several species, cause habitat destruction and trigger atmospheric pollution.
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Summary on environmental imbalance
- Environmental imbalances are changes in the environment that negatively affect an ecosystem.
- Storms, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes they are natural events that can cause environmental imbalance.
- Man can cause environmental imbalance through pollution, hunting and the introduction of exotic species, for example.
- The environmental imbalance can cause an increase in diseases in human beings and a series of economic losses.
What is environmental imbalance?
ecosystem is the name given to a set of organisms that live in a certain place and interact with each other and with the environment that surrounds them. Therefore, an ecosystem has biotic (living beings) and abiotic (physical and chemical factors, such as wind, light, rain and temperature) components.
In an ecosystem, there is a balance between living beings and the environment in which they live. Disturbing events, such as storms, earthquakes, fires, pollution and hunting, can break this balance, making, for example, that some species multiply exaggeratedly and others cease to exist.
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What are the factors that cause environmental imbalance?
Environmental imbalance can be caused both by natural events and as a consequence of human activities. Below are some of its main causes.
natural factors
The balance of an ecosystem can be threatened by natural factors. Big oneshurricanes, storms, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, for example, can cause the destruction of the environment and death of several species. In some of these events, the destruction is so great that the development of a community is hampered for several years.
It is worth noting, however, that, in some situations, periodic and cyclical events can be responsible for selecting some adaptations of living beings that help them to survive such events. This is the case for some plants from the Cewrong, which have stems adapted to withstand the action of fire and seeds that germinate more easily after the action of this agent. This adaptation is important, as the Cerrado has characteristics that favor the periodic occurrence of fires.
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Anthropogenic factors (human actions)
Currently, man constitutes a serious threat to the environment, being responsible for causing major environmental imbalances. Some of the human actions that can harm an ecosystem are:
- Pollution: it can jeopardize the development of different species. Imagine, for example, the oil spill pollution. When released into the aquatic environment, the oil creates a barrier that interrupts the passage of light, preventing photosynthetic organisms from performing the photosynthesis. With the reduction of these organisms, which constitute the base of the food chain, all other groups of living beings that are part of this chain are harmed.
- Logging: when the human being deforests a region, he is not only responsible for the death of plant species. Plants are responsible for providing food and a home for different animals, which go without food and have their habitat destroyed as a result of deforestation. Furthermore, deforestation can cause soil degradation and even influence the climate, reducing rainfall and prolonging dry seasons.
- fires: like deforestation, they cause habitat loss for many species. In addition, several organisms are killed as a result of fire, which is also responsible for causing atmospheric pollution and compromising the health of the soil.
- Hunting and fishing: all living beings are of great importance in an ecosystem, and the removal of a single species can be responsible for causing great environmental imbalance. Imagine, for example, that a large species of cat is widely hunted in one region. With the reduction in the number of individuals of that species, all its prey starts to increase in number, since there is no longer the presence of predators. The increase in the number of these prey can occur in an exaggerated way, causing competition among them and a reduction in available resources, such as food.
- Introduction of exotic species: many people think that the introduction of new species can increase the biodiversity of a region, but this is not true.
When placing a species in a new habitat, it may, for example, over-reproduce due to the absence of predators; compete for resources with native species; transmit diseases that did not occur in that location; feeding on native species to the point of causing local extinction, among several other problems.
O African giant snail is an example of a species introduced into our territory. Brought to Brazil as a replacement for escargot, this animal has spread exaggeratedly throughout the territory due to the absence of natural predators, and today it represents an environmental and health problem, as it participates in the transmission cycle of illnesses.
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What are the consequences of environmental imbalance?
As we have seen throughout the text, environmental imbalance occurs when some factor interferes with the balance of an ecosystem. When this happens, we can have, for example:
Increase of a certain species or even extinction of others
The exaggerated multiplication of a species can be quite harmful. An example of this are the clouds of Locusts, which can be responsible for destroying entire plantations, causing great economic damage.
Increased disease in humans
Environmental imbalance is also related to the increase in diseases in humans. One of the reasons is the change in the ecological dynamics of many vectors. In addition, contact with wild animals, whether for feeding purposes or for capture for collections, for example, can also favor the transmission of zoonoses. Changes in the environment, such as those caused by air pollution, can also be responsible for the development of diseases in humans, such as respiratory problems.
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Intensification of weather events
Changes in the environment are also being responsible for the intensification of events such as major storms and long periods of drought, which can harm the development of agriculture and even accentuate the issue of hunger in some regions of the planet. Furthermore, intense heat waves can be responsible for causing vulnerable people to die, as well as cold waves.
Reduction of air and water quality, development of diseases, extreme weather events and economic losses they are just some of the consequences for human beings of their lack of care for the environment. We need to understand that the whole planet it is connected and that an unbalanced environment can affect all beings that live in it.
By Vanessa Sardinha dos Santos
Biology teacher
