A conceptual change in recent years concerns the role of human activity in natural ecosystems, especially in the tropics. Formerly, human activity was viewed solely in negative terms as far as its impact on biological diversity was concerned.
More recent research shows that human impact can be a positive as well as a negative force ecologically, depending on the type and level of disturbance. The removal of certain disturbance factors such as fire, pastoralism and shifting cultivation can be as prejudicial to biodiversity as over- exploitation, particularly in ecosystems where human activity has played a shaping hand ecologically over several millennia.
Human activity must therefore be judged in terms of its impact on biological diversity, rather than whether it is natural or not.
Wow!
ReplyDeleteYou've posted so many in one day???
When do you sleep?
Take it easy, you'll have more time later.
Pore, pore...right?
nana