Open Field ecosystem
By Ashlan Cheever, Elba Fridriksson, Allison Shaw, Ava Strickland and Sakthi Thanigai
By Ashlan Cheever, Elba Fridriksson, Allison Shaw, Ava Strickland and Sakthi Thanigai
The Open Field Ecosystem contains many different organisms. These include: Plestiodon skiltonianus (western skink), Heterodon nasicus (western hognose snake), Zea mays (corn), and Toxoplasma gondii (protozoan parasite). This ecosystem has soil layers, surface water and many microorganisms that cycle many of the bio-elements in an open field ecosystem. With an abundance of vegetation and rocks the western skink and the western hognose snake have many places to take shelter and hunt for prey. Corn grows well in the different levels of soil present in this ecosystem and the Toxoplasma gondii has many organisms to infect and scour for. With much biodiversity present in this ecosystem, these organisms thrive in the open field ecosystem.
There are 4 main threats to any ecosystem. Those common threats include fires, invasive species, loss of open space, and unmanaged outdoor recreation.
-Wildfires can destroy whole ecosystems with a small likelihood of survival.
-Invasive species can kill off native species or get rid of common resources that native species use to survive.
-Human development destroys nearly 3 acres of land per minute, which disrupts many species' habitats. This is especially prominent in the open field ecosystem.
-Human recreation also disturbs ecosystems and can cause harm. For example, farming, offroad vehicles, and littering.
Pollution is a big problem to many ecosystems. Some examples of pollution in an open field are:
Litter- Can smother crops, reducing field size. Also, litter can reduce water quality of field systems
Pesticides - As they are put on crops, the pesticides run into the water system and can kill many other organisms
Agricultural Fires- an unplanned and unpredictable way of killing/destroying an entire ecosystem quickly
Climate change is defined as gradual but persistent shifts in temperature and weather patterns. This could be due to natural cycles, but growing research has show an increasing human impact on the changing weather cycles and overall increase in temperature of the world as a whole.
Research has demonstrated that human activities such as the burning of fossil feuls, industrial waste, ocean pollution, and deforestation are all contributing factors to the lack of carbon reuptake and excess carbon in the atmosphere. Carbon traps heat in the ozone which is directly correlated to the rising global temperatures.
As heightened temperatures persist, extreme weather events such as floods and droughts become more common in areas where they were once less common. Although our planet has been known to have periodic rises and falls in overall temperature, this exponential increase is unprecedented in periodical record. This leads most scientists to agree that humans do play a role and urges the public to take personal measures to drop their carbon emission and waste management.