Human Impacts on Ecosystems

This lesson covers the ways human activities affect ecosystems as required by the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification (1SC0). You need to understand the impacts of deforestation, pollution, global warming, land use change and overfishing, and be able to explain eutrophication.

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Why Human Activity Affects Ecosystems

The human population is growing rapidly. As the population increases, so does the demand for:

• Food — more farmland, fishing and intensive agriculture
• Fuel — burning fossil fuels for energy, transport and heating
• Building materials — wood, stone, metals for housing and infrastructure
• Land — for homes, roads, factories and leisure

Meeting these demands impacts ecosystems by reducing habitats, producing pollution and disrupting natural cycles.

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Deforestation

Deforestation is the large-scale cutting down of trees and removal of forests.

Reasons for Deforestation