EARTH SCIENCE
Name: ______________________________________ Grade Level: _______________
Section: ____________________________________ Date: _______________________
HUMAN IMPACTS ON SOIL RESOURCES
Soil is especially vulnerable to erosion if it is bare or exposed. Plants
therefore serve a tremendous role in preventing soil erosion. If the soil is
covered with plants, erosion is slowed down. But when soil is bare, the rate
of erosion speeds up tremendously. Here are some human activities that
leave the soil exposed and speed up erosion. We speed up erosion through
the following actions.
1. Agricultural Depletion - Farming can degrade the topsoil and lead to an
increase in erosion. To plant a field, a farmer must first till the soil, breaking
it up and loosening it so the new plants can take root. Once the plants are
harvested, the loose soil remains and wind or rain can easily wash it away.
In the 1930s, much of the American plains suffered greatly from erosion due
to non-sustainable farming practices, creating the Dust Bowl and leading to
widespread poverty and migration to the west coast. Planting cover crops in
the fall can help maintain the soil through the winter months, reducing the
amount of erosion. In addition, rotating the crops planted can help return
nutrients to the soil to prevent its degradation.
2. Overgrazing Animals - Grazing animals are animals that live on large
areas of grassland. They wander over the area and eat grasses and shrubs.
They can remove large amounts of the plant cover for an area. If too many
animals graze the same land area, once the tips of grasses and shrubs have
been eaten, they will use their hooves to pull plants out by their roots
3. Deforestation - Deforestation is another practice that can greatly
increase the rate of erosion in a region. One of the most important barriers
to erosion is plant life, as long-lived trees and other species put down roots
that literally help hold the soil together. Logging kills these plants, and even
if the operation plants new trees to replace the old ones, the younger plants
require years to put down the kind of root system that once protected the
soil. Timber companies utilize a variety of different techniques, such as
partial clearing and replanting, to prevent soil degradation and erosion in
their work zones.
4. Mining operations are major contributors to erosion, especially on a
local level. Many mining techniques involve shifting large amounts of earth,
such as strip mining or mountaintop removal. These operations leave large
amounts of loose soil exposed to the elements, and they often 166 Teacher
tip This will be delivered as a straight lecture. require large amounts of
water, which can exacerbate the erosion process. Even once the mining
operation is completed and the company replaces the earth, it lacks the
established vegetation that helped it maintain its coherency before removal,
and until plants can reestablish themselves, erosion will continue to be a
problem.
5. Development and Expansion - Urban and suburban development can
also exacerbate erosion, especially if the developers ignore the natural state
of the land. Construction of a building often begins by clearing the area of
any plants or other natural defenses against soil erosion. In addition, some
landscapers replace natural ground cover with plant species unsuited to the
climate, and these plants may not be as effective at preventing erosion.
6. Recreational activities, like driving vehicles off-road or hiking - Humans
also cause erosion through recreational activities, like hiking and riding off-
road vehicles. An even greater amount of erosion occurs when people drive
off-road vehicles over an area. The area eventually develops bare spots
where no plants can grow. Erosion becomes a serious problem in these
areas.
HUMAN IMPACTS ON FRESHWATER RESOURCES
In the previous module, you have learned about the various water resources
on Earth. Recall that we live on a blue planet where water circulates
through the water cycle in its different states, as water vapour, liquid water
and ice. The freshwater in our world is found in three main places:
● Atmospheric water in the air either as a solid (hail, snow), liquid
(fog, mist, rain) or gas (invisible water vapour)
● Surface water as runoff and base-flow into and from the catchment
areas like lakes
● Groundwater in the cracks and spaces of soil, sand, and rocks
underground, generally adequate and of high quality that does not
require treatment for human use.
But despite the seeming abundance of water on Earth, freshwater
availability is less than 2.5 percent of the world’s water supply. Of this
percentage, less than one third is easily accessible from surface water bodies
like lakes and rivers and from the underground stored in aquifers. This
leaves us with less than 1% available for water, sanitation and hygiene
needs.
Figure 1. World’s small fraction of freshwater for human needs.
Source: UN Environmental Programme, Vital Water Graphics: An overview of the state of the world’s fresh and marine waters, 2nd
ed., UNEP, Nairobi, 2008; United Nations Environment Programme, Global Environment Outlook 3: Past, present, and future
perspectives, UNEP, Nairobi, 2002.; UN Population Division, 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects, UN DESA, New York, Jul
2015. Reprinted with permission of UNICEF.
Direct and Indirect Water Uses: there are two categories of water use:
direct and indirect. You directly use water in different activities like hand
washing, drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning and many more. You also
used water indirectly through the food you eat, the things you buy, and even
the energy you use. The water used to produce or process a commodity,
commercial goods or service is referred to us virtual water. The
measurement of virtual water along the full production - consumption chain
is referred to as a water footprint.
Let’s say you drank one liter of tap water last night. Due to this
action, you directly consumed one liter of actual tap water. If today, you will
buy a 1-L bottled water and drink all of it, you would have directly
consumed one liter of bottled water. But you also indirectly used the many
liters of virtual water needed (and some amount possibly got wasted) to
produce and supply the water bottle itself. Depending on where and how
the bottle was produced, you just added five liters or more of freshwater to
your water footprint because of that action.
Your personal water footprint is the total volume of water required in
the production of the services and goods you patronize and use. So in
which type of water use did you consume more water? Drinking tap water
or drinking bottled water? What can you do minimize your total water
consumption even if you still prefer bottled water to tap?
How did you estimate which water use is larger? Within this week
you will make a simple water audit of your direct water use for 24 hours. To
help you prepare for it, analyze Table 2 for direct and indirect water uses
and the total volume per use.
Table 2. Direct and Indirect Water Use
Direct Water Use for Liters of Indirect Water Use Liters of
Activity 1
Water Used (Goods) 2 Virtual
Water
1-min shower, regular 10 1 pair of jeans (1000 10,850
flow g)
1-min shower, low flow 7 1 bed sheet (900 g) 9750
1-min standard faucet 8 1 T-shirt (250 g) 2720
flow
1-min with aerator 6 1 diaper (75 g) 810
faucet flow
1 standard toilet flush 6 1 cotton bud (0.333 3.6
g)
1 old inefficient toilet 22
flush
Indirect Water Use Liters of Sources:
(Food)3 Virtual Water
1. www.epa.gov/watersense/using-
Content
water-efficiently
60 g large-sized egg 196
250 ml of milk (1 glass) 255
2. A.K. Chapagain A.Y. Hoekstra
100 g chocolate 1720 H.H.G. Savenije R. Gautam (2005).
100 g mango 180 The water footprint of cotton
consumption, Value of Water
100 g banana (small) 79 Research Report Series No. 18,
1 kg cabbage 237 UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the
Netherlands.
1 kg potato 287
1 kg corn 1222
3. M.M. Mekonnen and A.Y.
1 kg rice 2497
Hoekstra (2010), "The Green, Blue
1 kg beef 15415 and Grey Water Footprint of Crops
1 kg chicken 4325 and Derived Crop Products," and
1 kg fish (freshwater)4 3160 "...of Farm Animals and Animal
Products," Value of Water Research
1 kg fish (marine)4 1490
Report Series No. 47 and 48,
1 kg pork 5988 UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the
Netherlands.
4.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepr
o.2017.03.134
What you are reading now is printed on an A4 sheet of paper. The
global average water footprint for this paper alone is estimated to be between
2-13 liters. The exact amount depends on the type and origin of the paper
materials used. If recycled paper is used instead of raw paper materials,
then an estimated 40% of virtual water is saved.
Generally, water is required in the different paper production stages –
from growing wood to processing pulp into paper products. But most of the
water is required in growing the tree, where water consumption refers to the
forest evapotranspiration. Then, there’s the additional water used during
the manufacturing processes in the industrial stage, mostly due to the
evaporation and contamination of groundwater and surface water.
How much water was used to grow your rice and chicken, to
manufacture your shirt and skirt, your books and music gadgets?
Surprisingly, you may not see your indirect water use, yet it accounts for
most of your water footprint. With your daily actions and choices, you
directly and indirectly use, reuse, and waste water.
Human Impacts on Freshwater: Water Clear Reflections
Just as there are direct and indirect water usages, there are also
direct and indirect drivers that change water resource ecosystems. A
direct driver clearly impacts ecosystem processes while an indirect driver
works by influencing one or more direct drivers:
● direct drivers are physical and biological factors that include climate
change, land conversion, plant nutrient use, and the onset of diseases
and invasive species
● indirect drivers are demographic; economic; socio-political; cultural
and religious; and scientific and technological factors
Table 5 is an adapted summary of land use changes and the major
threats on water resource ecosystems around the world (UNEP, 2004b).
Only five out of eighteen freshwater ecosystems were selected and shown for
you to analyze and synthesize.
Table 5. Some major threats to selected coastal and freshwater ecosystems
and services
Ecosystem Goods and Services Threats
Rivers many environmental, reclamation, drainage, flow
economic (e.g. fish, water regulation, dam construction,
supplies, transport, hydroelectric power, pollution,
disposal, biological deforestation, soil erosion and
cleaning, climate degradation, climate change
regulation, etc.), religious and alien invasive species
and spiritual values
Inland deltas water supplies, sediment drainage, irrigation, regulation
and nutrient retention, of water flow, pollution,
recreation deforestation, soil erosion,
agricultural intensification,
overexploitation of fish and
other food species, climate
change
Lakes water supplies, fiber, fish, pollution, agricultural
waterfowl, recreation, intensification, eutrophication,
groundwater recharge, deforestation, soil degradation,
religious and spiritual overexploitation of fish and
values food species, climate change,
waterborne disease control
Groundwater Water reservoirs, water Irrigation, pollution,
storage, nutrients storage agricultural intensification,
eutrophication, deforestation,
aquifers
soil erosion, overexploitation of
food species, waterborne
disease control
Freshwater water and food supplies, irrigation, pollution,
stop-over sites for migratory agricultural intensification,
springs
species, recreation, overexploitation of fish and
religious and spiritual other food species, alien
values invasive species
Source: UNEP and UNEP-WCMC, 2004
Soil degradations result to reduced soil functions and lower ability to
support ecosystem services needed for human survival and well-being.
Minimizing or stopping significant soil degradation is important for the
sustainable maintenance of soil services. This is more cost-effective than
restoring degraded soils.
Conversely, the arrangements of the solid parts and pore spaces of
soil is called soil structure. Clumps of soil particles held together by
varied organic substances are called soil aggregates. Well-structured
aggregates of soils indicate a healthy soil.
Learning Competencies:
1. Explain how different activities affect the quality
and availability of water for human use (S11ES-Ig-16)
1. Identify human activities, such as farming, construction of structures,
and waste disposal, that affect the quality and quantity of soil.
(S11ES-Ih-i-17)
ACTIVITY 1: OH-MY-SOIL!
Activity 3: Oh My Soil! – A Simple Household Soil Site Survey
(Adapted from KidsGardening.org, 2018)
What kind of soil conditions do you
have at home? My Soil-Landscape
Inventory of Existing Features.
Sketch your home or dwelling space
area from a bird’s-eye view on your
learner’s notes.
Outline the property lines and all
existing features (where applicable)
like the fence, house, pathways,
sitting area, laundry area, garden
area, water source, septic tank,
storm drain, rain water collecting
area, waste area, etc.
Summary of Soil Site.
Locate areas with healthy soils and areas with degraded soils. Look at the ground
or containers and check out your soil. Observe, record notes and make labels on:
● soil locations (indoor, own backyard, adjacent vacant lot, or community
garden),
● soil containment (ground, raised bed, containers),
● soil conditions (no vegetation, sealed, polluted, compacted, waterlogged, etc.),
and
● types (natural or anthropogenic soils).
Q17. What are the existing indoor or outdoor plant materials (flowers, herbs,
vegetables, shrubs, trees, etc.) and landscape beds (if there is any) in your site?
Q18. What do you consider are the top two soil-related problem areas in your
home soil site?
ACTIVITY 2: SOIL SAVING
Now that you have an initial soil site analysis at home, design a plan to adopt an existing
or to create a future green space at home. Apply at least two soil-water conservation
practices.
1. Describe two soil-water conservation practices you will use in your “green dig” plan.
A.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
B.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Sketch the green space on a base map where you will apply the conservation practices.
ACTIVITY 3: SOIL SAVING (CONT.)
3. Write a paragraph to justify why you have chosen the two practices and their locations.
Discuss the benefits of your adopted home green space.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
ACTIVITY 4: MY WATER CONSUMPTION
A. You and I use water in many ways. How much Table 1. Ways Water is Used
water you use daily is a measure of your water Daily
footprint and can be traced back to the actions and
My Daily Water Uses
choices you make. On your science notes, make a
table similar to Table 1. Using the first column, list Direct Use Indirect Use
as many ways in which you use water. Do this for a
minute or two.
When you’re done, encircle the answers where
you directly see or handle water. Activities like these
are ways you directly use water for the intended
purpose.
Now fill the second column with things you
have to use daily. Using these products – like food,
clothes or electric power, are ways of indirectly using
water that we refer to as virtual (embedded) water?
Q1. Which do you estimate is larger – your direct water use or your indirect water
use?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY 5: APPLICATION
Landscape modification as a direct driver of ecosystem change is considered
to have a very significant impact on water resource ecosystems. Complete the
sentence for each indirect driver as each further influences land conversion threats
to water resources.
On Table 1 write a hashtag, and a brief explanation for your generalizations
on land conversion threats.
TABLE1 My Generalizations on Land Conversion Threats to Water
Ecosystems and Services as Influenced by Indirect Factors
Indirect Drivers
1. Demographic As population grows, the demand for ___________________________
_________________________________________________________
# _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. Economic Ensuring clean and safe water for our homes has environmental and
financial costs because ______________________________________
_________________________________________________________
#
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. Socio-political Poor land management contaminates waterways giving the public and
the local water authorities a reason to __________________________
_________________________________________________________
#
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
4. Cultural and Our everyday choices and actions impact the availability and quality of
Religious water, therefore we all have __________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
#
_________________________________________________________
5. Science and As future technologist, engineer or scientist, I can _________________
Technology _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
#
References
(1) Carlson, D. H., Plummer, C. C., & Hammersley, L. (2011). Physical
Geology: Earth Revealed. McGraw-Hill.
(2) Carlson, D.H., Carlson, Plummer, C.C., and Hammersley, L., 2011.
Physical Geology: Earth Revealed. McGraw-Hill. 645 p.
(3) UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme. Water A Shared Responsibility.
The United Nations World Water Development Report 2. Paris: United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and New York:
Berghahn Books. 2006.http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-
sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/wwdr2-2006/downloads-wwdr2/
[accessed SEPTEMBER 6, 2020]
ANSWER KEY
ACTIVITIES 1-5: ANSWERS MAY VARY.
Prepared by:
TRICIA ANNE P. LOPEZ
Name of Writer
