Positive Effects of Humans on the Ecosystem

••• Ivankish/iStock/GettyImages

Native Americans understood that what affects even the lowest creature on the totem pole of life, affects everyone, which is why they chose to live in harmony with nature, instead of against it. They never stayed in an area long enough to deplete the land and moved with the seasons to not use up all the resources in one location. But a modern human doesn't live that way and has come up with other methods to positively affect and protect ecosystems in threat of extinction.

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

Ways in which people positively affect ecosystems around the world include:

  • Recycling
  • Establishing wildlife preserves and parks
  • Creating green, open space laws
  • Doing reforestation
  • Creating environmental regulations

Simple Recycling

Ecosystems are biological communities and exist all around the globe. They serve as small, interconnected worlds that host multiple forms of plant and animal life. Nature recycles everything: Dead plant and animal matter return to the soil to once again produce more trees and plants. Taking a cue from nature, many people understand that recycling offers a positive contribution to the ecosystems of the world by reusing or remaking old products into new ones without having to take resources from nature.

Wildlife Preserves

Wildlife preserves and national parks protect scores of ecosystems around the world. Within these zones, animals and plant life thrive under laws that keep them from harm. People, with the help of governments, established these zones to protect specific ecosystems containing threatened plant and animal life.

Green and Open Spaces

In the last few decades, many state and local communities created laws that require developers who build homes and commercial buildings to set aside green, open spaces of land to protect them from development. This includes bridges over highways and freeways that allow deer and other creatures to migrate across the developed area without threat of death-by-vehicle. These protected areas represent positive contributions to ecosystems.

Environmental Protection Laws

While Richard Nixon was president, he established the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 because of the threats to the environment. Environmental laws and management programs have a positive effect on the world's ecosystem when enforced. These laws are in place to keep companies from destroying ecosystems by preventing them from dumping industrial contaminants on the ground, into rivers or streams or other waterways. Environmental laws in some parts of the country also require lumber companies to replant clear-cut forest areas with new plantings. Called reforestation, lumber companies operating in the state of Oregon and others, must replant the area clear cut of trees with new tree growth to replenish the ecosystem within a specific period, generally up to three years after originally clearing the land.

Related Articles

What Is Urban Encroachment?
How Can We Actively Restore the Environment?
Do Zoos Actually Help Protect Animals Facing Extinction?
What Are the Impacts of Humans on Grassland Biomes?
Ways to Protect Biodiversity
Depletion of the Ecosystem
Advantages and Disadvantages of Afforestation
Three Positive Effects of Going Green
What is the Definition of Endangered Species?
What Are Some Advantages & Disadvantages of Clear Cutting?
What Is a Reason for the Decline in Biodiversity?
Natural Resource Facts of Colorado
The Pros & Cons of the Endangered Species Act
New EPA Move Could Put More Toxins Into Our Water
Endangered Plants in Malaysia
An Alaskan Judge Just Reinstated an Offshore Drilling...
Things That Are Being Done to Help With Deforestation
Human Effect on the Florida Keys Ecosystem
Why Are Jaguars Endangered Animals?
How Humans Disrupt the Ecosystem

Dont Go!

We Have More Great Sciencing Articles!