ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENTS

They are also known as artificial ecosystems or man made ecosystems.

DEFINITION

They are environment or ecosystem produced, controlled and manipulated by man or human beings. Artificial environments are environments which rely on human efforts to sustain.They don’t have self regulating mechanisms.

  They have almost no diversity and have simple food webs. The cycling of nutrients is negligible. Inputs in these environments or ecosystems are provided by human efforts.

EXAMPLES OF ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENT

Artificial environments include hydroponics (cultivation of plants without soil and sunlight), sky labs, poultry farms, waste treatment plants, zoo, national parks, plantations, aquariums, green house and everything controlled by human interference.

BRIEF HISTORY ABOUT ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENTS

Artificial environments date about 2.000 (two thousand) years back. The era before people started domestication was known as the hunter-gatherer.  During this time, people moved from one place to another in groups and they feed on everything they will get their hands on. There was no human interference in the cultivation and rearing of animals. Those times were purely natural environments. People realized they can’t always move around in search for food so they began settling at particular places and started to keep eyes on plants they can use as food. The food within their settlements started getting scarce so these people started planting on their own. With a series of trial and error, they were successful at last and that also led to the domestication of some animals. From then, human beings are creating different types of environments ranging from simple farming to hydroponics.

HOW HUMANS HAVE CREATED ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENTS

Human beings have created artificial environments by

1.      Providing Feeds for domestic animals from pasture lands

2.      Cutting down trees to start buildings and other projects.

3.      Providing pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals to protect plants and humans.

4.      Providing biogenic nutrients in the form of fertilizers to increase plant yield.

NOTE: there are three main types of artificial environment: namely

1.      Aquarium

2.      Terrarium

3.      Agricultural land

SOME MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENT

1.      Diversity will be lesser compared to natural systems. Unfavorable and less favored species are likely to taper off slowly.

2.      Whereas the natural systems do not have definite goals and evolved by trial and error and their survival value, the artificial ecosystem is pragmatic with well defined goals. Artificial systems are more fragile and are more vulnerable to failure due to lack of diversity and strong self regulatory systems, characterizing the natural systems.

3.      Artificial ecosystems are more productive from anthropocentric per­spectives. Land yield with improved cultivation techniques, cloning techniques, milk yield with recent animal husbandry practices etc., are examples of enhancing productivity of natural processes with human inter­vention.

4.      Artificial ecosystems with further improvements in design can enhance the sustenance capacity of population in a given space and enable the expansion of human habitat into oceans, outer space, extra terrestrial bodies and sub­terranean spaces.

5.      Artificial ecosystems depend on natural cosmic laws. Man is only a discov­erer but not a maker of natural laws. Here artificial ecosystems are not contradictions and negations of natural systems. It is only the proportions and speeds of the ecological interactions that can be meddled with, for man’s advantage. Hence all the so-called artificial ecosystems are only semi-artifi­cial.

EFFECTS OF ARTIFICIAL ENVIRONMENTS ON CLIMATE

All artificial environments have positive and negative impacts on the natural environment including the climate. We will look at few of the negative and positive impacts these environments have on the climate.

GREEN HOUSE:

 Is a building or complex in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to industrial-sized buildings. Commercial glass greenhouses are often high tech production facilities for vegetables or flowers. The glass greenhouses are filled with equipment like screening installations, heating, cooling, and lighting and also may be automatically controlled by a computer to maximize potential growth.

USES

Greenhouses allow for greater control over the growing environment of plants. Depending upon the technical specification of a greenhouse, key factors which may be controlled include temperature, levels of light and shade, irrigation, fertilizer application, and atmospheric humidity. Greenhouses may be used to overcome shortcomings in the growing qualities of a piece of land, such as a short growing season or poor light levels, and they can thereby improve food production in marginal environments.

As they may enable certain crops to be grown throughout the year, greenhouses are increasingly important in the food supply of high-latitude countries. One of the largest complexes in the world is in Almeria, Andalucía, Spain, where greenhouses cover almost 200 km² (49,000 acres)
Greenhouses are often used for growing flowers, vegetables, fruits, and transplants. Special greenhouse varieties of certain crops, such as tomatoes, are generally used for commercial production. Many vegetables and flowers can be grown in greenhouses in late winter and early spring, and then transplanted outside as the weather warms. Bumblebees are the pollinators of choice for most pollination, although other types of bees have been used, as well as artificial pollination. Hydroponics can be used to make the most use of the interior space.
The relatively closed environment of a greenhouse has its own unique management requirements, compared with outdoor production. Pests and diseases, and extremes of heat and humidity, have to be controlled, and irrigation is necessary to provide water. Most greenhouses use sprinklers or drip lines. Significant inputs of heat and light may be required, particularly with winter production of warm-weather vegetables.

GREEN HOUSE EFFECTS

The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases.
Solar radiation at the frequencies of visible light largely passes through the atmosphere to warm the planetary surface, which then emits this energy at the lower frequencies of infrared thermal radiation. Infrared radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re-radiate much of the energy to the surface and lower atmosphere. The mechanism is named after the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse, but the way it retains heat is fundamentally different as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow, isolating the warm air inside the structure so that heat is not lost by convection
If an ideal thermally conductive black-body were the same distance from the Sun as the Earth is, it would have a temperature of about 5.3 °C. However, since the Earth reflects about 30% of the incoming sunlight, this idealized planet's effective temperature (the temperature of a black-body that would emit the same amount of radiation) would be about −18 °C. The surface temperature of this hypothetical planet is 33 °C below Earth's actual surface temperature of approximately 14 °C. The mechanism that produces this difference between the actual surface temperature and the effective temperature is due to the atmosphere and is known as the greenhouse effect

Earth’s natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible. However, human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming

ROLE GREEN HOUSE EFFECT PLAYS IN CLIMATE CHANGE

Strengthening of the greenhouse effect through human activities is known as the enhanced (or anthropogenic) greenhouse effect. This increase in radioactive forcing from human activity is attributable mainly to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
CO₂ is produced by fossil fuel burning and other activities such as cement production and tropical deforestation. Measurements of CO₂ from the Mauna Loa observatory show that concentrations have increased from about 313 ppm in 1960 to about 389 ppm in 2010. It reached the 400ppm milestone on May 9, 2013. The current observed amount of CO₂ exceeds the geological record maxima (~300 ppm) from ice core data. The effect of combustion-produced carbon dioxide on the global climate, a special case of the greenhouse effect first described in 1896 by Svante Arrhenius, has also been called the Calendar effect..

In contrast, the greenhouse effect heats the Earth because rather than retaining (sensible) heat by physically preventing movement of the air, greenhouse gases act to warm the Earth by re-radiating some of the energy back towards the surface.

1.      Other activities of human beings like deforestation, sand winning, stone quarrying and many more has both positive and negative effects on the climate. Cutting down trees increases the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere thereby causing excess warming of the earth’s surface, melting of the glaciers or ice, overflow of oceans and seas. Each of these can cause catastrophes.

This is a report on how these human environments are causing danger to our livestock and food.

Impacts on Crops

 Higher CO₂ levels can increase yields. The yields for some crops, like wheat and soybeans, could increase by 30% or more under a doubling of CO₂ concentrations. The yields for other crops, such as corn, exhibit a much smaller response (less than 10% increase). However, some factors may counteract these potential increases in yield. For example, if temperature exceeds a crop's optimal level or if sufficient water and nutrients are not available, yield increases may be reduced or reversed.

 More extreme temperature and precipitation can prevent crops from growing. Extreme events, especially floods and droughts, can harm crops and reduce yields. For example, in 2008, the Mississippi River flooded just before the harvest period for many crops, causing an estimated loss of $8 billion for farmers

 Dealing with drought could become a challenge in areas where summer temperatures are projected to increase and precipitation is projected to decrease. As water supplies are reduced, it may be more difficult to meet water demands.

 Many weeds, pests and fungi thrive under warmer temperatures, wetter climates, and increased CO₂ levels. Currently, farmers spend more than $11 billion per year to fight weeds in the United States^. The ranges of weeds and pests are likely to expand northward. This would cause new problems for farmers' crops previously unexposed to these species. Moreover, increased use of pesticides and fungicides may negatively affect human health

Impacts on Livestock

• Heat waves, which are projected to increase under climate change, could directly threaten livestock. A number of states have each reported losses of more than 5,000 animals from just one heat wave. Heat stress affects animals both directly and indirectly. Over time, heat stress can increase vulnerability to disease, reduce fertility, and reduce milk production.
• Drought may threaten pasture and feed supplies. Drought reduces the amount of quality forage available to grazing livestock. Some areas could experience longer, more intense droughts, resulting from higher summer temperatures and reduced precipitation. For animals that rely on grain, changes in crop production due to drought could also become a problem.
• Climate change may increase the prevalence of parasites and diseases that affect livestock. The earlier onset of spring and warmer winters could allow some parasites and pathogens to survive more easily. In areas with increased rainfall, moisture-reliant pathogens could thrive.
• Increases in carbon dioxide (CO₂) may increase the productivity of pastures, but may also decrease their quality. Increases in atmospheric CO₂ can increase the productivity of plants on which livestock feed. However, studies indicate that the quality of some of the forage found in pasture lands decreases with higher CO₂. As a result, cattle would need to eat more to get the same nutritional benefits.

Impacts on Fisheries

  The ranges of many fish and shellfish species may change. Many marine species have certain temperature ranges at which they can survive. For example, cod in the North Atlantic require water temperatures below 54°F. Even sea-bottom temperatures above 47°F can reduce their ability to reproduce and for young cod to survive. In this century, temperatures in the region will likely exceed both thresholds.

  Many aquatic species can find colder areas of streams and lakes or move northward along the coast or in the ocean. However, moving into new areas may put these species into competition with other species over food and other resources, as explained on the Ecosystems Impacts page.

  Some diseases that affect aquatic life may become more prevalent in warm water. For example, in southern New England, lobster catches have declined dramatically. A temperature-sensitive bacterial shell disease likely caused the large die-off events that led to the decline.

  Changes in temperature and seasons could affect the timing of reproduction and migration. Many steps within an aquatic animal's life-cycle are controlled by temperature and the changing of the seasons. For example, in the Northwest warmer water temperatures may affect the life cycle of salmon and increase the likelihood of disease. Combined with other climate impacts, these effects are projected to lead to large declines in salmon populations.

In addition to warming, the world's oceans are gradually becoming more acidic due to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂). Increasing acidity could harm shellfish by weakening their shells, which are created from calcium and are vulnerable to increasing acidity.  Acidification may also threaten the structures of sensitive ecosystems upon which some fish and shellfish rely.