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What is land pollution? Land pollution is the deterioration (destruction) of the earth’s land surfaces, often directly or indirectly as a result of man’s activities and their misuse of land resources. It occurs when waste is not disposed off properly, or can occur when humans throw chemicals unto the soil in the form of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers during agricultural practices. Exploitation of minerals (mining activities) has also contributed to the destruction of the earth’s surface.
Human actions have also caused many large areas of land to lose or reduce heir capacity to support life forms and ecosystems. This is know as land degradation. Note that land degradation can result from many factors, and land pollution is only one of them. In the lesson, we shall see the more about Land and Environmental Pollution, the sources of the pollution, its consequences and a few things we can do to prevent further pollution and protect our environment. Floods impact on both individuals and communities, and have social, economic, and environmental consequences.
Some of the impacts of land pollution are: * Flooding * Air pollution * Soil pollution Toxins in water * Damage to marine life * Distraction to tourist Flooding The dumping of waste inappropriately can cause clogged drains leading to flooding. One problem that flooding presents to the environment is the potential to spread pollution. When cities and other areas used by humans are flooded, it is likely that various contaminants will be washed away by flood waters and spread into the environment. Solid waste in farmland with livestock can be washed away with the flood. Animals face many of the same threats from flooding as humans. Large floods can trap animals and tangentially cause them to drown. Flood waters can displace animals like snakes and rodents, which can pose dangerous conditions for animals and humans. * Flooding in key agricultural production areas can lead to widespread damage to crops and fencing and loss Of livestock. Crop losses through rain damage, waterlogged soils, and delays in harvesting are further intensified by transport problems due to flooded roads and damaged infrastructure.
The flow-on effects of reduced agricultural production can often impact well outside the production area as food prices increase due to heritages in supply. On the other hand, flood events can result in long-term benefits to agricultural production by recharging water resource storages, especially in drier, inland areas, and by rejuvenating soil fertility by silt deposition. * Flooding of urban areas can result in significant damage to private property, including homes and businesses. Losses occur due to damage to both the structure and contents of buildings.
Insurance of the structure and its contents against flooding can reduce the impacts of floods on individuals or companies. * The immediate impacts of flooding include zoos of human life, Floods can also traumatized victims and their families for long periods of time. The loss of loved ones has deep impacts, especially on children. Displacement from one’s home, loss of property and disruption to business and social affairs can cause continuing stress. For some people the psychological impacts can be long lasting. Flooding can also cause mosquitoes which can cause diseases such as dengue.
Air pollution Landfills across the country fills up because of the waste that are being dumped every”here, they become a home for rodents and sometimes the asset are even burnt, creating very bad smells. Soil pollution: There are numerous types of soil pollution. Sadly, they are all caused by our waste and mistreatment of the land. Soil pollution is caused by pesticides, bad irrigation methods, garbage and industrial waste, among others. Some Of the types of soil pollution includes: Runoff * Runoff from farmland and agricultural fields causes soil pollution that can damage animal and plant life.
In addition, rainwater can wash the chemicals used by farmers into water sources, which end up in soil far away from the site. Soil Amendments Soil amendments, byproducts from industry, can be used to amplify the nutrients within soil. However, many times, these products stem from industrial waste. Materials such as ash, lime and bio-solids can leave the soil contaminated over the long term. Landfills landfills contain products that can leak into the soil. Sulfates, nitrates, heavy metals and other unnatural products pollute the ground.
Oil Spills * fertility status of the land was greatly compromised after an oil spill. Toxins in Water In many natural systems, floods play an important role in maintaining key ecosystem functions and biodiversity. They link the river with the land surrounding it, recharge groundwater systems, fill wetlands, increase the connectivity between aquatic habitats, and move both sediment and nutrients around the landscape, and into the marine environment. For many species, floods trigger breeding events, migration, and dispersal. These natural systems are resilient to the effects of all but the largest floods.
Damage to marine life Development of marinas and breakwaters can cause changes in currents and coastlines. Furthermore, extraction of building materials such as sand affects coral reefs, mangroves, and hinterland forests, leading to erosion and destruction of habitats. In the Philippines and the Maldives, dynamiting and mining of coral for resort building materials has damaged fragile coral reefs and depleted the fisheries that sustain local people and attract tourists. Overbuilding and extensive paving of shorelines can result in destruction of habitats and disruption of land-sea connections (such as sea-turtle nesting spots).
Coral reefs are especially fragile marine ecosystems and are suffering relied from reef-based tourism developments. Evidence suggests a variety of impacts to coral result from shoreline development, increased sediments in the water, trampling by tourists and divers, ship groundings, pollution from sewage, overflowing, and fishing with poisons and explosives that destroy coral habitat. Distraction for tourist The city looses its attraction as tourist destination as landfills do not look when moving around the city. It leads to loss of revenue for the country.
Negative impacts from tourism occur when the level of visitor use is greater Han the environment’s ability to cope with this use within the acceptable limits of change. Uncontrolled conventional tourism poses potential threats to many natural areas around the world. It can put enormous pressure on an area and lead to impacts such as soil erosion, increased pollution, discharges into the sea, natural habitat loss, increased pressure on endangered species and heightened vulnerability to forest fires. It often puts a strain on water resources, and it can force local populations to compete for the use of critical resources.