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Human impacts on world ecosystems

208 images Created 21 Aug 2012

Images below by Tom Dempsey stimulate thoughts on how people have impacted world ecosystems over human history. People have long modified vast ecosystems by burning ancestral forests into grasslands, industrializing agriculture, and paving and building to support today's worldwide population of 7 billion. Human destruction or transformation of nature is often irrevocable, as when species are forced into extinction. Plant and animal pioneers can quickly reclaim areas left alone by people, but the invasive weed species usually overwhelm previously-diverse natural environments.

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  • Nonnative Russell lupin flowers explode in color along Fairlie-Tekapo Road in early January 2019, in Canterbury region, South Island of New Zealand. The plant's diaspora began with David Douglas bringing the herbaceous lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) from North America to Britain in the 1820s. In the early 1900s, George Russell, a horticulturist from York, UK, spent two decades breeding the Russell hybrids (Lupinus X russellii hort). First naturalized to New Zealand by local farmers wanting to beautify their landscape in the 1950s, Russell lupins have invaded large areas of roadsides, pastures, and riverbeds. This alien plant most threatens indigenous species in the braided river beds of Canterbury region. Russell lupin is classed as an invasive species in New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, and Ukraine. To license this Copyright photo, please inquire at PhotoSeek.com .
    1901NZ1-0131.jpg
  • A farmer contemplates rice terraces near Kimche, along the trail to Annapurna Sanctuary in Nepal, Asia. In Nepal, humans have worked the land for thousands of years by stripping forests for firewood, terracing fields for agriculture (to grow grains, rice, potatoes, etc), and grazing yaks as high as 15,000 feet elevation. Farmers work every patch of arable land to support a dense population of people, who often push aside or destroy native species. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    07NEP-3067.jpg
  • On the Nydia Track, the yellow blooms of non-native Gorse (Ulex europaeus) invade a non-native plantation of Pinus Radiata trees, on South Island, New Zealand, in the South Pacific. Humans have transformed two thirds of New Zealand by replacing native forests with tree farms (of Pinus radiata; California's Monterey Pine), agriculture, cities, and other developments. Looking on the positive side for wilderness lovers, fully 30% of New Zealand is preserved in parkland, an unusually high amount compared to most other countries. 75% of the country’s plant species are endemic (found nowhere else).
    07NZ_5064_tree-farm-_Nydia-Track.jpg
  • Sheep graze in a pasture beneath Tararua Wind Farm, largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Humans have migrated to the ends of the earth to cut farms from virgin forests and compete for new resources, such as here in the South Pacific. Location: North Island of New Zealand, 10 km northeast of Palmerston North on a ridge in the Tararua Ranges.
    07NZ_6094_Tararua-Wind-farm.jpg
  • On Deception Island, rusting boilers and abandoned buildings date back to a shore-based whaling factory 1910-1931. In the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula, Deception Island has one of the safest harbors in Antarctica. Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano, which caused serious damage to local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969. The island is now a tourist destination and scientific outpost, with research bases run by Argentina and Spain. The island is administered under the Antarctic Treaty System. Crew dig a hole in the beach to reveal a percolating hot spring for soaking. The sea surrounding Deception Island is closed by ice from early April to early December.
    05ANT-20197_Deception-Is.jpg
  • The state fish of Hawaii is the lagoon triggerfish (humuhumunukunukuapua'a, meaning "triggerfish with a snout like a pig"; or humuhumu for short). Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is a popular snorkeling area run by the City and County of Honolulu, in the Hawaii Kai neighborhood, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. After decades of overcrowding, Hanauma Bay is now better managed as the first Marine Life Conservation District in the State, which attempts to sustain the stressed reef which hosts a great variety of tropical fish. Feeding the fish is no longer allowed and the park is closed on Tuesdays to allow the fish a day of rest undisturbed. Hanauma Bay formed within the tuff ring of an eroded volcanic crater along the southeast coast of Oahu.
    1701HAW-0565.jpg
  • An old green truck rusts in historic McCarthy. McCarthy and nearby Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark are nestled under the glacier-clad Wrangell Mountains within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. Old mine buildings, artifacts, and colorful history attract summer visitors. Remote McCarthy is connected to Chitina via the McCarthy Road spur of the Edgerton Highway. At the east end of McCarthy Road, visitors must park their vehicle and walk across the footbridge to McCarthy. From McCarthy, a privately-operated shuttle takes visitors 5 miles to Kennecott. After copper was discovered between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, the Kennecott town, mines, and Kennecott Mining Company were created and named after the adjacent glacier. Kennicott Glacier and River had previously been named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s. The corporation and town stuck with a mistaken spelling of "Kennecott" with an e (instead of "Kennicott" with an i). Partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in the company town of Kennecott, the neighboring town of McCarthy grew quickly to provide a bar, brothel, gymnasium, hospital, and school. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy in 1911 to haul over 200 million dollars worth of ore 196 miles to the port of Cordova on Prince William Sound. By 1938, the worlds richest concentration of copper ore was mostly gone, the town was mostly abandoned, and railroad service ended. Not until the 1970s did the area began to draw young people for adventure and the big money of the Trans Alaska Pipeline project. Declaration of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in 1980 drew adventurous tourists who helped revive McCarthy with demand for needed services. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (the largest National Park in the USA) is honored by UNESCO as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
    06AK_3032-McCarthy.jpg
  • Feral rooster in Waimea Canyon State Park, island of Kauai, Hawaii, USA. This wild rooster on Kauai resembles its ancestor, the wild red junglefowl from Southeast Asia, which was brought by Polynesians to Hawaii, in several waves around 300-1000 AD. Cross-breeding with European domestic chickens followed Captain Cook's landing on the archipelago in 1778. But the past few decades have seen a sudden population explosion of thousands of feral chickens on Kauai, hurting the local ecology. While some look like farm chickens, many others, with burnt orange and black plumage for the males, look like a reversion to red junglefowl from the forests of India or Vietnam. The feral hens on Kauai revert to their ancestral shape of smaller body and smaller combs. Polynesians likely never made it to South America, because chickens on that continent don't have the Polynesian bird's genetic signposts.
    1701HAW-1691.jpg
  • Stuffed heads of invasive feral goats, pigs, and deer educate visitors at Kokee Natural History Museum, Kauai, Hawaii, USA. The scenic Koke'e State Park is in northwestern Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands, USA. Perched on a plateau between 3200 and 4200 feet, the park gets temperatures at least 15 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than at sea level. Koke'e receives 50-100 inches of rain per year, mostly from October to May. Its forests are dominated by Acacia koa and ohia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) trees.
    1701HAW-1382.jpg
  • The fun Pueblo Alto Trail overlooks Pueblo Bonito, a monumental public building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from around 828 to 1126 AD, now preserved at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. The huge D-shaped complex of Pueblo Bonito enclosed two plazas with dozens of ceremonial kivas, plus 600 rooms towering 4 and 5 stories above the valley floor. The functions of this building included ceremony, administration, trading, storage, hospitality, communications, astronomy, and burial, but few living quarters. Chaco Culture NHP hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130. This panorama was stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    1403NM-0373-376pan_Pueblo-Bonito_Cha...jpg
  • A Denali National Park Green Shuttle Bus drives the Park Road through yellow mountains near Polychrome Overlook, Alaska, USA. Since 1972, traffic on the 92-mile-long Denali Park Road has been limited mostly to buses, thereby protecting wildlife, air quality, and wilderness aesthetics.
    06AK_4123-Polychrome-Denali-NP.jpg
  • A handy free shuttle bus drives visitors to scenic stops through Zion National Park and Springdale, in Utah, USA. Travel on the scenic six-mile Zion Canyon Scenic drive is now thankfully closed to private cars and limited to buses, thereby reducing traffic and improving visitor experience. Visiting the canyon is now much more relaxing compared to when cars fought for space on the narrow Scenic Drive. The North Fork of the Virgin River carved spectacular Zion Canyon through reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone up to half a mile (800 m) deep and 15 miles (24 km) long. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet (3000 m) starting 13 million years ago. Zion and Kolob canyon geology includes 9 formations covering 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation, from warm, shallow seas, streams, lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments. Mormons discovered the canyon in 1858 and settled in the early 1860s. U.S. President Taft declared it Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. In 1918, the name changed to Zion (an ancient Hebrew name for Jerusalem), which became a National Park in 1919. The Kolob section (a 1937 National Monument) was added to Zion National Park in 1956. Unusually diverse plants and animals congregate here where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert meet.
    11UT1-1009_Zion-NP-Utah.jpg
  • Handy free shuttle buses drive visitors to scenic stops (such as here at "The Temple of Sinawava") through Zion National Park and Springdale, in Utah, USA. Travel on the scenic six-mile Zion Canyon Scenic drive is now thankfully closed to private cars and limited to buses, thereby reducing traffic and improving visitor experience. Visiting the canyon is now much more relaxing compared to when cars fought for space on the narrow Scenic Drive. The North Fork of the Virgin River carved spectacular Zion Canyon through reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone up to half a mile (800 m) deep and 15 miles (24 km) long. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet (3000 m) starting 13 million years ago. Zion and Kolob canyon geology includes 9 formations covering 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation, from warm, shallow seas, streams, lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments. Mormons discovered the canyon in 1858 and settled in the early 1860s. U.S. President Taft declared it Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. In 1918, the name changed to Zion (an ancient Hebrew name for Jerusalem), which became a National Park in 1919. The Kolob section (a 1937 National Monument) was added to Zion National Park in 1956. Unusually diverse plants and animals congregate here where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert meet.
    11UT1-2305_Zion-NP-Utah.jpg
  • Four doorways connect rooms at Pueblo Bonito, 828-1126 AD Great House, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. Pueblo Bonito is a monumental public building (Puebloan Great House) occupied from around 828 to 1126 AD, still standing in Chaco Canyon. The huge D-shaped complex of Pueblo Bonito enclosed two plazas with dozens of ceremonial kivas, plus 600 rooms towering 4 and 5 stories above the valley floor. The functions of this building included ceremony, administration, trading, storage, hospitality, communications, astronomy, and burial, but few living quarters. Chaco Culture NHP hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130. Two images were combined (stitched) to increase depth of focus from near to far doorways.
    1403NM-0294-295stitch_Pueblo-Bonito_...jpg
  • The Historic Red Bus of Glacier National Park (in Montana, USA) was built on 1930s chassis by the White Motor Company, then rebuilt in 2001 to run on propane. A fleet of these vintage motor coaches provide tours and shuttle services in the park. I highly recommend using public transportation, as park traffic can be very heavy over Going to the Sun Road. A "Jammer" (driver) drives the "Red" (bus). Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976). Published by National Geographic Children's Books 2011: "Ultimate Weird But True."
    07GLA-1464.jpg
  • Tararua Wind Farm is the largest wind power installation in the Southern Hemisphere. It is located 10 kilometres northeast of the city of Palmerston North, on a 5 kilometre long ridge in the Tararua Ranges, on the North Island of New Zealand. Humans have migrated to the ends of the earth to cut farms from virgin forests and compete for new resources, such as here in the South Pacific. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    07NZ_6095_Tararua-Wind-farm.jpg
  • Reed-covered houses and cultural tools are recreated at Powhatan Indian Village at Jamestown Settlement, Virginia, USA. Animal skins with fur kept people warm. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, was founded as James Fort in 1607 within an area controlled by the Paspahegh tribe, which was part of the Powhatan Confederacy of tribes, Tsenacommacah, comprised of about 14,000 native people ruled by Wahunsonacock (sometimes called Powhatan). "Jamestown Settlement" is the Commonwealth of Virginia's portion of the historical sites and museums at Jamestown. Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park, Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia).
    12VA-235.jpg
  • Reed-covered houses and cultural tools are recreated at Powhatan Indian Village at Jamestown Settlement, Virginia, USA. Animal skins with fur kept people warm. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, was founded as James Fort in 1607 within an area controlled by the Paspahegh tribe, which was part of the Powhatan Confederacy of tribes, Tsenacommacah, comprised of about 14,000 native people ruled by Wahunsonacock (sometimes called Powhatan). "Jamestown Settlement" is the Commonwealth of Virginia's portion of the historical sites and museums at Jamestown. Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park, Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia).
    12VA-227.jpg
  • Nailed wood siding warps and weathers to a brown patina in Bodie State Historic Park. Bodie is California's official state gold rush ghost town. It lies in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, near Bridgeport, CA, USA. After W. S. Bodey's original gold discovery in 1859, profitable gold ore discoveries in 1876 and 1878 transformed "Bodie" from an isolated mining camp to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of 5000-7000 people with 2000 buildings. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Bodie declined rapidly 1912-1917 and the last mine closed in 1942. Bodie became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and Bodie State Historic Park in 1962.
    96CAL-09-32_weathered-wood-siding_Bo...jpg
  • An old car body, shot with bullet holes, missing its engine, rusts in Elkhorn State Park, Montana, USA.
    04MT-0003_old-car-Elkhorn-SP.jpg
  • Iron-bound wooden wheels decay and rust outside a late 1800s wood building preserved in the outdoor history museum of Nevada City, Montana, USA. Nevada City was a booming placer gold mining camp from 1863-1876, but quickly declined into a virtual ghost town. This fascinating town inspires you to imagination what life must have been like in early Montana when gold was discovered at nearby Alder Gulch. More than 90 buildings from across Montana have been gathered for preservation at Nevada City, mostly owned by the people of the State of Montana, and managed by the Montana Heritage Commission. In 2001, the excellent PBS television series "Frontier House" used one of the buildings and its furnishings to train families in re-creating pioneer life. A miner's court trial and hanging of George Ives in the main street of Nevada City was the catalyst for forming the Vigilantes, a group of citizens famous for taking justice into their own hands in 1863-1864. Directions: go 27 miles southeast of Twin Bridges, Montana on Highway 287.
    04MT-1033_Nevada-City-ghost-town.jpg
  • On Deception Island, rusting boilers and abandoned buildings date back to a shore-based whaling factory 1910-1931. In the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula, Deception Island has one of the safest harbors in Antarctica. Zodiac boats land cruise ship visitors on a black sand beach. Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano, which caused serious damage to local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969. The island is now a tourist destination and scientific outpost, with research bases run by Argentina and Spain. The island is administered under the Antarctic Treaty System. The sea surrounding Deception Island is closed by ice from early April to early December.
    05ANT-30012_Deception-Is.jpg
  • On Deception Island, rusting boilers and abandoned buildings date back to a shore-based whaling factory 1910-1931. In the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula, Deception Island has one of the safest harbors in Antarctica. Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano, which caused serious damage to local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969. The island is now a tourist destination and scientific outpost, with research bases run by Argentina and Spain. The island is administered under the Antarctic Treaty System. The sea surrounding Deception Island is closed by ice from early April to early December.
    05ANT-20250_Deception-Is.jpg
  • On Deception Island, rusting boilers and abandoned buildings date back to a shore-based whaling factory 1910-1931. In the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula, Deception Island has one of the safest harbors in Antarctica. Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano, which caused serious damage to local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969. The island is now a tourist destination and scientific outpost, with research bases run by Argentina and Spain. The island is administered under the Antarctic Treaty System. The sea surrounding Deception Island is closed by ice from early April to early December.
    05ANT-20248_Deception-Is.jpg
  • A corregated iron building rusts in a floodplain of volcano-devasted wilderness. On Deception Island, rusting boilers and abandoned buildings date back to a shore-based whaling factory 1910-1931. In the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula, Deception Island has one of the safest harbors in Antarctica. Deception Island is the caldera of an active volcano, which caused serious damage to local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969. The island is now a tourist destination and scientific outpost, with research bases run by Argentina and Spain. The island is administered under the Antarctic Treaty System. The sea surrounding Deception Island is closed by ice from early April to early December.
    05ANT-20243_Deception-Is.jpg
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