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As well as the cost to human life and society, there is a significant environmental impact of war. Scorched earth methods during, or after war have been in use for much of recorded history but with modern technology war can cause a far greater devastation on the environment.
Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms. [3]
Wetland vary widely in their salinity levels, climate zones, and surrounding geography and play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity, ecosystem services, and support human communities. [1] Wetlands cover at least six percent of the Earth and have become a focal issue for conservation due to the ecosystem services they provide.
Of these global tidal wetland losses and gains, 39% of losses and 14% of gains were attributed to direct human activities. [ 263 ] Approximately 40% of the global mangrove has been lost since the 1950's [ 264 ] with more than 9,736 km 2 of the world's mangroves continuing to be degraded in the 20 years period between 1996 and 2016. [ 265 ]
Probably the most profound impact that habitat destruction has on people is the loss of many valuable ecosystem services. Habitat destruction has altered nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon cycles , which has increased the frequency and severity of acid rain , algal blooms , and fish kills in rivers and oceans and contributed tremendously ...
The beaver is a keystone species, increasing biodiversity in its territory through creation of ponds and wetlands. [1] [2] As wetlands are formed and riparian habitats enlarged, aquatic plants colonize newly available watery habitat. Insect, invertebrate, fish, mammal, and bird diversities are also expanded. [3]
Some wetlands are a significant source of methane emissions [6] [7] and some are also emitters of nitrous oxide. [8] [9] Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 300 times that of carbon dioxide and is the dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21st century. [10] Wetlands can also act as a sink for greenhouse ...
There are a number of government agencies in the United States that are in some way concerned with the protection of wetlands. The top five are the Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [5]