Ecological Imbalance and its Consequences

The ecological condition of the earth is deteriorating due to technological and industrial advancement as well as population
explosion. Balance ecological condition of the earth is degraded by the human activities, like:
 Increase in population.
 Excessive & unplanned Urbanization.
 Industrialization.
Demand of increased population forced to use more natural resources.
 Use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers.
 Deforestation, mining, disposal of waste materials etc.
Common Ecological imbalances are: Green House Effect, Ozone layer depletion, Acid rain, Ecological invation etc.

1. Green House Effect

It is the warming effect found in atmosphere by allowing solar radiations to pass in, but preventing long wave heat radiations to
pass out, due to the envelop of gases like CO, CO2 , SO2 etc which surround the earth’s atmosphere causing rise in
temperature. This retention of heat energy by the earth due to the presence of gases like CO 2, CO, SO2, and CH4 etc is known
as green house effect or atmospheric effect. When the normal CO2 level increases significantly due to the various human
activities, CO2 gas form a thick layer in the atmosphere which permits the radiation in to the earth but checks radiation of the
heat from the earth surface to the space, as a result the temperature of the earth surface increases this phenomenon is called
global warming. Besides these gases nitrogen dioxide, methane, chlorofloro-carbons (CFCs) are also responsible for heating
the earth.
Causes of green house effect:
Various human activities are responsible for the green house effect which brings about the increase in the global temperature,
called “Global Warming” which may brings different hazards to the entire ecosystem. . Common causes of this effect are:
 Production of more CO2 during fuel burning.
 Increase in human population and deforestation, increases the level of CO 2 in atmosphere.
 Production of air pollutants like, CO2, CO , SO2, nitrogen dioxide, methane, chlorofloro carbons (CFCs) during fuel
burning.
 Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels releases more CO2 etc.
Consequences of green house effect:
 Global warming
 Rise of temperature leads to increase the sea level due to the melting of polar snow
 Snow melting in the mountain may cause flood during monsoon.
 Hurricanes and cyclones near by the ocean.
 High temperature more evaporation from farm so decrease the productivity of land.
 Monsoon may even stop or rainfall may alter.
 Production of food will be reduced
 Desert area will be increased etc.
Control of green house effect
 Plantation and conservation of natural resources.
 Alternate source of energy should be used
 Fuel having low amount of sulphur content should be used.
 Wise and economic use of fossil fuels etc.

2. Depletion of Ozone (O3) layer

It is the process of destruction or using up of ozone (O3) in the stratosphere by different pollutants making the ozone
layer thinner. Ozone is a natural gas of the earth’s atmosphere. Ozone gas is formed from the oxygen which is available in the
atmosphere freely. Ozone layer is present in the stratosphere which absorbed UV radiation of the sun. This layer forms a
protective covering around the earth atmosphere. It presence the UV rays present in the solar radiation from reaching our
atmosphere which save us from the extremely damaging effect of ultra violet rays, which may cause various skin diseases
including skin cancer.
It has been reported that Ozone layer is getting thinner and thinner .Such thinner layer of ozone may not be sufficient to control
the Ultra Violet rays.
Causes of Ozone layer depletion
 In the atmosphere the Chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) is broken down due to the action of intense UV radiation of sun to
liberate chloride molecules and each chloride molecules react with 1000atoms of Ozone in chain, converting in to Oxygen. In
this process the chlorine atom again destroy another molecule of Ozone.
 Chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) and Nitrogen oxide produces during the use of high technology, which are stable and non-
reactive in nature.
 Air pollution which are produced by the combustion fossil fuels, air craft, industries, satellites , nitrogen fertilizers etc
 Volcanic eruption.
 Burning of large forest and savannahs.
 Fuel used in jet planes
 Awareness program, literacy program,
 Strong laws and their implementation, etc.
Consequences of Ozone layer depletion.
 Change in environment
 Cause skin cancer and blindness.
 Reduce the productivity of crops
 Destruction of aquatic life
 May cause different kinds of plant and animal disease.
 Decreases the rate of photosynthesis due to the reduction of chlorophyll etc
Control of Ozone layer depletion
 To control the ozone layer depletion global effort is essential.
 Use of CFCs should be minimized by alternative chemical.
 Awareness program, literacy program,
 Strong laws and their implementation, etc.

3. Acid rain (Black rain)

The process of deposition of acid, gases (SO2, NO2) from the atmosphere on land in the form of precipitation or rain is
known as Acid rain. During this process acidic gas mix with water vapors and forms the respective acids like H 2SO4 and
HNO3. Actually presence of acid in rain water is called acid rain. Some pollutants like aluminum, cadmium, lead, zinc and
arsenic oxide of sulphur and nitrogen leads to the formation of acid which cause the acid rain. The P H of normal rain is 5.6, if
the PH of rain water is lesser then 5.6 then the rain is called acid rain. Acid rain caused due to the presence of carbonic acid
formed by the reaction of free CO2 with water. The acid rain consists of PH of 4 to 4.5 due to additional acids in rain water.
Oxides of sulphur and nitrogen do not remain in gases state for a long time, so they react with water vapors to form acids and
these acids comes down as rain on the earth surface , called acid rain or black rain.
Causes of Acid rain
 Industrialization.
 Presence of pollutants like oxide of sulpher, carbon and nitrogen with different metals.
 Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and hydro carbons.
 Nitrogen oxides are produced as nitrogen and oxygen combine in the internal combustion engines and released in
vehicle exhaust gases.
 Industries and power plants emit large quantities of SO2 and Nitrogen oxides in to atmosphere etc.
Consequences of Acid rain
 Acid rain destroys the crops, forests.
 It corrodes the manmade and natural monuments, statue, buildings, bridges, etc
 It increases the acidity of soil.
 It is the cause of pollution.
 Due to acid rain soil quality is degraded so productivity could decline.
 Microorganisms (many bacteria and blue green algae) are also killed due to acid rain.
 Even it kills aquatic animals and plants found in aquatic habitat etc.
Control of Acid Rain
 Use of fossil fuel should be minimized by using alternate source of energy like solar energy, electricity, bio-gases etc
 Catalytic converter should be used in automobiles.
 Sulphur free fossil fuel should be used.
 Awareness program, literacy program,
 Strong laws and their implementation etc.
4. Biological invasion (Ecological invasion)
The sudden spread and establishment of new species accidentally in the new area which was not previously recorded
is known as invasion. The invasive species may grow in, spread and ecologically alter the existing community.
Biological invasions by animals, plants, pathogens or vectors are one of the greatest environmental and economic
challenges along with habitat destruction. Biological invasions are a major force of change which affect many
dimensions of life on earth. It is the leading cause of biodiversity loss in local and global level. Biological invasion is
equally seen in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem.
The characteristics of invasive species are:
1. They grow fast and they can reproduce rapidly.
2. Dispersal ability is very high.
3. They exhibit phenotype plasticity (the ability to alter growth form to suit current conditions).
4. Invasive species have high degree of ecological tolerance.
5. They are considered as generalist in food consumption habit.
Causes of biological invasion
1. Changes in habitat suitability: can provide new opportunities for colonization. For example, the grasses recover
and colonize quickly in fi re burned areas. Consequently, one colonist can open large areas of suitable habitat for
another.
2. Climate change: can also lead to colonization of new species by facilitating dispersal.
3. Genetic adaptation: The onset of rapid spatial spread is sometimes also attributed to genetic adaptation to the
new environment. Genetic effects play important role in acquiring adaptational features.
4. Dominant nature: of invasive species tend to become one of the dominant species easily in the system.
Patterns or mechanisms of biological invasion
Arrival, establishment, spread and impact are the four major steps of mechanism in invasion
1. Arrival: It is the process by which individuals are transported to new areas outside of their native range. Rising
levels of world trade and travel have resulted in an ever increasing arrival of alien species, however, most of them
have failed to establish.
2. Establishment: It occurs when populations grow to sufficient levels. The establishment phase thus represents a
critical period. Founder populations typically are small and consequently are at great risk of death. Generally, the
smaller the founder population, the less likely is establishment.
3. Spread of a non-indigenous organism: It is a process by which the new species expands in new habitat. It
causes economic harm and become invasive.
4. Impact stage: It is the result of invasive species spread over the area.
Impacts of biological invasion
 Global threats to local ecosystems.
 Native species become vulnerable soon.
 Reduce the agricultural production.
 Changes the soil quality.
 Loss of local business.
Mitigation measures
A. Early identification and their mitigation before establishment in large area.
i. Strict cargo inspection and quarantine is the best method to stop biological invasions.
ii. This includes correct identification of species and destruction of species in any developmental stages.
iii. It is very important to stop their any types of reproduction.
B. Mitigating the impacts after establishment.
i. Making them to slow propagate.
ii. Reestablishing the native species.
iii. Invasivorism: by increasing invasive species eating or destroying in order to control, reduce, or eliminate
their populations. Like, Beetles and few fungus may help to eradicate them.
In Nepal, there are 179 alien plant species have established their self-replacing population (i.e naturalized), and
among them 26 species, mostly native of tropical Americas, has been reported to be invasive with negative impacts
on environment including agriculture production.
Few examples of invasive plant species,

P
o
s
i
t
i
v
e

impact of biological invasion: Some invasive species have the potential to provide a suitable habitat or food source
for other organisms. In areas where a native has become extinct or reached a point the invasive species can help in
restoration process till.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------