Stages of degradation of wildlife under anthropogenic impact. Anthropogenic impact on nature Anthropogenic impact on nature in South America
Summary. The table shows the history of the transformation of biodiversity and natural landscapes in the course of the development of human economic activity, two aspects of the earliest and less known stages are described in more detail. Evidence is given of the early onset of the Anthropocene - a period when most of the natural biomes were transformed to one degree or another by humans, representing “disturbances at different stages of overgrowth”, and the impact of human activity is global.
Consistent transformation of biodiversity and natural landscapes in the course of the historical development of human economic activity and environmental responses of society
| BUT . Periodization, dates | B . Impact on various biota components |
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I. The period of blind action, until the 1860s-1880s. |
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| 1 . Pleistocene overfishing | Extermination of megafauna - edificatory species for open grassy biomes ( 1 ). It was especially effective, because it "superimposed" on climate change, - - . |
| 2 . Neolithic Revolution, a rapid increase in the density of the population of farmers associated with the improvement of agriculture | a. Deforestation of significant areas of the "fertile crescent", the adjacent territory of the Balkans and North Africa, as well as East Asia and Africa (4, 7 )b. "Smashing" the natural mechanism of climatic cyclicity, which ensured the transition from warm-dry to cool-wet periods and vice versa, triggering anthropogenic climate change. The latter developed slowly at first: the increase in greenhouse gas emissions was supported mainly by agriculture, the spread of which across the planet destroyed wilderness areas and “released” CO 2 into the atmosphere, previously “stored” in soil carbon, peat, mortmass, etc. With the development of industry, the pace of the process accelerated, and became quite noticeable from the middle of the 19th century (that is, the development of climate change was exponential). ( 8 ) |
| 3 . Transition from the forest type of settlement to the rural one. In the first case, the areas of arable land cleared from the forest with villages inside were small in size and separated by large forests, this protected against erosion, provided a favorable microclimate and, most importantly, the stability of crops in the conditions of alternating "good" and "bad" years. In the second, population growth, along with the intensification of agriculture, leads to the reduction of separating forests, several villages with arable land around are combined into a continuous array of agricultural lands of a significantly larger area, surrounded by forests only along the outer perimeter. | a. Development instability of traditional agriculture when the agricultural load on the landscape (both the arable wedge and the surrounding forests and meadows) exceeds a certain limit. Erosion develops, leading to the loss of the fertile layer, climatically unfavorable years (drought, hail, wetting due to heavy rains) begin to lead to crop failures and famine, with poor development - to a decrease in productivity. ( 7, 9 ). This forces the peasants to either cut down the forest in a new territory, or switch to a three-field system, crop rotations, regular fertilization and other forms of agricultural intensification. The situation is aggravated by the uncontrolled grazing of livestock in the forest (whereas the load on pastures is controlled). ( 9 , 7 ).b. Destruction highly mosaic structure of pre-agricultural forests of the temperate zone (broad-leaved and boreal). Extermination of the key species of these communities - aurochs, bison, beavers; identification of meadows and swamps as separate types of landscape. The gradual transformation of polydominant forest stands of different ages into monodominant forest stands of the same age as, with the development of slash-and-burn and shifting agriculture, an increasing percentage of the forests of each territory passed through arable land. In a similar way, through the intensification of the impact of agriculture on the highly mosaic continuum of forest-non-forest habitats, such natural zones as the steppe and tundra are formed ( 1,2, 4, 7 ). |
| 4. "Urban Revolution". The development of a network of cities exchanging products of a developed craft (and further - industry) through long-distance trade in the western and eastern parts of the Oikoumene, in need of increased agricultural productivity in the zone of influence of the city, has significantly increased the agricultural pressure on the landscape, especially in areas specializing in the production of grain to the world market. In Europe, this is the area of the “second edition of serfdom” east of the Elbe, then Argentina, Australia, Canada, and to a lesser extent the USA. | a. An increase in all types of environmental damage associated with increased agricultural pressure on the natural landscape while maintaining the traditional nature of the latter. In an effort to increase profits from grain production, the agricultural producer saves on regeneration investments, incl. reduces the area of meadows needed to feed livestock, which ultimately affects grain production. With a certain frequency, this leads to massive undercropping and famine, reducing the population, especially in climatically unfavorable years (the so-called " Malthusian trap“due to the fact that the urban economy of the Middle Ages is already making increased demands on agricultural productivity, but is not yet able to absorb the surplus rural population). There is an excess of land resources, restoring the productivity of the economy, and everything starts anew. Since at each “cycle” part of the soil fertility and land is lost, in the long term, there is a decrease in the average level of productivity and a reduction in the arable wedge ( 7, 9 ).b. Formation of territories of persistent pollution of water, air and soil in large urban centers, especially in areas of concentration of crafts, and then industry ( 10 ). |
| 5 . "Great plowing": the establishment of a rural type of settlement in large areas, pushing the forest type of settlement to the colonized periphery of the "civilized world". A widespread transition to three-field and then to multi-field crop rotations, requiring compliance with the optimal ratio of meadows and arable land, without which the peasant is deprived of livestock and the opportunity to fertilize arable land. Since short-term benefits, especially in the case of the production of grain and other field products (flax, hemp) on the market, are pushing landowners to reduce the meadow to the detriment of arable land, which in the overwhelming majority of cases leads to the loss of the possibility of sustainable exploitation of this territory. The process is described by the model of crises in the "nature-society" system by D.I.Luri: -. | a. Periodically emerging local crisis of traditional agriculture, the development of which is described by the model of D.I. Lury. In crisis years, large arable tracts are rapidly eroded, a reduction in the number of livestock due to a lack of fodder reduces the application of fertilizers, worsens the possibilities of tillage, etc. , deforestation, after which the transition from point 4 to point 5 takes place already there. The way out of this crisis in all countries was made thanks to urbanization, industrialization and the industrial revolution: as capitalism penetrates into agriculture, it begins to serve the urban market, especially since the population of cities with the development of industry is growing rapidly. The "fruits" of the development of urban science and technology - machines, chemical fertilizers, promising varieties, advanced agricultural technology, soil maps, etc. - come to the countryside, significantly increasing productivity and, most importantly, making crops sustainable ( 7, 9 ).b. The plowing or urbanization of more than 25% of the territory makes it impossible for edificatory species that are “at the top” of the ecological pyramid to inhabit: large species of ungulates, the impact of which regulates the parcel mosaic of vegetation, maintains its natural pattern, and large predators that regulate the dynamics of the number of ungulates. It is enough to displace them, even without direct extermination, and the natural reproduction of the corresponding natural communities will be severely disturbed ( 3, 8 ). |
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II. Wildlife conservation period, before 1968-1972 |
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| 6a . After the industrial revolution, within the framework of the capitalist development of the most advanced countries of Europe and North America, rapid industrialization and urbanization, then spreading to a number of countries of the "semi-periphery" (Russia, Japan, Turkey, Australia, India). | a. In the zone of influence of the respective urban centers, there is a “repetition of the Pleistocene overfishing” at a new level of impact intensity. Rapid deforestation of territories, primarily those poor in forests, massive drainage of swamps and peat extraction in the boreal forest zone, a decrease in the abundance of commercial species of animals and birds by 2-3 orders of magnitude in the countries of the "semi-periphery", to the level of the impossibility of fishing - in developed countries. At the same time, the so-called. von Thunen rings around major cities in developed countries. By defining and regulating consumer pressure, for the first time in history, the latter are turning into centers that regulate the destruction of habitats and the exploitation of bioresources around the globe ( 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 ).b. Falling in order number of common bird species and other terrestrial vertebrates, due to the development of trade in wild species, as well as adverse changes in the habitat lace (in which, in addition to deforestation, reclamation, intensification of the agricultural use of meadows and other open landscapes, as well as urbanization of the territory make a significant contribution - urbophobic species are pushed aside to the periphery of the region about urban cores”). The construction of roads, factories, and other industrial facilities in previously intact territories is in the same direction - the landscape is degrading, and biodiversity is declining in direct proportion to the attendance of the corresponding massifs ( 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 ). |
| 6b . Colonization and economic development of Siberia, the Far West of the USA, Australia and South America, later Africa. Agricultural plantations and mines appear there, the products of which (grain, livestock, sisal, spices, tea, coffee, cocoa, indigo, opium, etc.) are supplied to the market of developed countries. The latter is served not only by the farms of colonists from European countries, whose number is constantly increasing, but also by the farms of local residents - it is partially destroyed during colonization, and in the undestroyed part it is completely rebuilt for the production of "colonial goods"). | a. The barbaric extermination of the relatively untouched fauna of the colonized periphery - bison and passenger pigeon in America, great auk and other seabirds in mass nesting areas where they are defenseless, the beginning of a mass slaughter of whales, fur seals and other marine animals, overexploitation of fish stocks, primarily for the needs of the arms race. Mass extermination of beautiful birds, reptiles, etc. for a fashionable whim, women's jewelry, etc. The spread of the most barbaric (and therefore profitable) ways of exterminating fish and game - setting fire to reeds and dry grass, collecting eggs and chicks, catching molting birds, etc. In 50-70 years, the initial abundance of game is eliminated, among the types of environmental damage, mass plowing (with the destruction of the natural vegetation of open grassy biomes, as in Australia) and deforestation ( 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 ).b. « No place for wild animals»: In the open grassy biomes of the third world, colonists extirpate native ungulate species to make room for livestock (100 years later, after independence the locals will do the same); what does not turn into pasture is plowed up, or mines appear in the corresponding territories, like this described by J. Diamond in "Collapse" for the state of Montana. Wild species lose access to watering places, at the same time there is a reduction of forests, accompanied by their fragmentation, while their last refuges are lost, and the forest to the full depth is available to hunters from the villages ( 2, 3, 4, 5 ). |
| 7 . The birth of a public movement for the protection of nature, in three versions: American, Central European (Germany, Switzerland, Austria-Hungary) and Russian-Soviet. | a. The rapid destruction of forests, the impoverishment of fauna and flora, the extreme level of pollution in cities, incompatible with a healthy lifestyle even among fairly wealthy people, brought to life pessimistic comments about the role of man on Earth, and the transformation of the natural landscape, leaving behind a desert. Awareness of the danger in different ways occurred among German practitioners of forestry and hunting, public education figures, American transcendental philosophers, Russian zoologists of the K.F. Rulye school and soil scientists of the Dokuchaev school - the creators of the environmental movement in their own countries. The first were cultural and patriotic arguments, the second - ethical and aesthetic arguments, the third - considerations of the scientific value of wilderness areas and their importance for social progress. The beginning of the protection of wilderness areas for patriotic, scientific, aesthetic and other reasons. Development of environmental education of the masses, involvement of teachers, schoolchildren and students in nature protection. The first successes in the conservation of vulnerable species, valuable sites of natural communities, the attraction of “useful” animal species by biotechnical methods, a solid transition to the scientific management of forestry, fishing and hunting, which ensured the sustainability of the exploitation of bioresources with an increase in the number of commercial species and forest restoration ( 2, 3, 5, 6 ) |
| 8 . Issues of preserving the human environment since the end of the 19th century. puts social hygiene, which contributed to the emergence of urban water supply systems, sewerage, water chlorination and other progressive measures that dramatically reduced the incidence of cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever and other oral-fecal infections that used to literally mow down the townspeople. The beginning of mechanization and chemicalization of agriculture (environmental damage, see. 9 ) | a. Gradual (by the 1920s) understanding of the need to preserve forest, meadow, etc. natural areas "captured" in the process of territorial growth of cities, so far for recreational and sanitary reasons. In the USSR - the creation of the ecological infrastructure of the city from them in the form of "green wedges" of urban forests, connecting with recreational forests of nearby suburbs, and a forest-park protective belt, the radius of which is proportional to its population (the latter has the status of protected areas), for reasons of "protecting the health of workers" in the 1960s. complemented by the protection of recreational resources of citizens and the idea of environmental sustainability. In the 1960s-1970s. this domestic innovation is quickly adopted by large cities in the socialist countries (especially the GDR and Czechoslovakia), as well as in the most "environmentally friendly" of the developed countries (Scandinavia, Canada, Germany, etc.). ( 6, 9, 10, 11 )b. In the zone of influence of large urban centers of developed countries, fragmentation of habitats by the development of the road network and dacha / industrial development causes a rapid decrease in the number of large and urbophobic species of animals, birds, other vertebrates, and other biotopically and territorially conservative species confined to large massifs of indigenous communities. As a mosaic of anthropogenic disturbances develops in them, and even more so as the area decreases and/or fragmentation, they disappear from the old developed areas. Such are the black stork, lynx, bear, capercaillie, eagle owl, upland owl, three-toed and middle spotted woodpeckers, etc. ( 2, 4, 5, 6 ). |
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III. Period of attempted transition to sustainable development, 1972 - present |
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| 9 . Completion of the transition from extensive to intensive agriculture. The latter, even in unfavorable years, can produce the necessary amount of grain and meat for itself and the city market it serves. In fact, agricultural productivity is made independent of the natural dynamics of climatic, and then soil conditions. The agricultural landscape becomes truly man-made, and the supply of grain, milk, meat, industrial crops to the urban market becomes sustainable and planned in advance. | a. The increase in the productivity of intensive agriculture is everywhere "paid" by an increase in environmental risk: intensive agriculture is becoming no less a source of pollution than urban industry, an increase in the productivity of an "intensive hectare" proportionally increases the risk of its loss in the next few years from erosion, pollution, salinization or - most importantly - development sales to a nearby town, in the process of growth, "absorbing" the productive land around G ( 9, 10 ).b. transformation common species raptors into rare and vulnerable (in some cases disappearing) due to campaigns of "combating harmful predators" in the interests of agriculture, the widespread use of insecticides, chemical pest control (3, 5, 6 ).in. Mass death of insects - pollinators and entomophages, a decrease in the number of insectivorous birds and mammals by 2-3 orders of magnitude due to the widespread use of pesticides ( 6, 10 ).G. Mass death of game birds (chickens, shepherds, waders, bustards) breeding in the fields, from the use of harvesting equipment ( 2 ). |
| 10 . Degradation of global ecosystem regulators | a. Transboundary transport of contaminants, including dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, and organochlorine pesticides accumulating in living tissues, with a concentration in the "final links" of the food chain. In developed countries - mass drying up of forests, death of aquatic organisms from acid rain. Reserves, national parks, generally intact natural areas for the first time become "islands" in the "sea" of urbanized and human-transformed landscapes, fall "in the crosshairs" of industrial emissions, agricultural and mine pollution from the surrounding territories, a gradual change ( 1, 2, 3, 8 ).b. Wetland degradation, mass draining of marshes for peat extraction and agriculture threatens various bird species on migration routes and (which is much more significant) makes the maximum contribution to anthropogenic climate change. As well as the production of hydrocarbons in the tundra zone and on the Arctic shelf (however, this became known only in the 1990s). ( 2, 4, 5, 8, 10 ).in. Ozone history - first success of conservationists in managing global volatility through reduction of emissions and structural reorganization of the industry ( 8, 10, 11 ).G. Mass extermination of whales, destruction of the "whale lift" (1, 2, 8 ).d. Mass destruction of tropical forests for the supply of valuable timber to developed countries, maintaining (primitive) local agriculture, ( 4, 7, 8 ), |
| 11 . The second increase in agricultural intensity in the developed countries of Western Europe and North America (including an increase in the average dose of fertilizers and pesticides), accompanied by a restructuring of its structure and a replanning of the agricultural landscape (“enlargement of fields”, disappearance of wastelands, development and improvement of the a / d roads in agricultural landscapes) | a. The "Green Revolution" in grassland science, which increased the yields of forage grasses by several times due to fertilizer, melioration, and other forms of cultivation, has sharply reduced the biodiversity of common grass species in developed countries. Under richer conditions of soil nutrition and moisture regulation, 1-2 species begin to dominate, while the populations of the rest turn out to be unstable or even endangered. As a result, the biodiversity of meadows and other forms of the "traditional agricultural landscape" in developed countries has to be restored artificially (4, 6, 9 ).b. advent instability of common bird species requiring their monitoring(and not only rare and vulnerable, as in previous years), with an upward trend. Rapid and unexpected for naturalists of populations of a number of synanthropic species of birds and other animals, which yesterday were prosperous and numerous - like a house sparrow, jackdaws, barn owls, city swallows, etc. ( 6, 9 ). |
| 12 . The growth in the well-being of the bulk of the population in developed countries, the emergence of a “consumer class” in third world countries increase the pressure on the remaining natural habitats (especially in combination with urbanization, which increases the craving of citizens for nature). | a. Destruction of the habitats of the near suburbs by the combined impact of recreational load, development of the a / d network, summer cottage and cottage construction ( 4, 6, 7, 9, 11 ).b. Intensification of mass tourism, incl. distant and ecological tourism, to exotic countries. A sharp increase in the recreational load on the shores of the seas and the most attractive inland waters, combined with the development of tourism infrastructure, leads to the destruction of the corresponding natural landscapes, incl. the unique biomes of coastal meadows and salt marshes (marches), mangrove forests, etc. are being destroyed. ( 4, 5, 6, 8 ) |
| 13 . Rapid development of ecosystem consequences of anthropogenic climate change. | a. More frequent droughts in the zone where climate change entails, in addition to warming, also aridization. In combination with the previous agricultural load (especially transhumance), this leads to the development of desertification, degradation of arable land and pastures, and the emergence of "climate refugees". Development social movement for water and soil conservation forest plantations in third world countries, appearance there environmentally sustainable farming practices (7, 8, 11 ).b. The death of coral reefs due to climate warming and acidification of water by an increased concentration of CO 2 (harmfully affecting other testate hydrobionts) ( 7, 8 ).in. Increased damage from tropical cyclones caused by heavy rains and floods. Their destructive effect is sharply increased by the deforestation in the floodplains and the destruction of wetlands, which absorb most of the flood intact. (7, 8 ). |
Notation. BUT - period, its approximate boundaries in time, B – Wildlife transformations in their sequence, in parentheses are the affected biota components: 1 – key species whose biocenotic activity reproduces a specific pattern of the mosaic structure of the habitat. 2 – commercial species, bioresources (forest, fish, game, etc.). 3 – species of the upper part of the ecological pyramid, whose population groups require a large territory (large birds of prey and mammals + large ungulates), 4 - simplification, fragmentation and complete destruction of habitats of "wild" species. 5 - rare and vulnerable species. 6 - common types. 7 - destruction and transformation of natural landscapes (including anthropogenically modified and exploited, for example, agriculture). 8 – “breakdown” of ecosystem regulators, 9 – reduction of the ecological capacity of habitats in agricultural and other anthropogenically modified landscapes. 10 – pollution and 11 – other environmental risk factors affecting human health and life expectancy.
"The main habitats of the Earth today
The description of the habitats that currently exist on Earth poses a problem opposite to that which we faced in the previous section - an excess of data. Very complex habitat classifications have been drawn up, even more complex than those discussed in Sect. 1.2, and they all have their merits. Here I will take the most comprehensive approach to critical habitats, comparable to the overview of past habitats given in the previous section. The figures to be presented below are taken from the World Resources 2000-2001 (WRI, 2000) report.
Valuable information on the world's ecosystems and conservation services used in this section was kindly provided by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), WB (World Bank), and WRI (Institute world resources). The classification contains only five types of habitats/ecosystems: forest, grassland, agricultural land, coastal and freshwater ecosystems. Grassland ecosystems are considered in a very broad sense to include both open and closed landscapes, such as bushland, wooded savannah, savannah, grasslands and tundra. Agricultural ecosystems include arable land as well as a mosaic of cultivated and natural vegetation. Globally, terrestrial forest, grassland and agro-ecosystems account for 86% of the total land area. The rest of the earth's surface is made up mainly of snow and ice, as well as areas inhabited by people - urbanized areas (4%) and barren lands (WRI, 2000).
Let's start by comparing the main habitats of the Earth, as it was about 8,000 years ago, when human influence was minimal, and the current situation (Fig. 1.10). Naturally, there are doubts about any figures characterizing the state of the land 8,000 years ago, this also applies to climate changes since the last glaciation.
Rice. 1.10. Occurrence of the main habitats of the Earth about 8000 years ago and today. Three main natural types of habitats are considered - forests, meadows and others. Today, forests are divided into virgin, not subject to anthropogenic impacts; virgin, exposed to anthropogenic influences, and transformed. Grasslands are subdivided into meadows and agricultural lands. Figures are from WRI (2000). (Orig.). [Symbols to the right of the figure, from top to bottom: a) undisturbed primary forests, b) anthropogenic primary forests, c) transformed forests, d) grasslands, e) agricultural land, f) other landscapes]. This and the two following drawings are from Hansky, 2010.
The current situation is complicated, among other things, by the fact that there are very large areas in which we see a mixture of agricultural land, forests and grasslands (7% of the land area; WRI, 2000). I included these lands in agricultural habitats. Forest cover 8,000 years ago was almost half (48%) of the total land area - about 130 million km2, these calculations are made on the basis of modern climate data (WRI, 2000). Three main factors contribute to the development of land cover: temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration (Holdridge, 1967). Forests are found where the average annual precipitation is 250 mm per year, the potential evapotranspiration is less than 4, and the average annual temperature exceeds the negative value. Eight thousand years ago, grasslands, that is, open landscapes, occupied a slightly smaller area (42%) than forests, while the rest of the land was mostly covered with ice.
In general terms, this division of land into forest and non-forest habitats dates back to the late Miocene, when the formation of the main mountain ranges and uplands of Asia and North America led to a cooling and drier climate, as well as a great expansion of open types of vegetation and a reduction in forest area, as has been described above.
The percentage of terrestrial coverage of major ecosystem habitat types today is strikingly different from what it was 8,000 years ago (Figure 1.10). The area of forests has been reduced by approximately half. As for the remaining forests, only half of them can be considered as “relatively intact, large natural intact forest ecosystems” [in the classification of WRI (2000) they are called “frontier” ( frontier) forests], and only 60% of them are not endangered.
Thus, the area of natural forest ecosystems that are not threatened with extinction has decreased from 62 million km 2 to only 8.4 million km 2 today. A significant part of the remaining forests are the boreal (northern) forests of Russia and North America, as well as the tropical forests of South America. Few tropical forests remain in South Asia (mostly in Indonesia) and Africa (mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). These forests meet the criterion of "relatively intact, large natural forest ecosystems intact" (WRI, 2000).
[cm. intact forest areas and their degradation in a number of countries
About half of modern forests are tropical forests, of which 12% are protected, while only 6% of non-tropical forests appear to be protected (WRI, 2000). The level of protection of the considered forests and their types also differ in different countries.
The large reduction in forest area over the past 8,000 years has been due to a sharp increase in agro-ecosystem areas, which now cover 28% of the total land area (21%, excluding areas in which agrocenoses are present, forming a mosaic with forests and grasslands) .
However, it has not been proven that only forests move into agro-ecosystems. The areas occupied by meadows have remained approximately the same as 8,000 years ago, but significant changes have taken place here as well. Pre-existing meadows turned into agrocenoses, while the areas where once there were forests are now classified as pastures, that is, meadows. The modern combination of forests, meadows and agricultural land reflects the difference in the nature of the continents. The proportion of forests is much higher (33-14%) in Europe, Russia and America than in the Middle East, Africa and Oceania, where forests cover only 2 to 14% and where grasslands predominate (74-84%; WRI, 2000). Not quite the usual continent in this regard is Asia, which has relatively few forests (18%) and grasslands (41%), and more agricultural land than any other continent - 41%. Only Europe, not including Russia, can compare with Asia in this. Freshwater ecosystems - rivers, lakes and wetlands - occupy 1% of the Earth's surface.
Human influence on them is very high: 60% of large rivers are severely or moderately separated by various dams and channels (WRI, 2000), half of the wetlands were lost in the 20th century (Myers, 1997). Coastal zones are defined (WRI, 2000) as extending from intertidal and subtidal zones above the continental shelf to adjacent land up to 100 km from the coast. Thus, coastal zones are a combination of different habitats that have been heavily influenced by humans, as about 40% of the world's population lives within 100 km of the coastline (WRI, 2000). Two specific habitats are characteristic of coastal areas - these are mangrove forests and coral reefs.
Mangrove trees in tropical regions cover about a quarter of the coastline. The loss of mangrove forests is enormous, according to experts, more than half of them on our planet have already been destroyed (Kelleher et al., 1995). The degradation (bleaching) of coral reefs has recently become a serious problem, possibly due to rising sea temperatures due to global warming.”
Prepared from materials NewScientist.
The Anthropocene is almost two million years old
"Dmitry Tselikov
Man's world domination began with fire, not with factories or farms.
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The era in which man dominates the planet, including causing mass extinctions of species, is called the Anthropocene. And this era may have begun earlier, much earlier than is commonly thought. Andrew Glikson from the Australian National University claims that people gained power over the planet not with the beginning of the industrial revolution 250 years ago and not with the advent of agriculture 10 thousand years ago, but in those foggy times, 1.8 million years before our days, when man erectus tamed fire. Of course, now that we are emitting greenhouse gases and having nuclear technology, we have a much greater impact on the globe. But E. Glikson believes that the mastery of fire was the decisive step, when people first got the opportunity to extract huge amounts of energy and use them to their advantage.
Image by Jos Hagelaars / Max Edkins / World Bank.
In his lectures, Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, offers audience to look at Earth from the perspective of an alien. During the last 8,000 years, there have been signs of plant cultivation, city lights, an atmosphere polluted by aerosols and greenhouse gases, nuclear explosions, and artificial satellites. And Martin Rees asks a sharp question:
"Maybe this is our last century?"
Of all the factors that make life possible on Earth, one stands out: the presence of liquid water. Water was also vital to human development. Since the Neolithic, agricultural-based civilizations have concentrated along rivers (think of the Nile, Euphrates, Yellow River) or in areas of groundwater accumulation, as in the Yucatan Peninsula. The availability of water for humans, in turn, depends on the water cycle in nature - and therefore on the climate, including annual river rhythms, which are controlled by the melting and growth of mountain glaciers, the impact of forests on the microclimate, soil erosion and - in some places world, in particular on the Indonesian islands, - volcanic activity.
Water on Earth exists due to its ideal distance from the Sun, tectonic and volcanic activity, and the composition of the atmosphere. The temperature on the planet's surface varies from approximately -90 to +58 °C. The atmosphere, which controls the circulation of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, plays the role of the lungs of the biosphere. It makes possible the existence of an aquatic environment where metabolic microbiological processes take place: chemobacteria gather around volcanic fumaroles, nanobes swarm in deep cracks in the crust, phototrophs prefer proximity to the surface.
The histories of atmosphere and life are interdependent.
At first, the Earth had a Venusian-like atmosphere dominated by CO 2 , CO, SO 2 , N 2 O, CH 4 , H 2 and possibly H 2 S. The removal of CO 2 and the accumulation of nitrogen - a stable non-reactive gas - led to the first Ice Age that happened 3 billion years ago.
We know that periods of gradual development were interrupted by epochs of abrupt changes, which in a relatively short time transformed the physical state of the atmosphere-oceans system and the habitat of plants and organisms, leading to the mass extinction of species. As a rule, some kind of large-scale cataclysm, such as a volcanic eruption, a meteorite fall, or active methane emissions, served as the impetus for a catastrophe. Natural selection works slowly, and species simply do not have time to adapt to rapid climate change. But those were natural disasters, and now we ourselves, with our own hands, have increased the air temperature by almost 2 °C in some two hundred years and are proudly moving to the 4 °C mark (see image above), not paying attention to our own scientists.
Anthropocene - the era of man - began, according to Kruzen and Steffen, since the industrial revolution, and according to Ruddiman- with the advent of agriculture in the Neolithic. E. Glikson also calls to pay attention to the fact that the taming of fire (read: the deliberate production of energy) has led to an increase in entropy in nature by several orders of magnitude. This could not but cause a chain of not only cultural, but also biological changes. Genus Homo developed in relatively sheltered subtropical rift valleys. Fire allowed him to change vast spaces on the surface of the planet and spread throughout the world. Thus, man influenced the composition of the atmosphere and caused the sixth mass extinction of species in a row.
There are many species in nature that can destroy the environment: viruses that produce methane and hydrogen sulfide bacteria, fire ants, locusts, rabbits. In addition, there are creatures that destroy the host organism: certain types of fungi, worms, arthropods, annelids and even vertebrates (buffalo starlings, vampire bats). The Taming of the Fire has added genus to this list. Homo. And in the middle of the 20th century, the splitting of the atom allowed humans to set off a chain reaction capable of destroying most of the biosphere.
Since the start of the industrial revolution, which accelerated in the 1980s, human activity has released more than 560 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere (this is not only industrial emissions, but also land clearing), which has caused unprecedented rapid climate change, which cannot be compared with any one natural warming in geologic history.
Another start date for the Anthropocene - 1610
In addition, in the marine sediments of Europe at the beginning of the 17th century, pollen from corn, imported from South America, first appears. This event points to a previously unparalleled process of the instantaneous transfer of many biological species from continent to continent due to human activities.
This and the following figures are from the cited article in Nature
Geologists need dramatic changes that mark the boundaries between formations, the so-called. "golden nails", and this is one of the few sharp jumps, see Nature
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In the last 100 years, humanity has begun to have a noticeable impact on the functioning of the biosphere.
In the prehistoric phase, people lived in conditions of energy deficiency and were forced to protect a huge fodder territory, in which they periodically or constantly wandered. And, despite this, for a long time they were within a very modest energy balance.
Energy consumption per person (kcal / day) in the Stone Age was about 4 thousand, in an agrarian society - 12 thousand, in the industrial era - 70 thousand, and in advanced developed countries of the late twentieth century - 230-250 thousand, tons .e. 58-62 times more than our distant ancestors.
Population growth requires an increase in food, the creation of new jobs and the expansion of industrial production. At the first stages, a person interacted with the natural environment as an ordinary biological species, as an animal, and as a whole was part of the ecosystem, as its constituent element. Man mainly used the resources surrounding him and practically did not affect either their quantity or their quality, and could not have any tangible impact on nature, both due to its small number and the presence of any significant means of influencing the components of the environment. .
Having formed a human society, it went through the following stages of interaction with nature:
The transition to the production and use of tools as the first (link in the relationship between people and nature;
The transition to artificial energy production has expanded (opportunities in the transformation of nature;
Industrial and scientific and technological revolution;
Artificial reproduction and preservation of the environment - protonosphere.
At the end of the second millennium, population growth, and mainly a qualitative leap in the development of science and technology, led to the fact that anthropogenic impacts, in terms of their significance for the biosphere, reached the same level as natural planetary ones. The transformation of landscapes into cities and other human settlements, into agricultural lands and industrial complexes has already covered more than 20% of the land area. Oxygen consumption in industry and transport is on the scale of the entire biosphere about 10% of the planetary production of photosynthesis; in some countries, man-made oxygen consumption exceeds its production by plants. In our time, anthropogenic impact is becoming the guiding force for the further evolution of ecosystems.
Anthropogenic impacts subdivided into:
pollution- introduction into the environment of new physical, chemical or biological agents (elements, compounds, substances, objects) that are not characteristic of it or exceeding the existing natural level of these agents;
technical transformations and destruction of natural systems and landscapes - in the process of extracting natural resources, during agricultural work, construction, etc.;
depletion of natural resources(minerals, water, air, biological components of ecosystems);
global climate impacts(climate change due to human economic activity);
aesthetic disturbances(change in natural forms, unfavorable for visual and other perception; destruction of historical and cultural values, etc.).
As a result, a person affects the biosphere and changes the composition, circulation and balance of substances; heat balance of the near-surface part of the Earth; the structure of the earth's surface (during agricultural work, moving exposed rocks; quarrying, as a result of urban development, during road construction; during the construction of artificial reservoirs - canals, reservoirs, land reclamation, etc.); exterminating, as well as moving a number of animal species and plant varieties to new habitats.
Under the conditions of anthropogenic loads, for the sustainable functioning of ecosystems, a person must himself play the role of a compensatory regulator, planting trees on the ground in places of cut forests, purifying water, air, etc.
pollution subdivided depending on the type, source, consequences and control measures into: sewage and other sewage that absorb oxygen; carriers of the infection; substances of nutritional value for plants; minerals and inorganic acids and salts; solid drains; radioactive substances, etc.
It should be noted that, in principle, pollution can be natural, arising as a result of powerful natural processes - volcanic eruptions with huge emissions of dust, ash, gases, steam, etc.; forest and steppe fires; floods; dust and sand storms, etc.
It is necessary to dwell on such an important concept, which is widely used in modern ecological and environmental literature, as pollutant. It refers to any physical agent, chemical substance or biological species (mainly microorganisms) entering or appearing in the environment in quantities beyond the ordinary, and causing environmental pollution. Allocate natural (natural , anthropogenic, as well as primary (directly from the source of pollution and secondary (during the decomposition of primary, or chemical reactions with them). It also distinguishes between persistent (non-decomposing pollutants that accumulate in trophic chains.
The entry of various pollutants into the natural environment can have a number of undesirable consequences: damage to vegetation and wildlife (decrease in the productivity of forests and cultivated plants, extinction of animals); violation of the stability of natural biogeocenoses; damage to property (corrosion of metals, destruction of architectural structures, etc.); harm to human health, etc.
Many of the pollutants (pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, plastics) decompose extremely slowly in natural conditions, and toxic compounds (mercury, lead) are not neutralized at all.
If until the 40s of the 20th century natural products still dominated (cotton, silk, wool, soap, rubber, food free of additives, etc.), then at present in industrialized countries, they are replaced by synthetic ones, which difficult or incompletely decompose and pollute the environment. These are primarily synthetic fibers, detergents (detergents, bleaches), food with additives, mineral fertilizers, synthetic rubber, etc.
Especially a lot of pollutants entering the environment are formed when energy is obtained from the combustion of fossil fuels. A person, releasing solar energy in this way, accelerates the circulation of substances and energy in nature. Production waste and atmospheric pollutants (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, solid particles, etc.) disrupt the natural carbon cycle, contributing to a number of negative consequences (greenhouse effect, photochemical smog, etc.). A large number of pollutants enter the atmosphere from various industries, in particular, the metallurgical enterprises of the world annually emit more than 150 thousand tons of copper, 120 thousand tons of zinc, 90 thousand tons of nickel, cobalt, mercury. Thus, the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant annually emits up to 2200 thousand tons of sulfur compounds alone into the atmosphere, which leads to the death of a significant number of plant communities, creating a significant threat to the health and life of many other living organisms. Within a radius of up to 120 km from the plant there is no natural regeneration of trees, and the annual growth and primary biological productivity are minimal.
1. Settlement of mankind on the territory of the Earth
2. Anthropogenic impact on the nature of Africa
3. Anthropogenic impact on the nature of Eurasia
4. Anthropogenic impact on the nature of North America
5. Anthropogenic impact on the nature of South America
6. Anthropogenic impact on the nature of Australia and Oceania
* * *
1. THE SETTLEMENT OF HUMANITY ON EARTH
Africa is considered the most likely ancestral home modern man.
Many features of the nature of the continent speak in favor of this position. African great apes - especially chimpanzees - have, compared with other anthropoids, the greatest number of biological features in common with modern man. In Africa, fossil remains of several forms of great apes of the family pongid(Pongidae), similar to modern great apes. In addition, fossil forms of anthropoids have been discovered - Australopithecus, usually included in the family of hominids.
Remains australopithecines found in the Villafra deposits of South and East Africa, i.e., in those strata that most researchers attribute to the Quaternary period (Eopleistocene). In the east of the mainland, along with the bones of Australopithecus, stones were found with traces of rough artificial chipping.
Many anthropologists consider Australopithecus as a stage of human evolution, preceding the appearance of the most ancient people. However, the discovery by R. Leakey in 1960 of the Olduvai locality made significant changes to the solution of this problem. In the natural section of the Olduvai Gorge, located in the southeast of the Serengeti Plateau, near the famous Ngorongoro Crater (northern Tanzania), remains of primates close to Australopithecus were found in the thickness of volcanic rocks of Villafranchian age. They got the name Zinjanthropes. Below and above the Zinjanthropes, the skeletal remains of a prezinjanthropus, or Homo habilis (Handy Man), were found. Together with the presinjanthropus, primitive stone products were found - roughly upholstered pebbles. In the overlying layers of the Olduvai locality, the remains of African archanthropes, and on the same level with them - Australopithecus. The mutual position of the remains of prezinjanthropus and zinjantrops (australopithecus) suggests that the australopithecines, previously considered the direct ancestors of the most ancient people, actually formed a non-progressive branch of hominids that existed for a long time between Villafranchian and the middle Pleistocene. This thread is over dead end.
§one. Classification of anthropogenic impacts
Anthropogenic impacts include all environmentally depressing impacts created by technology or directly by man. They can be combined into the following groups:
1) pollution, i.e. the introduction of physical, chemical and other elements uncharacteristic for it into the environment or an artificial increase in the existing natural level of these elements;
2) technical transformations and destruction of natural systems and landscapes in the process of extraction of natural resources, construction, etc.;
3) withdrawal of natural resources - water, air, minerals, fossil fuels, etc.;
4) global climate impacts;
5) violation of the aesthetic value of landscapes, i.e. change in natural forms, unfavorable for visual perception.
One of the most significant negative impacts on nature are pollution, which are subdivided according to type, source, consequences, control measures, etc. Sources of anthropogenic pollution are industrial and agricultural enterprises, energy facilities, and transport. A significant share in the overall balance is made by household pollution.
Anthropogenic pollution can be local, regional and global. They are divided into the following types:
biological,
mechanical,
chemical,
physical,
physical and chemical.
biological, as well as microbiological pollution occurs when biological waste enters the environment or as a result of the rapid multiplication of microorganisms on anthropogenic substrates.
mechanical pollution is associated with substances that do not have physical and chemical effects on organisms and the environment. It is typical for the processes of production of building materials, construction, repair and reconstruction of buildings and structures: it is waste from stone sawing, production of reinforced concrete, bricks, etc. The cement industry, for example, ranks first in air emissions of solid pollutants (dust), followed by sand-lime brick factories, lime factories and porous aggregate factories.
Chemical pollution can be caused by the introduction of some new chemical compounds into the environment or by an increase in the concentrations of substances already present. Many of the chemicals are active and can interact with the molecules of substances inside living organisms or actively oxidize in the air, thus becoming toxic to them. The following groups of chemical contaminants are distinguished:
1) aqueous solutions and sludges with acidic, alkaline and neutral reactions;
2) non-aqueous solutions and sludges (organic solvents, resins, oils, fats);
3) solid pollution (reactive dust);
4) gaseous pollution (vapours, exhaust gases);
5) specific - especially toxic (asbestos, compounds of mercury, arsenic, lead, phenol-containing pollution).
According to the results of international studies, which were carried out under the auspices of the UN, a list of the most important substances polluting the environment was compiled. It included:
§ sulfur trioxide (sulfuric anhydride) SO 3;
§ suspended particles;
§ carbon oxides CO and CO 2
§ nitrogen oxides NOx;
§ photochemical oxidizers (ozone О 3 , hydrogen peroxide Н 2 О 2 , OH - hydroxyl radicals, PAN peroxyacyl nitrates and aldehydes);
§ mercury Hg;
§ lead Pb;
§ cadmium Cd;
§ chlorinated organic compounds;
§ toxins of fungal origin;
§ nitrates, more often in the form of NaNO 3;
§ ammonia NH 3;
§ individual microbial contaminants;
§ radioactive contamination.
According to the ability to persist under external influence, chemical contaminants are divided into:
a) persistent and
b) degradable by chemical or biological processes.
To physical contaminants include:
1) thermal, arising from an increase in temperature due to heat losses in industry, residential buildings, in heating mains, etc.;
2) noise as a result of increased noise from enterprises, transport, etc.;
3) light, arising as a result of unreasonably high illumination created by artificial light sources;
4) electromagnetic from radio, television, industrial installations, power lines;
5) radioactive.
Pollution from various sources enters the atmosphere, water bodies, lithosphere, after which they begin to migrate in different directions. From the habitats of a separate biotic community, they are transmitted to all components of the biocenosis - plants, microorganisms, animals. Directions and forms of pollution migration can be as follows (Table 2):
table 2
Forms of pollution migration between natural environments
| Direction of migration | Migration forms |
| Atmosphere - atmosphere Atmosphere - hydrosphere Atmosphere - land surface Atmosphere - biota Hydrosphere - atmosphere Hydrosphere - hydrosphere Hydrosphere - land surface, bottom of rivers, lakes Hydrosphere - biota Land surface - hydrosphere Land surface - land surface Land surface - atmosphere Land surface - biota Biota - atmosphere Biota - hydrosphere Biota - land surface Biota - biota | Atmospheric transport Deposition (washout) on water surface Deposition (washout) on land surface Deposition on plant surfaces (foliar intake) Evaporation from water (oil products, mercury compounds) Transport in aquatic systems Transfer from water to soil, filtration, self-purification of water, sedimentation pollution Transfer from surface waters to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, entry into organisms with drinking water Runoff with precipitation, temporary streams, during snowmelt Migration in soil, glaciers, snow cover Blowing off and transport by air masses Root entry of pollutants into vegetation Evaporation Ingress into water after death organisms Entry into the soil after the death of organisms Migration through food chains |
The construction industry is a powerful tool destruction of natural systems and landscapes. The construction of industrial and civil facilities leads to the rejection of large areas of fertile land, a reduction in the living space of all inhabitants of ecosystems, and a serious change in the geological environment. Table 3 illustrates the results of the impact of construction on the geological structure of the territories.
Table 3
Changes in the geological situation at construction sites
Violations of the natural environment are accompanied by the extraction and processing of minerals. This is expressed as follows.
1. The creation of large quarries and embankments leads to the formation of a technogenic landscape, reduction of land resources, deformation of the earth's surface, depletion and destruction of soils.
2. Drainage of deposits, water intake for the technical needs of mining enterprises, discharge of mine and waste waters violate the hydrological regime of the water basin, deplete the reserves of underground and surface waters, and worsen their quality.
3. Drilling, blasting, loading of the rock mass is accompanied by a deterioration in the quality of atmospheric air.
4. The above processes, as well as industrial noise, contribute to the deterioration of living conditions and the reduction in the number and species composition of plants and animals, and the reduction in crop yields.
5. Mining, dewatering of deposits, extraction of minerals, burial of solid and liquid wastes lead to a change in the natural stress-strain state of the rock mass, flooding and flooding of deposits, and pollution of the subsoil.
Now disturbed territories appear and develop in almost every city; territories with a threshold (supercritical) change in any characteristic of engineering-geological conditions. Any such change limits the specific functional use of the area and requires the implementation of reclamation, i.e. a set of works aimed at restoring the biological and economic value of disturbed lands.
One of the main reasons depletion of natural resources is the extravagance of the people. Thus, according to some experts, explored mineral reserves will be completely depleted in 60-70 years. Known oil and gas fields may be exhausted even faster.
At the same time, only 1/3 of the consumed raw materials are directly spent on the production of industrial products, and 2/3 is lost in the form of by-products and waste polluting the environment (Fig. 9).
In the entire history of human society, about 20 billion tons of ferrous metals have been smelted, and in structures, machines, transport, etc. they sold only 6 billion tons. The rest is dispersed in the environment. Currently, more than 25% of the annual production of iron is dissipated, and even more of some other substances. For example, dispersion of mercury and lead reaches 80 - 90% of their annual production.
NATURAL DEPOSITS
Retrieved Leftovers
Losses
Recycling Partial refund
Partial return
Products
 |
|||
Failure, wear, corrosion
Scrap Pollution
Fig.9. Resource cycle diagram
The balance of oxygen on the planet is on the verge of disruption: at the current rate of deforestation, photosynthetic plants will soon be unable to replenish its costs for the needs of industry, transport, energy, etc.
Global climate change caused by human activities are characterized primarily by global temperature rise. Experts believe that in the next decade, the heating of the earth's atmosphere may increase to a dangerous level: in the tropics, the temperature is predicted to rise by 1-2 0 C, and near the poles by 6-8 0 C.
Due to the melting of the polar ice, the level of the World Ocean will rise markedly, which will lead to the flooding of vast populated areas and agricultural areas. Associated mass epidemics are predicted, especially in South America, India, and the Mediterranean countries. The number of oncological diseases will increase everywhere. The power of tropical cyclones, hurricanes, and tornadoes will increase significantly.
The root cause of all this is the greenhouse effect, due to an increase in the concentration in the stratosphere at an altitude of 15-50 km of gases that are usually not present there: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons. The layer of these gases plays the role of an optical filter, passing the sun's rays and delaying the thermal radiation reflected from the earth's surface. This causes an increase in temperature in the surface space, like under the roof of a greenhouse. And the intensity of this process is growing: over the past 30 years alone, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air has increased by 8%, and in the period from 2030 to 2070, its content in the atmosphere is expected to double compared to pre-industrial levels.
Thus, the global increase in temperature in the coming decades and the adverse events associated with it are beyond doubt. At the current level of development of civilization, it is only possible to slow down this process in one way or another. Thus, every possible saving of fuel and energy resources directly contributes to slowing down the rate of atmospheric heating. Further steps in this direction are the transition to resource-saving technologies and devices, to new construction projects.
Significant warming has already been delayed by 20 years, by some estimates, due to the almost complete cessation of the production and use of chlorofluorocarbons in industrialized countries.
At the same time, there are a number of natural factors hindering climate warming on Earth, for example, stratospheric aerosol layer, formed by volcanic eruptions. It is located at an altitude of 20-25 km and consists mainly of sulfuric acid droplets with an average size of 0.3 microns. It also contains particles of salts, metals, and other substances.
The particles of the aerosol layer reflect solar radiation back into space, which leads to some decrease in temperature in the surface layer. Despite the fact that particles in the stratosphere are about 100 times smaller than in the lower layer of the atmosphere - the troposphere - they have a more noticeable climatic effect. This is due to the fact that the stratospheric aerosol mainly lowers the air temperature, while the tropospheric aerosol can both lower and increase it. In addition, each particle in the stratosphere exists for a long time - up to 2 years, while the lifetime of tropospheric particles does not exceed 10 days: they are quickly washed out by rains and fall to the ground.
Violation of the aesthetic value of landscapes It is typical for construction processes: the construction of buildings and structures that are not large-scale natural formations makes a negative impression, worsens the historically established view of landscapes.
All technogenic impacts lead to a deterioration in the quality indicators of the environment, which are characterized by conservatism, since they were developed over millions of years of evolution.
To assess the activity of anthropogenic impact on the nature of the Kirov region for each region, an integral anthropogenic load was established, obtained on the basis of assessments of the impact on the environment of three types of pollution sources:
§ local (household and industrial waste);
§ territorial (agriculture and forest exploitation);
§ local-territorial (transport).
It has been established that the areas with the highest environmental stress include: the city of Kirov, the district and the city of Kirovo-Chepetsk, the district and the city of Vyatskiye Polyany, the district and the city of Kotelnich, the district and the city of Slobodskoy.
"Brazil" - Sloth - also a resident of Brazil. From Liverpool harbour, always on Thursdays, Ships sail to the distant begers. The armadillo lives in burrows. And in case of danger, the armadillo can curl up into a ball like a hedgehog. They speak Portuguese in Brazil. The sloth has long and thin paws with 3 toes with very long claws.
"Natural areas of South America" - Relief. Changing the nature of the mainland under the influence of man. Probably you have already guessed. That's right, the unique nature of South America On the verge of gradual destruction. Why do we say so. Hundreds of species are listed in the Red Book. Soils. Climate. Crocodile living in South America. 11, Rubber tree. 12.
"Lessons South America" - Useful links on the Internet. Lesson objectives: Development of methods of algorithmic and logical thinking. Natural wealth (announcer, text, map, video). Multimedia textbook. Contents Handbook Tests Practice Online. The content of the multimedia textbook. Fauna of South America -10 min. Lesson conclusions.
"Geography Grade 7 South America" - Table. Lesson progress: South America. GP South America. Common features and differences in GP. Lesson topic. Introductory remarks by the teacher…………. SOUTH AMERICA Grade 7. Working with a table. explorers and travelers.
"Mainland South America" - Oil is produced on the shores of Lake Maracaibo. 11. Task 3: "Do you believe - do not believe?". Put a "+" sign if true, and "-" if the statement is not true. General lesson
see also nature photos of South America: Venezuela (Orinoco and Guiana Plateau), Central Andes and Amazonia (Peru), Precordillera (Argentina), Brazilian Highlands (Argentina), Patagonia (Argentina), Tierra del Fuego (from the section Natural landscapes of the world).
South America mastered by man uneven. Only the marginal areas of the mainland are densely populated, mainly the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and some areas of the Andes. At the same time, inland areas, such as the wooded Amazonian lowland, remained virtually undeveloped until recently.
The question of the origin of the indigenous population of South America - the Indians - has long been a matter of controversy.
The most common point of view about the settlement of South America by Mongoloids from Asia across North America approximately 17-19 thousand years ago (Fig. 23).
Rice. 23. Centers of human development and ways of its settlement around the globe(according to V.P. Alekseev): 1 - the ancestral home of mankind and resettlement from it; 2 - primary western focus of race formation and settlement of proto-Australoids; 3 - settlement of proto-Caucasians; 4 - resettlement of proto-Negroids; 5 - primary eastern focus of race formation and settlement of proto-Americanoids; 6 - North American tertiary focus and settlement from it; 7 - Central South American focus and resettlement from it.
But, based on some anthropological commonality of the Indian peoples of South America with the peoples of Oceania (broad nose, wavy hair) and the presence of the same tools, some scientists expressed the idea of settling South America from the Pacific Islands. However, this view is shared by few. Most scientists are inclined to explain the presence of Oceanian features among the inhabitants of South America by the fact that representatives of the Oceanian race could also penetrate through the northeast of Asia and North America with the Mongoloids.
Currently number of Indians in South America it is much larger than in North America, although during the period of colonization of the mainland by Europeans, it has greatly decreased. In some countries, Indians still make up a significant percentage of the population. In Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, they are about half of the total, and in some areas they even significantly predominate. Most of the population of Paraguay is of Indian origin, many Indians live in Colombia. In Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, the Indians were almost completely exterminated during the first period of colonization, and now there are very few of them. The Indian population of Brazil is also steadily declining.
Anthropologically, all the Indians of South America are united and close to the North American Indians. The most developed classification of Indian peoples on linguistic grounds. The diversity of the languages of the Indians of South America is very great, and many of them are so idiosyncratic that they cannot be combined into families or groups. In addition, separate language families and separate languages, formerly widespread on the mainland, have now almost or completely disappeared along with the peoples who spoke them, as a result of European colonization. The languages of many Indian tribes and peoples living in isolation are still almost unexplored. By the beginning of European colonization, the territory east of the Andes was inhabited by peoples whose level of development corresponded to the primitive communal system. They earned their livelihood by hunting, fishing and gathering. But, according to recent studies, on some plains of the north and northeast of the mainland, a large population was engaged in farming on drained lands.
In the Andes and on the Pacific coast developed strong Indian states characterized by a high level of development of agriculture and cattle breeding, crafts, applied arts and the beginnings of scientific knowledge.
The agricultural peoples of South America gave the world such cultivated plants as potatoes, cassava, peanuts, pumpkins, and others (see the map "Centers of Origin of Cultivated Plants" in Fig. 19).
In the process of European colonization and a fierce struggle against the colonialists, some Indian peoples completely disappeared from the face of the Earth, others were pushed back from their ancestral territories to uninhabited and uncomfortable lands. Separate Indian peoples continue to live in areas of their former habitat. Until now, there are tribes living in isolation, retaining the level of development and way of life at which they were caught by the invasion of Europeans.
Listed below are only some of the most numerous and most well-studied groups of Indian peoples who now or in the past constituted a significant part of the population of the mainland.
In the hinterland of Brazil there are still remnants tribes of the language family "zhe". By the time the Europeans arrived on the mainland, they inhabited the eastern and southern parts of Brazil, but were pushed back by the colonialists into forests and swamps. This people is still at the level of development corresponding to the primitive communal system, and is distinguished by a wandering way of life.
At a very low stage of development were by the arrival of Europeans inhabitants of the extreme south of South America(of Tierra del Fuego). They protected themselves from the cold with animal skins, weapons were made of bone and stone, food was obtained by hunting guanacos and sea fishing. The fire-earthers were subjected to the most severe physical extermination in the 19th century, and now there are very few of them left.
At a higher level of development were the tribes inhabiting the central and northern parts of the mainland in the Orinoco and Amazon basins ( peoples of the Tupi-Guarani, Arawakan, Caribbean language families). They are still engaged in agriculture, cultivating cassava, corn, and cotton. They hunt using bows and arrow-throwing tubes, and also use the instantly acting plant poison curare.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the main occupation of the tribes living in the territory Argentine Pampas and Patagonia, there was a hunt. The Spaniards brought horses to the mainland, which later became feral. The Indians learned how to tame horses and began to use them to hunt guanacos. The rapid development of capitalism in Europe was accompanied by the ruthless extermination of the population of the colonial lands. In Argentina, in particular, the Spaniards pushed the local residents to the extreme south of Patagonia, to lands unsuitable for grain farming. At present, the indigenous population is almost completely absent in Pampas. Only small groups of Indians have survived, working as farmhands in large agricultural holdings.
The highest socio-economic and cultural development by the arrival of Europeans was achieved by the tribes inhabiting the elevated Andean plateau within Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, where one of the oldest centers of irrigated agriculture is located.
indian tribe, Quechua language family who lived in the XI-XIII centuries. on the territory of modern Peru, united the scattered small peoples of the Andes and formed a strong state, Tahuantinsuyu (XV century). The leaders were called "Inca". Hence the name of the whole people. The Incas subjugated the peoples of the Andes up to the modern territory of Chile, extended their influence also to more southern regions, where an independent, but close to the Incas, culture of settled farmers arose Araucanians (Mapuche).
Irrigated agriculture was the main occupation of the Incas, and they cultivated up to 40 species of cultivated plants, arranging fields in terraces along the slopes of the mountains and bringing water from mountain streams to them. The Incas tamed wild llamas, using them as pack animals, and bred domestic llamas, from which they received milk, meat, and wool. The Incas were also famous for their ability to build mountain roads and bridges from vines. They knew many crafts: pottery, weaving, processing of gold and copper, etc. They made jewelry and objects of religious worship from gold. In the state of the Incas, private landownership was combined with collective ownership, and a supreme leader with unlimited power was at the head of the state. Taxes were collected from the conquered tribes of the Incas. The Incas are the creators of one of the oldest civilizations in South America. Some monuments of their culture have survived to this day: ancient tracts, remains of architectural structures and irrigation systems.
Individual peoples that were part of the state of the Incas still inhabit the desert high plateaus of the Andes. They cultivate the land in a primitive way, cultivating potatoes, quinoa and some other plants.
The largest modern Indian people - Quechua- inhabits the mountainous regions of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina. Live on the shores of Lake Titicaca Aymara- one of the most mountainous peoples of the world.
The basis of the indigenous population of Chile was a group of strong agricultural tribes united under the common name araucans. They resisted the Spaniards for a long time, and only in the 18th century. part of them, under the onslaught of the colonialists, moved to Pampa. Now Araucans (Mapuche) live in the southern half of Chile, only a few of them live in the Argentine Pampa.
In the north of the Andes, on the territory of modern Colombia, by the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, a cultural state of peoples had developed chibcha muisca. Now small tribes - the descendants of the Chibcha, who have preserved remnants of the tribal system, live in Colombia and on the Isthmus of Panama.
The first settlers from Europe, who came to America without families, intermarried with Indian women. As a result, a mixed, mixed, population. The process of miscegenation continued later.
At present, "pure" representatives of the Caucasian race are almost completely absent on the mainland. The only exceptions are the latest immigrants. Most of the so-called "whites" contain, to one degree or another, an admixture of Indian (or Negro) blood. This mixed population (mestizo, cholo) predominates in almost all South American countries.
A significant part of the population, especially in the Atlantic regions (in Brazil, Guiana, Suriname, Guyana), are black people- the descendants of slaves imported into South America at the beginning of colonization, when a large and cheap labor force was needed, used on plantations. Negroes partially mixed with the white and Indian population. As a result, mixed types were created: in the first case - mulattos, in the second - sambo.
Fleeing from exploitation, Negro slaves fled from their masters to the rainforests. Their descendants, some of whom mixed with the Indians, in some areas still lead a primitive forest lifestyle.
Before the declaration of independence of the South American republics, i.e. until the first half of the 19th century, immigration to South America from other countries was prohibited. But later, the governments of the newly formed republics, interested in the economic development of their states, the development of vacant lands, opened access immigrants from different countries of Europe and Asia. Especially many citizens arrived from Italy, Germany, the Balkan countries, partly from Russia, China and Japan. Settlers of a later period usually keep apart, preserving their language, customs, culture and religion. In some republics (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay), they form significant population groups.
Features of the history of South America and, as a consequence, the great unevenness in the distribution of the modern population and its relatively low average density have led to a significant preservation of natural conditions in comparison with other continents. Large expanses of the Amazonian lowland, the central part of the Guiana Highlands (the Roraima massif), the southwestern part of the Andes and the Pacific coast remained for a long time untapped. Separate wandering tribes in the Amazonian forests, almost not in contact with the rest of the population, not so much influenced nature as they themselves depended on it. However, there are fewer and fewer such areas. Mining, laying of communication lines, in particular construction Transamazonian Highway, the development of new lands leaves in South America less and less space unaffected by human activity.
The extraction of oil in the very thick of the Amazonian rainforests or of iron and other ores within the Guiana and Brazilian highlands required the construction of transport routes in recently still remote and inaccessible areas. This, in turn, led to population growth, the destruction of forests, and the expansion of arable and pasture land. As a result of the attack on nature with the use of the latest technology, the ecological balance is often disturbed, easily vulnerable natural complexes are destroyed (Fig. 87).
Rice. 87. Environmental problems of South America
Development and significant transformations began primarily from the La Plata plain, the coastal parts of the Brazilian Highlands, the extreme north of the mainland. Areas developed even before the start of European colonization are located in the depths of the Andes of Bolivia, Peru and other countries. On the territory of the most ancient Indian civilizations, centuries-old human activity has left its mark on the desert plateaus and mountain slopes at an altitude of 3-4.5 thousand meters above sea level.
In the course of his life and activity, a person in one way or another affects the environment. The impact of a person on various elements of the environment and factors generated by a person and his economic activity is called anthropogenic.
Anthropogenic impact on the environment is destructive. Anthropogenic factors lead to the depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution and the formation of artificial landscapes.
The totality of anthropogenic impacts on the ecosphere and human habitat can be considered according to several criteria:
1. General nature of processes anthropogenic impact, predetermined by the forms of human activity: a) changes in landscapes and the integrity of natural complexes; b) withdrawal of natural resources; c) environmental pollution.
2. Material and energy nature impacts: mechanical, physical (thermal, electromagnetic, radiation, radioactive, acoustic), physico-chemical, chemical, biological factors and agents and their various combinations.
3. Categories of objects of influence: natural landscape complexes, land surface, soil, subsoil, vegetation, wildlife, water bodies, atmosphere, microenvironment and microclimate of habitation, people and other recipients.
4. Quantitative characteristics of the impact: their spatial scales (local, regional, global), singularity and multiplicity, the strength of the impact and the degree of their danger (intensity of factors and effects; "dose-effect" characteristics, threshold; admissibility according to regulatory environmental and sanitary-hygienic criteria; degree of risk and etc.).
5. Time parameters and differences in impacts by the nature of the upcoming changes: short-term and long-term, persistent and unstable, direct and indirect, having pronounced or hidden trace effects, causing chain reactions, reversible and irreversible, etc.
Intentional transformations- this is the development of land for crops or perennial plantations, the construction of reservoirs, canals and irrigation systems, the construction of cities, industrial enterprises and communication lines, the digging of cuts, pits, mines and the drilling of wells for the extraction of minerals, the drainage of swamps, etc.
Unintended Changes- this is environmental pollution, changes in the gas composition of the atmosphere, climate change, acid rain, accelerated corrosion of metals and destruction of cultural monuments, the formation of photochemical fogs (smog), ozone layer disturbances, the development of erosion processes, the onset of the desert, environmental disasters as a result of major accidents, impoverishment of the species composition of biocenoses, the development of ecological pathology among the population, etc.
Unintended environmental changes come to the fore not only because many of them are very significant and important, but also because they are less controlled and fraught with unforeseen effects. In addition, some of them, such as man-made CO emissions or thermal pollution, are fundamentally unavoidable, while the elimination of others requires enormous costs.
The most important forms of anthropogenic impact on nature include: overexploitation and depletion of natural resources and technogenic environmental pollution.
Over the past 50 years, the world has lost almost half of its forest area. Overfishing has brought fish populations to the brink of disaster. The ongoing reduction of biodiversity on the planet leads to further destabilization of the equilibrium in the biosphere. Soil erosion has become a serious problem in many parts of the world. In the US, Europe, China, India, the Middle East and Africa, water supplies are declining. The lack of water also means the lack of food. 70% of the world's water resources are used to grow crops.
The use of natural resources will increase dramatically over the next 50 years. It is expected that the population of our planet will increase by this time by 60%.
Technogenic pollution of various natural environments has a sharply negative impact on living organisms, human living conditions and health. Anthropogenic pollution of the environment over the past decades has become global in nature, which has led to a sharp deterioration in the state of natural ecosystems and significantly reduced the available operational resources on Earth. In addition, various types of technogenic pollution are the cause of many environmental problems of our time (destruction of the ozone screen, climate change, the problem of waste, the reduction of biodiversity).
Human impact on the environment in the modern era has become a factor on a geological or even cosmic scale, surpassing all natural forces that have ever influenced the evolution of life, the evolution of the earth's biosphere.
MAIN LAWS OF THE SYSTEM "MAN - NATURE"
The modern nature of the relationship in the system "man - nature", or "man - biosphere", can be called antagonistic. Man in the process of cognition and development of nature came into conflict with it. (Modern relations between the economy and ecology can also be called contradictory.) A number of laws and rules objectively characterize the modern relationship between man and nature.
Feedback law of interaction "human - biosphere" P.Dansero (1957), or boomerang law(the fourth law of B. Commoner, 1974): the anthropogenic load on the biosphere has acquired such proportions that the very existence of mankind is threatened.
The law of irreversibility of interaction "human - biosphere" P. Dancero (1957): renewable natural resources become non-renewable in the event of a profound change in the environment, significant overexploitation, reaching total destruction or extreme depletion, and therefore exceeding the possibilities of their restoration. This corresponds to the modern phase of development of the system of relations "man - nature". Modern civilization and culture do not provide stable conditions for the existence on Earth of either life or man as part of it.
The rule for the measure of transformation of natural systems: during the operation of natural systems, it is impossible to cross certain limits that allow these systems to retain the properties of self-maintenance (self-regulation).
The American ecologist B. Commoner proposed a number of laws reflecting the universal connection of processes and phenomena in nature (1974):
1. "Everything is connected to everything."
The biosphere is a single system of living organisms that has the ability to self-regulate and maintain balance. These same properties, under the influence of external overloads, can lead to a dramatic denouement. The level of anthropogenic impact on the biosphere leads to an overload of its self-regulatory mechanisms.
2. "Everything has to go somewhere."
There is no such thing as "garbage" in nature. In natural systems, any "waste" gives rise to new life, included in the biospheric cycles. Wastes of anthropogenic activity - new substances and compounds - disperse in nature, aggravate life processes, forming ecological "dead ends".
3. "Nature knows best."
Don't try to "improve nature". Remember: all the power of man is in the knowledge of the laws of nature and the ability to change them. The best way is the rational activity of man in relation to nature.
4. "Nothing comes for free"(boomerang law).
In nature, nothing can be won or lost. Everything extracted by human labor must be returned. Payment cannot be avoided, it can only be deferred.
ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
Ecological problem- this is a change in the natural environment as a result of anthropogenic influences, leading to a violation of the structure and functioning of nature.
Environmental problems of our time in terms of their scale can be conditionally divided into local , regional and global , they require for their solution different means and different scientific developments.
An example of a local environmental problem is a plant that dumps its industrial waste into the river without treatment, which is harmful to human health and the environment. This is a violation of the law, and the nature conservation authorities should, under threat of closure, force him to build a sewage treatment plant. It does not require special science.
An example of regional environmental problems is Kuzbass, a basin almost closed in the mountains, filled with gases from coke ovens and the smoke of a metallurgical giant, which no one thought about capturing during the construction of the plant; or the drying up Aral Sea with a sharp deterioration in the ecological situation along its entire periphery; or high soil radioactivity in areas adjacent to Chernobyl. To solve such problems, scientific research is already needed.
When a problem reaches a planetary scale, it becomes global, and a whole complex of scientific research is needed to solve it.
Global problems:
Ø Climate warming.
What is the reason for this phenomenon? Some scholars believe that this is the result
burning a huge mass of fossil fuels and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a greenhouse gas, that is, it makes it difficult to transfer heat from the Earth's surface. Just as a glass roof and walls in a greenhouse allow solar radiation to pass through, but do not allow heat to escape, so carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse gases” are practically transparent to sunlight, but retain long-wave thermal radiation from the Earth, preventing it from escaping into space.
Other scientists, referring to climate change in historical time, consider the anthropogenic factor of climate warming negligible and attribute this phenomenon to increased solar activity.
Forecast for the future (2030-2050) suggests a possible increase
temperature by 1.5 - 4.5 C.
Ø The problem of the ozone layer.
As you know, life on Earth appeared only after the protective ozone layer of the planet was formed, covering it from cruel
ultraviolet radiation. For many centuries, nothing foreshadowed trouble. However, in recent decades, intensive destruction of this layer has been noticed.
The problem of the ozone layer arose in 1982 when a probe launched from
British station in Antarctica, at an altitude of 25-30 kilometers, found a sharp decrease in ozone. Since then, an ozone "hole" of varying shapes and sizes has been recorded over Antarctica all the time. According to 1992 data, it is equal to 23 million square kilometers, that is, an area equal to the whole of North America. Later, the same "hole" was discovered over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, over Svalbard, and then in different places in Eurasia, in particular over Voronezh.
The depletion of the ozone layer is a much more dangerous reality for all life on Earth than the fall of any super-large meteorite, because ozone does not allow dangerous radiation to reach the Earth's surface. In the event of a decrease in ozone, humanity is threatened, at a minimum, with an outbreak of skin cancer and eye diseases.
In general, an increase in the dose of ultraviolet rays can weaken the human immune system, and at the same time reduce the yield of fields, reduce the already narrow base of the Earth's food supply.
Ø Desertification expansion.
The fall and, in the most extreme cases, the complete destruction of the biological potential of the Earth leads to conditions similar to those of a natural desert.
Under the influence of living organisms, water and air, the most important ecosystem is gradually formed on the surface layers of the lithosphere - the soil, which is called the "skin of the Earth". It is the keeper of fertility and life. It takes a century to form a layer of soil 1 cm thick, and it can be lost in one field season. According to geologists, before people began to engage in agricultural activities, graze livestock and plow land, rivers annually carried about 9 billion tons of soil into the oceans. Now this amount is estimated at about 25 billion tons.
Soil erosion - a purely local phenomenon - has now become universal.
A particularly difficult situation arises when not only the soil layer is demolished, but also the parent rock on which it develops. Then the threshold of irreversible destruction sets in, anthropogenic, that is, created
man, desert.
Ø Water pollution.
Still, there is something blasphemous and unnatural in the fact that a person dumps all impurities and dirt into those sources from which he takes water for drinking. Paradoxically, but harmful emissions into the atmosphere eventually end up in water, and the territories of urban solid waste dumps, after each rain and snowmelt, contribute to the pollution of surface and groundwater. So, clean water becomes scarce, and water scarcity can affect faster than the consequences of the "greenhouse effect".
South America is mastered by man unevenly. Only the marginal areas of the mainland are densely populated, mainly the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and some areas of the Andes. At the same time, inland areas, such as the wooded Amazonian lowland, remained virtually undeveloped until recently.
The question of the origin of the indigenous population of South America - the Indians - has long been a matter of controversy.
The most common point of view about the settlement of South America by the Mongoloids from Asia through North America about 17-19 thousand years ago.
The centers of human development and the ways of its settlement around the globe (according to V.P. Alekseev): 1 - the ancestral home of mankind and resettlement from it; 2 - primary western focus of race formation and settlement of proto-Australoids; 3 - settlement of proto-Caucasians; 4 - resettlement of proto-Negroids; 5 - primary eastern focus of race formation and settlement of proto-Americanoids; 6 - North American tertiary focus and settlement from it; 7 - Central South American focus and resettlement from it.
But, based on some anthropological commonality of the Indian peoples of South America with the peoples of Oceania (broad nose, wavy hair) and the presence of the same tools, some scientists expressed the idea of settling South America from the Pacific Islands. However, this view is shared by few. Most scientists are inclined to explain the presence of Oceanian features among the inhabitants of South America by the fact that representatives of the Oceanian race could also penetrate through the northeast of Asia and North America with the Mongoloids.
At present, the number of Indians in South America is much larger than in North America, although during the period of colonization of the mainland by Europeans, it has greatly decreased. In some countries, Indians still make up a significant percentage of the population. In Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, they are about half of the total, and in some areas they even significantly predominate. Most of the population of Paraguay is of Indian origin, many Indians live in Colombia. In Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, the Indians were almost completely exterminated during the first period of colonization, and now there are very few of them. The Indian population of Brazil is also steadily declining.
In the interior of Brazil, there are still remnants of the tribes of the language family "zhe". By the time the Europeans arrived on the mainland, they inhabited the eastern and southern parts of Brazil, but were pushed back by the colonialists into forests and swamps. This people is still at the level of development corresponding to the primitive communal system, and is distinguished by a wandering way of life.
At a very low stage of development were the inhabitants of the extreme south of South America (Tierra del Fuego) by the arrival of Europeans. They protected themselves from the cold with animal skins, weapons were made of bone and stone, food was obtained by hunting guanacos and sea fishing. The fire-earthers were subjected to the most severe physical extermination in the 19th century, and now there are very few of them left.
At a higher level of development were the tribes inhabiting the central and northern parts of the mainland in the Orinoco and Amazon basins (the peoples of the Tupi-Guarani, Arawak, and Caribbean language families). They are still engaged in agriculture, cultivating cassava, corn, and cotton. They hunt using bows and arrow-throwing tubes, and also use the instantly acting plant poison curare.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the main occupation of the tribes living in the Argentine Pampas and Patagonia was hunting. The Spaniards brought horses to the mainland, which later became feral. The Indians learned how to tame horses and began to use them to hunt guanacos. The rapid development of capitalism in Europe was accompanied by the ruthless extermination of the population of the colonial lands. In Argentina, in particular, the Spaniards pushed the local residents to the extreme south of Patagonia, to lands unsuitable for grain farming. At present, the indigenous population is almost completely absent in Pampas. Only small groups of Indians have survived, working as farmhands in large agricultural holdings.
The highest socio-economic and cultural development by the arrival of Europeans was achieved by the tribes that inhabited the elevated plateaus of the Andes within Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, where one of the oldest centers of irrigated agriculture is located.
An Indian tribe, the Quechua language family, lived in the 11th-13th centuries. on the territory of modern Peru, united the scattered small peoples of the Andes and formed a strong state, Tahuantinsuyu (XV century). The leaders were called "Inca". Hence the name of the whole people. The Incas subjugated the peoples of the Andes up to the modern territory of Chile, extended their influence also to the more southern regions, where an independent, but close to the Inca, culture of sedentary Araucan farmers (Mapuche) arose.
Irrigated agriculture was the main occupation of the Incas, and they cultivated up to 40 species of cultivated plants, arranging fields in terraces along the slopes of the mountains and bringing water from mountain streams to them. The Incas tamed wild llamas, using them as pack animals, and bred domestic llamas, from which they received milk, meat, and wool. The Incas were also famous for their ability to build mountain roads and bridges from vines. They knew many crafts: pottery, weaving, processing of gold and copper, etc. They made jewelry and objects of religious worship from gold. In the state of the Incas, private landownership was combined with collective ownership, and a supreme leader with unlimited power was at the head of the state. Taxes were collected from the conquered tribes of the Incas. The Incas are the creators of one of the oldest civilizations in South America. Some monuments of their culture have survived to this day: ancient tracts, remains of architectural structures and irrigation systems.
Individual peoples that were part of the state of the Incas still inhabit the desert high plateaus of the Andes. They cultivate the land in a primitive way, cultivating potatoes, quinoa and some other plants.
The most numerous modern Indian people - Quechua - inhabits the mountainous regions of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina. On the shores of Lake Titicaca live the Aymara, one of the highest mountain peoples in the world.
The basis of the indigenous population of Chile was a group of strong agricultural tribes united under the common name of the Araucans. They resisted the Spaniards for a long time, and only in the 18th century. part of them, under the onslaught of the colonialists, moved to Pampa. Now Araucans (Mapuche) live in the southern half of Chile, only a few of them live in the Argentine Pampa.
In the north of the Andes, on the territory of modern Colombia, by the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, a cultural state of the Chibcha-Muisca peoples had developed. Now small tribes - the descendants of the Chibcha, who have preserved remnants of the tribal system, live in Colombia and on the Isthmus of Panama.
The first settlers from Europe, who came to America without families, intermarried with Indian women. As a result, a mixed, mestizo population was formed. The process of miscegenation continued later.
At present, "pure" representatives of the Caucasian race are almost completely absent on the mainland. The only exceptions are the latest immigrants. Most of the so-called "whites" contain, to one degree or another, an admixture of Indian (or Negro) blood. This mixed population (mestizo, cholo) predominates in almost all South American countries.
A significant part of the population, especially in the Atlantic regions (in Brazil, Guiana, Suriname, Guyana), are Negroes - the descendants of slaves imported into South America at the beginning of colonization, when a large and cheap labor force was needed used on plantations. Negroes partially mixed with the white and Indian population. As a result, mixed types were created: in the first case - mulattoes, in the second - sambo.
Fleeing from exploitation, Negro slaves fled from their masters to the rainforests. Their descendants, some of whom mixed with the Indians, in some areas still lead a primitive forest lifestyle.
Before the declaration of independence of the South American republics, i.e. until the first half of the 19th century, immigration to South America from other countries was prohibited. But subsequently, the governments of the newly formed republics, interested in the economic development of their states, the development of vacant lands, opened access to immigrants from different countries of Europe and Asia. Especially many citizens arrived from Italy, Germany, the Balkan countries, partly from Russia, China and Japan. Settlers of a later period usually keep apart, preserving their language, customs, culture and religion. In some republics (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay), they form significant population groups.
Features of the history of South America and, as a consequence, the great unevenness in the distribution of the modern population and its relatively low average density have led to a significant preservation of natural conditions in comparison with other continents. Large expanses of the Amazonian lowland, the central part of the Guiana Highlands (the Roraima massif), the southwestern part of the Andes and the Pacific coast remained undeveloped for a long time. Separate wandering tribes in the Amazonian forests, almost not in contact with the rest of the population, not so much influenced nature as they themselves depended on it. However, there are fewer and fewer such areas. Mining, laying of communications, in particular the construction of the Trans-Amazonian Highway, the development of new lands leave less and less space in South America that is not affected by human activity.
The extraction of oil in the very thick of the Amazonian rainforests or of iron and other ores within the Guiana and Brazilian highlands required the construction of transport routes in recently still remote and inaccessible areas. This, in turn, led to population growth, the destruction of forests, and the expansion of arable and pasture land. As a result of the attack on nature with the use of the latest technology, the ecological balance is often disturbed, easily vulnerable natural complexes are destroyed.
Development and significant transformations began primarily from the La Plata plain, the coastal parts of the Brazilian Highlands, the extreme north of the mainland. Areas developed even before the start of European colonization are located in the depths of the Andes of Bolivia, Peru and other countries. On the territory of the most ancient Indian civilizations, centuries-old human activity has left its mark on the desert plateaus and mountain slopes at an altitude of 3-4.5 thousand meters above sea level.
Now the population of South America is almost 320 million people, with 78% being urban. The growth of large cities is causing serious environmental problems that are characteristic of urban areas around the world. These are the lack and low quality of drinking water, air pollution, accumulation of solid waste, etc.
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