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Man and Environment Introduction Ecosystem Deforestation Pollution Introduction Although the world is large, man is able to live in only a small part of it. The atmosphere is only about eleven kilometers thick. The soil that supplies us with food is only about fifteen centimeters thick and man can live on only about one eighth of the world’s surface. In the past two hundred years man has greatly changed his environment. Water has been given to deserts. Roads have been built across deserts and through forests. Cities have grown to an astonishing size. Many scientists think that man may not find life pleasant in the world of the future. Ecosystem:any closed world in which life exists Oxygen Cycle This is the cycle that keeps up our oxygen supply. When we breathe in we use up the oxygen in the air. Carbon dioxide is produced and is breathed out. Trees and plants breathe in the carbon dioxide we produce. They then give out oxygen. So the cycle repeats. Nitrogen Cycle A large part of the air consists of nitrogen gas, which joins with other substances to form nitrates. The nitrates are taken in by plants. Animals then eat these plants. Their wastes return some of the nitrogen compounds to the soil. Later bacteria break down these compounds. Simple nitrogen compounds are formed as well as free nitrogen gas. The simple compounds are used up by plants again. The gas returns to the atmosphere. Deforestation Deforestation is a global problem, but it is occurring most rapidly in tropical regions of the world. Most forests in other climatic areas have already been affected by human beings. They have been destroyed or preserved or systematically cut and replanted. Two reasons: one is the mechanization of the logging industry. The second is the world’s hunger for forest products. These jungles are the world’s largest and last reserve of timber. Because the world needs the wood that these forests supply, they will probably be cut. Pollution Pollution