From century to century people used surrounding nature as a source of resource consumption. But until a certain time, this activity did not have a detrimental effect on surrounding a person world. For example, plants have always served as a source of food for humans, building material for huts, the plants were fed to livestock.

Developing, humanity increasingly consumed plant materials, and with the advent of various devices, mechanisms, production, the plant world began to suffer serious losses. For example, if a couple of decades ago, about 5 thousand items of products were produced from wood, now there are already about 15 thousand of them.

A person strives to make his life better, more comfortable, therefore he takes more and more resources from nature. As a result, this human influence on plants results in the return of toxic production waste to him, which is difficult to dispose of. In turn, this becomes a threat to both humans and environment.

Only at the end of the last century, scientists paid attention to the results of the harmful effects of economic activity man to the plant world. In this regard, scientific programs began to be created, grants were issued to develop ways to improve the environmental situation.

Economic activity of man and flora

Industrial emissions and have a detrimental effect on plants. For example, phytotoxicants emitted into the air have a detrimental effect on coniferous forests - forests dry out from these substances. Recently, tropical forests, which are the main suppliers of oxygen to the surrounding atmosphere, have also begun to suffer from industrial facilities. Restoring tropical forests is a very difficult and extremely time-consuming task.

For the production of electricity, hydroelectric stations and water storage facilities are built on the rivers. As a result, vast areas of the soil are flooded. Incorrect human activity in cultivating floodplains of rivers and lakes provoked their siltation, which means the disappearance of many aquatic plants.

Increase in population, urbanization

It should be noted that the degree of detrimental human influence on the plant world also depends on the population. Indeed, in connection with this, more and more food, energy resources are needed, housing problems need to be solved, etc. The population is constantly growing, new generations require more and more resources. But, unfortunately, the possibilities and resources of the planet are not unlimited. Therefore, the problem of insufficient resources must be seriously and quickly addressed now.

In addition, the rapid growth of the world's population causes urbanization, which means that there are more and more cities and they occupy more and more areas. But at the site of their construction and expansion, natural areas are being destroyed. Therefore, often at the place where new cities appear, even the climate becomes different.

Flora - as an object of protection

Under the influence of human activity (direct or indirect), many plant species are on the verge of destruction. They have become rare, disappearing or have disappeared altogether. Currently, about 30 thousand plant species are known to be under complete threat of extinction.

As an object of protection, all plants are divided into aquatic, soil, underground and terrestrial:

Aquatic vegetation growing in reservoirs is extremely important for the ecosystem of the reservoirs themselves and the organisms living in them. Man weakly uses this group of plants.

Soil vegetation is fungi, bacteria, some algae. All of them have an impact on the soil, making it more fertile. A person also does not actively use them.

Terrestrial plants growing on the surface of the earth are most actively used by man. It was from this group that most of the plants disappeared.

As a result of their activities, vast areas of wild plants have been replaced by agricultural crops, as man is constantly transforming the surrounding nature in his own interests. In addition, plants are disappearing due to unsystematic grazing of farm animals. They eat the plants, and those that remain are damaged by their hooves. As a result of this, degeneration of pastures occurs, water and wind soil erosion occurs.

If the presence and constantly growing number of industrial enterprises and power plants can be justified by industrial necessity, then spontaneous dumps, massive littering of hayfields and pastures cannot be justified in any way. Spontaneous garbage dumps, the removal of industrial waste to places not intended for this, have the most negative impact on a fragile ecosystem. The unorganized collection of medicinal plants, flowers and the activities of tourists who leave behind mountains of garbage also have a very detrimental effect on the flora.

Man increasingly began to face the impoverishment of the recently green corners of nature, pastures, meadows and forests. Thus, he has to study deeper and deeper the laws of nature of the surrounding world. Mankind has begun to realize the serious danger of further detrimental effects of its activities on plants, which means that mankind will find ways to reduce it.

At present, environmental protection has become one of the most pressing problems in the development of society.

This is due to the ever-increasing interdependence of social, environmental and natural processes.

Humanity has now reached a level of development when the results of its activities are comparable to global natural disasters.

The growth rate of the world's population is very high.

The period for which the population doubles occurs is rapidly decreasing: in the Neolithic it was 2500 years, in 1900 - 100 years, in 1965 - 35 years.

As for the productivity of the biosphere, it is comparatively low according to objective indicators.

A significant part of the land is occupied by deserts, and crop yields lag behind the rate of population growth. Added to this is the plunder of natural resources.

Forest fires (intentional or accidental) annually destroy up to two million tons of the planet's organic matter. A huge number of trees go to the production of paper. Huge areas of tropical forests, after many years of use for agricultural purposes, turn into a desert.

Monocultures of many tropical countries such as sugarcane, a coffee tree etc., deplete the soil.

The improvement and increase in the number of vessels for fishing for fish and marine animals has led to a reduction in the number of many marine fish species. Excessive whaling has contributed to a sharp decline in the world's whale stocks. The grendlan whale has almost disappeared, blue whale is under threat of extinction. As a result of poaching human activity, the number of fur seals and penguins has significantly decreased.

Of the natural phenomena that play an important role in the impoverishment natural resources, soil erosion and drought should be mentioned. Severe erosion destroys the soil. A person also contributes to this when he destroys the vegetation cover by improper housekeeping, burning and cutting down forest plantations, and unplanned grazing of livestock (especially sheep and goats).

Through the fault of man, more than five million square kilometers of cultivated land have now been lost on the globe.

The destruction of the vegetation cover entails an increasingly severe aridity.

The systematic drying of many wet areas also contributes to the development of aridity. Aridity is also increasing with the steady depletion of the groundwater horizon used in industry. So, for the production of one ton of paper, 250 cubic meters of water are required, and for the production of one ton of fertilizer, 600 cubic meters of water are required.

Water shortages are already very severe in many parts of the world today, and with decreasing rainfall, this shortage is even more so.

The systematic drainage of swamps in the temperate zone is a serious mistake of mankind. Wetlands function like a sponge - they regulate the groundwater level - supplying it in the summer and absorbing water from heavy rains and thus preventing floods. In addition, swamps serve as a refuge for endangered species of plants and animals, and in terms of their profitability, swamps are equal or even superior to the most profitable crops.

Human impact on the environment has led to the fact that many species of animals and plants have become very rare or have disappeared completely.

The high rates of scientific and technological progress at the present time, on the one hand, have led humanity to achievements that people only dreamed of in past centuries. And on the other hand, the development of cosmonautics, the chemical and metallurgical industries, achievements in medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, agricultural technology and other industries have a negative impact on humanity as a whole.

The systematization and generalization of information showed that scientific and technological progress has a negative impact on the flora and fauna, including people.

Almost half of all diseases among the inhabitants of our planet are due to the harmful effects of chemical, physical, mechanical, biological environmental factors.

At the same time, the degree of influence of environmental factors on the population largely depends on the age of people, the climatic conditions in which they live, geographical latitude, daylight hours, social conditions, the level of environmental pollution.

About 60% of all cases of wrongdoing are associated with environmental pollution. physical development among humans and more than 50% of deaths. There is an increase in mortality from diseases of the circulatory system, mental disorders, damage to the respiratory system, malignant neoplasms, diabetes, diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Detailed decision Paragraph § 32 on biology for students in grade 6, authors Pasechnik V. V. 2014

1. What factors influence the development of the plant world?

For many hundreds of millions of years, the main influence on the plant world was provided by natural factors: light, heat, moisture, the interaction of plants and animals. With the advent of Homo sapiens, his activities began to have an increasing impact on the world around him.

2. What adaptations to natural conditions are produced in plants?

Organisms' adaptations to their environment are called adaptations. The ability to adapt is one of the main properties of life in general, providing the possibility of its existence, the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce.

Adaptations manifest themselves at different levels - from the biochemistry of cells and the behavior of individual organisms to the structure and functioning of communities and ecological systems. All adaptations of organisms to existence in various conditions developed historically.

For example, plants in arid regions are capable of individual development adapt to atmospheric and soil drought. Characteristic features are the insignificant dimensions of their evaporating surface, as well as small size above ground compared to below. They also have low transpiration, high osmotic pressure, and the cytoplasm is highly elastic and viscous. Some plants in arid regions are capable of shedding leaves and even entire branches.

There are many examples, because For specific conditions, plants develop certain adaptations.

3. What is the importance of plants in human life?

Cultivated plants are grown by man for food, feed in agriculture, medicines, industrial and other raw materials.

By observing the plants that are most sensitive to pollution, scientists can judge environmental pollution very accurately. Pollution-resistant plants are used to green cities with developed industry and an abundance of cars. These plants actively absorb various harmful substances and are good dust collectors.

Questions

1. What is the impact of human economic activity on the plant world?

Violent human activity: plowing land, uprooting and burning forests, grazing pastures and trampling grass stands by domestic animals - has led to serious changes in nature. The man began to notice that as a result of his economic activity, dense forests thinned out, the number of species of wild animals decreased, and some disappeared altogether. The deforestation caused the shallowing of rivers and a decrease in fish catches. Soils were depleted, there were more ravines, dry winds and black storms became more frequent.

Particularly strong changes occurred around the cities. Vast dumps of rubbish and waste grew. In many reservoirs, the water has become undrinkable. Polluted waters, air, soils caused disturbances and sometimes death of natural communities.

Similar changes in nature have occurred everywhere, in many countries of the world. Over the past millennia, 2/3 of all forests have been cut down and burned on the globe, over 500 million hectares of fertile lands have turned into deserts. Many plant and animal species have disappeared from our planet. Some species have declined in number.

2. What is the purpose of creating reserves? How are they different from sanctuaries?

Unlike nature reserves, not all natural complex, but only that part of it that ensures the existence of certain plants and animals.

3. How is nature protected in our country?

State and public organizations of environmentalists are actively working in our country.

At present, in our country, laws are being adopted and measures are being taken aimed at "protecting the environment from harmful effects on it."

An important role in the protection of rare plants is played by botanical gardens, experimental stations and other similar institutions.

4. What is the role of plants in improving the environment?

Plants that are most sensitive to pollution can serve as indicators of the state of the environment, while resistant plants should be used for greening cities with developed industry and an abundance of cars. These plants actively absorb various harmful substances from the air and are good dust collectors.

Forests around industrial centers play an important ecological and health-improving role. Being a sustainable plant community with a large number of species, the forest is especially active in absorbing and processing harmful substances.

Man ultimately lives off green plants - the main producers of organic matter and oxygen.

5. Why should nature conservation be the concern of all people on the planet?

The protection of nature and the rational use of its resources are important not only for one state, but for the entire globe as a whole, i.e. for every person. Only in this case it is possible to achieve the most productive results.

Protecting, restoring and multiplying the vegetation cover of our planet, we create conditions for the life of not only contemporaries, but also future generations.

Summer assignments

1. Study the species composition of trees, shrubs and flower-decorative (used in landscaping) plants. Set in what period (flowering, fruiting, etc.) each species is most decorative. What plants should be more widely used in landscaping?

Pollution-resistant plants should be used more widely in landscaping, especially for landscaping cities with developed industry and an abundance of cars. The most resistant to air pollution are white acacia, yellow acacia (caragana), poplar, chestnut, birch, alder, willow, hawthorn, lilac, larch, etc. These plants actively absorb various harmful substances from the air and are good dust collectors. Skillfully used in landscaping, plants not only purify the air from substances harmful to health, but also make settlements cozy and beautiful.

2. Study the species composition of one of the plant communities. Make a list of plants growing in different tiers.

The species composition of the deciduous forest is diverse:

In the deciduous forest, oaks, lindens, birches, maples, elms and other large trees form the first, upper tier;

Mountain ash, bird cherry, hazel (hazel), forest honeysuckle - the second tier;

Euonymus, raspberries - the third tier (shrubs);

China, hoof, crow's eye, gout, several types of bluebells, chickweed, anemone, lily of the valley, medicinal lungwort, yellow greenfinch and many other plants - the fourth (herbs and ferns);

Fifth - lichens, mosses and mushrooms.

3. Study the structural features of plants belonging to various ecological groups. Describe 2-3 plants you have studied from different ecological groups.

Plants are divided into ecological groups in relation to various factors environment. The most important of these are humidity and light.

In relation to moisture, five ecological groups of plants are distinguished:

1) hydatophytes - aquatic grasses that are completely submerged in water, their leaves are very thin, and nutrients are absorbed by the entire surface of the body. Among them are flowering plants, which for the second time switched to an aquatic lifestyle (for example, elodea). Taken out of the water, these plants quickly dry out and die. They have no stomata and no cuticle. There is no transpiration in such plants, and water is excreted through special cells. Water-supported shoots often do not have mechanical tissues; aerenchyma (air-bearing tissue) is well developed in them;

2) hydrophytes - plants partially submerged in water, usually live along the banks of reservoirs in damp meadows, in swamps. These include common reed. They have better developed conductive and mechanical tissues than hydatophytes. Aerenchyma is well expressed. Hydrophytes have an epidermis with stomata, the rate of transpiration is very high, and they can grow only with a constant intensive absorption of water;

3) hygrophytes - plants of humid places with high humidity.

4) mesophytes - plants living in conditions of moderate moisture, moderate temperatures and good mineral nutrition.

5) xerophytes - plants of insufficiently moistened habitats, where there is little water in the soil, and the air is hot and dry. Among them are herbs and woody plants. They have devices that allow them to extract water when it is scarce, to limit the evaporation of water, or to store it during a drought. Xerophytes are better than all other plants, able to regulate water metabolism, and therefore remain active during a prolonged drought. These are plants of deserts, steppes, hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs, sand dunes. Among xerophytes, dry (sclerophytes - adapted to water austerity) and succulent (succulents - have fleshy stems and / or leaves) are distinguished. For example, feather grass, saxaul, camel thorn - sclerophytes, scarlet, fat woman, prickly pear, cereus - succulents.

Prickly pear (Opuntia vulgaris) is a powerful perennial plant, up to 4-6 m tall, from the subtropics of South America.

Opuntias are able to grow quickly and form bizarre bushes. These are large cacti with dark green stems. Their segments (cladodia) - the size of a palm - juicy, thick, light green, oblong or obovate grow one from the other. The flattened stems are sometimes mistaken for leaves.

In the areoles on young segments, rudimentary leaves grow pressed to the surface, which then fall off. The leaves are small, juicy, subulate bright green.

Spines develop somewhat later on mature segments. Usually they are singly located in the areola (although sometimes there are 2-4 spines in the areola). They are large and needle-shaped.

In addition to spines and leaves in areoles with gray pubescence, there are also yellowish glochidia. Glochidia are small, brittle spines, very sharp and tough. But the main thing is that they are equipped with microscopic serrated notches and hooks along their entire length and grow in large quantities in bunches around the areolas. Glochidia easily fly off from the cactus and have a protective function, as they fall from the plant at the slightest touch and dig into the skin. They can cause swelling or irritation, and most importantly, they are difficult to see and remove.

From April to September, this cactus is decorated with yellow shiny flowers. They are formed both at the top and along the edges of the segments, and amaze with an abundance of petals and stamens. This is a feature of prickly pear - a bright and lush daytime bloom, although sometimes the flowers can remain open for 30-48 hours, attracting a huge number of bees.

Large wheel-shaped bisexual flowers on a short tubular pedicel develop one at a time on areoles. Opuntia stamens are usually short corollas. They are attached to the receptacle, concave in the form of a bowl, and even with a light touch they immediately twist.

The fruits ripen from mid-July to mid-August. The ovary is covered with scales on the outside, and in the axil of the scales there are bunches of spines. These beams are located surprisingly geometrically - in a checkerboard pattern, at the same distance from each other. The resulting green "bumps" of the fruit quickly increase in size, brightly colored, ripen and become red-burgundy. The fruit of Opuntia vulgaris, a pear-shaped berry, is edible. The fruits of prickly pear are fleshy, juicy, rather large (up to 5-7.5 cm long, sometimes up to 10 cm, and weighing 70-300 g). The berries contain light seeds with an ossified shell the size of a lentil grain.

The root system of prickly pear is superficial. The main root descends from the hypocotyl knee (hypocotyl). It gradually branches, forming a whole system of lateral roots (at a depth of 5-6 cm from the soil surface, root system up to 7 m in length).

4. Study the features and differences in the structure of the vegetative organs of plants of the same species growing in different habitat conditions.

For example, as a result of the adaptation of a plant to low light, its appearance changes somewhat. The leaves become dark green and slightly increase in size (linear leaves lengthen and become narrower), the stem internodes begin to stretch, which loses its strength. Then their growth gradually decreases, because. the production of photosynthesis products going to the building bodies of the plant is sharply reduced. With a lack of light, many plants stop blooming.

With an excess of light, chlorophyll is partially destroyed, and the color of the leaves becomes yellow-green. In strong light, plant growth slows down, they turn out to be more squat with short internodes and wide short leaves.

5. Find out the effect of sowing density on the growth and development of plants. Sow the seeds of carrots (beets, radishes) on two identical plots (control and experimental). After the emergence of seedlings on the experimental plot, thin them out, and repeat the thinning after 10-15 days. Watch the development of plants. Determine which plot yields more. Record the results in a diary.

On the control plot, carrots will grow large, even (provided there are no negative effects on plants). And on the second small, curve, the harvest is less. That. when thinning, the result will be better - the roots will be larger and more even.

6. Remove side shoots from several tomato plants. Comparing these plants with those in which side shoots were not removed, determine which of the plants yielded more.

Plants that have had side shoots removed will produce a larger yield. Due to this, more nutrients will flow to the fruits, and they will be larger.

7. Select a few (2-3) trees and shrubs growing near your home and observe them: note the size, crown shape, branching, bark features, location of buds and leaves on the shoot, observe the development of shoots, flowering, etc. etc. Record all data in a diary. Continue observing in the fall.

birch drooping

Under favorable conditions, it reaches 25-30 m in height and up to 80 cm in diameter.

The crown is branched, but not dense. Young branches hang down, which gives the birch crown a very characteristic appearance (the name is drooping birch).

Branching is sympodial.

The bark of young trees is brown, and from 8-10 years it turns white. Juveniles can be confused with alder species. In adulthood, it is well distinguished from other trees by its white bark. In older trees, the bark in the lower part of the trunk becomes deeply fissured, black.

The buds are sessile, pointed, sticky, covered with tiled scales. The leaf arrangement is alternate. Leaves are rhombic-ovate to triangular-ovate, 3.5-7 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, pointed at the apex with a wide wedge or almost truncated base, smooth, young age sticky, smooth on both sides; the edges are double-toothed. Petioles bare 0.8-3 cm.

Young shoots are reddish-brown, covered with numerous resinous rough warts - wax glands; in adult trees, shoots with single glands are bare. Apical and lateral buds are laid on the shoots of the current year in summer and bloom in spring.

The flowers are regular, small, inconspicuous, same-sex, collected in serrated, hanging inflorescences at the ends of the branches. It blooms before the leaves bloom (according to some sources - simultaneously with the leaves blooming) - in May.

Fruiting continues every year. The fruits ripen by the end of summer and begin to disperse. Dispersion occurs gradually throughout autumn and winter. The fruit is a small winged nut.

Rose hip

Rosehip is not a tall bush from 1.5-2.5 m in height.

Upright shrub with arched hanging branches, covered with strong sickle-shaped thorns.

Shoots are branched, green, brown, dark red, dark brownish, sometimes purple-brown, brown, black-brown, brown-red or gray with felt pubescence; as a rule, with straight, curved or hook-shaped spines, often with an admixture of numerous setae and hairs, with stalked glandules.

Kidneys are spaced, reddish, less often of a different color, glabrous or hairy, small, with three to six outer renal scales.

The leaf arrangement is alternate. Leaflets are elliptical to rounded in shape, with a wedge-shaped, rounded or slightly heart-shaped base, serrate at the edges.

Bush forms of wild roses have branches of two types: erect and arcuate, curved down. They form numerous vegetative shoots of the first year, sometimes reaching 1-1.5 m in height and 10-12 mm in diameter, with soft and thin spikes of various sizes, flowering and fruiting in subsequent years. Young shoots have a greenish-red hue with small bristles and thorns.

The flowers are pink or white-pink, with five free petals, a corolla up to 5 cm in diameter. Rosehip blooms in May-June.

The fruit is a special-shaped polynutlet called cynarrhodia, 1-1.5 cm in diameter, crowned with sepals, when ripe, red, orange, purple-red, sometimes black, usually fleshy, sometimes dryish, naked or covered with bristles or spines, coarsely hairy inside , with numerous nutlets, ripen in September-October.

8. Study the structure of the flowers of insect pollinated plants. Determine the duration of flowering, which insects pollinate them.

Linden heart-shaped

The flowers are regular, bisexual, with a double five-parted perianth, up to 1-1.5 cm in diameter, yellowish-white, odorous, collected in drooping corymbose inflorescences of 3-11 pieces, with inflorescences there is an oblong yellowish-green stipules. There are many stamens in the flower. Blooms from early July 10-15 days. Pollinated by bees and other insects.

9. Participate in the production of visual teaching aids, using plants from a school educational and experimental or personal plot. Make herbariums and thematic collections using only cultivated, weedy or widespread plants, for example, “Leaves simple and compound”, “Leaf venation”, “Pest damage to leaves”, “Phases of development of wheat”, “ medicinal plants" and etc.

Human impact on wildlife consists of direct influence and indirect changes in the natural environment. One of the forms of direct impact on plants and animals is deforestation. Selective and sanitary cuttings, which regulate the composition and quality of the forest and are necessary for the removal of damaged and diseased trees, do not significantly affect the species composition of forest biocenoses. Another thing is the clear-cutting of a tree stand. Once suddenly in an open habitat, the plants of the lower tiers of the forest are adversely affected by direct solar radiation. In shade-loving plants of the herbaceous and shrub layers, chlorophyll is destroyed, growth is inhibited, and some species disappear. Light-loving plants that are resistant to high temperatures and lack of moisture settle on the site of clearings. The animal world is also changing: the species associated with the forest stand disappear or migrate to other places.

A tangible impact on the condition of the vegetation cover is exerted by the massive visitation of forests by vacationers and tourists. In these cases, the harmful effect consists in trampling, soil compaction and its pollution. The direct influence of man on the animal world is the extermination of species that are food or other material benefits for him. It is believed that since 1600 more than 160 species and subspecies of birds and at least 100 species of mammals have been exterminated by man. The long list of extinct species includes the tour - a wild bull that lived throughout Europe. In the XVIII century. was exterminated described by the Russian naturalist G.V. Steller's sea cow (Steller's cow) is an aquatic mammal belonging to the siren order. A little over a hundred years ago, the wild horse tarpan, which lived in southern Russia, disappeared. Many species of animals are on the verge of extinction or have survived only in nature reserves. Such is the fate of the bison, who inhabited the prairies of North America by tens of millions, and of the bison, formerly widespread in the forests of Europe. On the Far East the sika deer is almost completely exterminated. Intensified cetacean fishing has brought to the brink of extinction several species of whales: gray, bowhead, blue.

The number of animals is also influenced by human economic activities not related to fishing. The number of the Ussuri tiger has sharply decreased. This happened as a result of the development of territories within its range and the reduction of the food supply. In the Pacific Ocean, several tens of thousands of dolphins die every year: during the fishing period, they get into the nets and cannot get out of them. Until recently, before the adoption of special measures by fishermen, the number of dolphins dying in nets reached hundreds of thousands. Marine mammals are very adversely affected by water pollution. In such cases, the ban on trapping of animals is ineffective. For example, after the ban on catching dolphins in the Black Sea, their numbers are not restored. The reason is that many toxic substances enter the Black Sea with river water and through the straits from the Mediterranean Sea. These substances are especially harmful to baby dolphins, whose high mortality prevents the growth of the number of these cetaceans.

The disappearance of a relatively small number of animal and plant species may not seem very significant. Each species occupies a certain place in the biocenosis, in the chain and no one can replace it. The disappearance of a particular species leads to a decrease in the stability of biocenoses. More importantly, each species has unique, unique properties. The loss of the genes that determine these properties and are selected in the course of long evolution deprives a person of the opportunity to use them in the future for his practical purposes (for example, for selection).

Radioactive contamination of the biosphere. The problem of radioactive contamination arose in 1945 after the explosion atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nuclear weapons tests carried out before 1963 in the atmosphere caused global radioactive contamination. During the explosion of atomic bombs, very strong ionizing radiation occurs, radioactive particles are scattered over long distances, infecting the soil, water bodies, and living organisms. Many radioactive isotopes have long half-lives, remaining hazardous throughout their lifetime. All these isotopes are included in the circulation of substances, enter living organisms and have a detrimental effect on cells.

Nuclear weapons testing (and even more so when these weapons are used for military purposes) has another negative side. In a nuclear explosion, a huge amount of fine dust is formed, which is kept in the atmosphere and absorbs a significant part of solar radiation. Calculations by scientists around the world show that even with a limited, local use of nuclear weapons, the resulting dust will retain most of the solar radiation. There will be a long cold snap (“nuclear winter”), which will inevitably lead to the death of all life on Earth.

At present, almost any territory of the planet from the Arctic to Antarctica is subject to diverse anthropogenic influences. The consequences of the destruction of natural biocenoses and environmental pollution have become very serious. The entire biosphere is under ever-increasing pressure from human activity, so environmental protection measures are becoming an urgent task.

Acid atmospheric impacts on land. One of the most acute global problems of our time and the foreseeable future is the problem of increasing acidity precipitation and soil cover. Areas of acidic soils do not know droughts, but their natural fertility is lowered and unstable; they are rapidly depleted and yields are low. Acid rain causes not only acidification of surface waters and upper soil horizons. Acidity with downward water flows extends to the entire soil profile and causes significant acidification of groundwater. Acid rain occurs as a result of human activities, accompanied by the emission of colossal amounts of oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon. These oxides, entering the atmosphere, are transported over long distances, interact with water and turn into solutions of a mixture of sulfurous, sulfuric, nitrous, nitric and carbonic acids, which fall in the form of "acid rain" on land, interacting with plants, soils, waters. The main sources in the atmosphere are the burning of shale, oil, coal, gas in industry, agriculture, and at home. Human economic activity has almost doubled the release of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Naturally, this affected the increase in the acidity of atmospheric precipitation, ground and ground waters. To solve this problem, it is necessary to increase the volume of systematic representative measurements of atmospheric pollutant compounds over large areas.

3. Nature protection and prospects for rational nature management.

Today, the consumer attitude to nature, the expenditure of its resources without the implementation of measures to restore them are a thing of the past. The problem of the rational use of natural resources, the protection of nature from the detrimental consequences of human economic activity have acquired great national importance. Society, in the interests of present and future generations, takes necessary measures for the protection and scientifically based, rational use of the earth and its subsoil, water resources, flora and fauna, for the preservation of clean air and water, for the reproduction of natural resources and the improvement of the human environment. Nature protection and rational use of natural resources is a complex problem, and its solution depends both on the consistent implementation of government measures and on the expansion of scientific knowledge.