Human Impacts on the Ecosystem Essay

The three cycling matters of the ecosystem and the key elements are Carbon, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen. Humans have impacted each and every-one of these cycles in different ways throughout time and keep increasing as time goes on. All living things are made of carbon. Carbon is also in the air, water and rocks. The humans have impacted the Carbon Cycle by releasing a large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is caused by the burning of oil, natural gases and coal. All these release carbon dioxide and other types of water molecules into the air. Phosphorus is a chemical compound found in many different forms like, soil, water and sediments. This is also a nutrient that animals and plants need to be able to grow and produce faster. When it comes to phosphorus, these types of fertilizers are then used to grow crops, feed their animals and many more. As time has passed humans have increased the amount of phosphorus which has been reaching the ocean. This has caused water pollution problems that have caused fishes to die, the overgrowth of algae and so much bacteria. When we take a deep breathe most of the air that we inhale is nitrogen. Most plants need nitrogen to survive. We normally get our nitrogen from soil. Many agricultural crops like; peas, beans, alfalfa, etc. grab a lot of nitrogen from the air that can cause fixation on land. There’s other agricultural crops that use mostly fertilizers instead of nitrogen like; corn, wheat, potatoes, cotton, etc. Humans have impacted and altered the amount of nitrogen from making fertilizers and burning fossil fuels and keep increasing as time goes on. These activities have increased the amount of nitrogen between the living world and the soil, water and atmosphere.