Anthropogenic

Anthropogenic (from the Greek meaning "man-made") effects, processes, or materials are those that are derived from human activities, as opposed to those occurring in biophysical environments without human influence.

The term is often used in the context of environmental externalities in the form of chemical or biological wastes that are produced as by-products of otherwise purposeful human activities.

The term anthropogenic designates an effect or object resulting from human activity. The term was first used in the technical sense by Russian geologist A. P. Pavlov, and was first used in English by British ecologist Arthur Tansley in reference to human influences on climax plant communities.^[1] The atmospheric scientist Paul Crutzen introduced the term "anthropocene" in the mid-1970s by .^[2] Shortly after, Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina published a series of articles putting forward the idea of the impact of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the stratospheric ozone.^[3] The term is sometimes used in the context of pollution emissions that are produced as a result of human activities but applies broadly to all major human impacts on the environment..^[4]

Contents 1 Sources 1.1 Industry 1.2 Agriculture 1.3 Botany 1.4 Mining 1.5 Construction 1.6 Habitations 2 Tracers 3 See also 4 References

Sources

Anthropogenic sources include industry, agriculture, botany, mining, transportation, construction, habitations, environmental design, and purposeful changes such as afforestation.

Industry

• Release of gases and dust into the atmosphere, leading to climate change.
• Waste disposal practices.
• Air pollution, water pollution, light pollution.
• Creation of urban biomes in places such as rooftop gardens and abandoned brownwater sites.

Agriculture

• Conversion and Habitat fragmentation of hardwood and coniferous forests, tropical rainforests, woodlands, chaparral and shrublands, and native grasslands into farming fields and pastures; including by clearcutting and slash-and-burn methods.
• Diversion of surface water (rivers) and extraction of groundwater (aquifers).
• Ground water salinization due to inadequate drainage, as in the Salton Sea, Coachella Valley.
• Pollution of soil and water by chemicals found in fertilizer and pesticides.
• Alteration of nitrogen cycle via Haber-Bosch process and planting of legumes.
• Freshwater ecology degradation; Runoff caused algal blooms and resulting anoxic environments in lakes, ponds, and streams.
• Enriching of fallowed lands by crop rotation.
• Afforestation; Restoration ecology in Land reclamation of degraded habitats, increasing support for biodiversity
• Deforestation; Disturbance practices for creation of temporarily rich soils; such as slash-and-char for "terra preta".

Botany

• Invasive species introduction, noxious weeds establishment, ecosystem and habitat disruption and destruction.
• The human alteration of plants by breeding, cultivar selection and reproduction, genetic engineering and tissue fusion (see cultigen)
• Genetic pollution of native flora and habitats, and in agriculture.
• Genetic pollution]] of indigenous fauna and domesticated stock, such as the beefalo.

Mining

• Removal of topsoil, and creation of spoil piles, and water pollution.
• Diversion and pollution of groundwater by mine tunnels and shafts.
• Surface runoff bearing mining wastes.
• Release of air pollution by mining activity and refining processes.
• Altering of nirogen cycle by mining of guano
• Creation of artificial wetlands and lakes in for strip mined areas, providing habitat for introduced species, and possibly endangered species.

Construction

• Removal of natural habitats by grading and building
• Conversion of plains to lumber plantations afforestation, converting old or second growth mixed woodlands into plantation monocultures.
• Diversion of groundwater.
• urban heat island effect
• Soil compaction and compression, reducing groundwater recharging.
• Filling in marshes, bays, swamps, ponds, stream beds, destroying habitats and natural water systems (hydrology).

Habitations

• Concentration of human activities in distinct zones, with positive, neutral, and negative consequences.
• Concentration of waste products, sewage, and debris; with disposal ramifications.

Tracers

Anthropogenic tracers help measure objectively the amount of human influence in a given environment. See Environmental behavior of EDTA as an example.

See also

• Anthropocene
• Anthropogenic Biomes
• Environmental issue
• Sustainability
• Sustainable agriculture
• Sustainable urban planning

References

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