4.1.

5- Potential impacts of environmental threats

The potential impact on society and outdoor
environments of land degradation, introduced
species, climate change, urbanisation and other
significant threats.
FROM THE STUDY DESIGN
• Identify and predict the potential impact of significant threats to society
and outdoor environments.

KEY THREAT:
• land degradatio n
• introduce d species
• climate change
• urbanisatio n
LAND DEGRADATION

What is it?
Deterioration in the quality of
land, its topsoil, vegetation,
and/or water resources, caused
usually by excessive or
inappropriate exploitation.
LAND DEGRADATION
Causes:
Dry land soil salinity due to land clearing cropping and irrigation.
Soil contamination due to fertilizing crops and wetland drainage for
agriculture. Erosion due to land clearing, overgrazing, pest animals
and salinity.

Impacts on OE’s:
Increased erosion and salinity, insufficient nutrient to support
vegetation, reduction in native habitats, reduction in biodiversity.

Impacts on Society:
Reduces amount of productive land for agriculture (food
production), reduction in water resources, reduction in biodiversity.
INTRODUCED SPECIES
What is it?
An introduced species is one that is not naturally occurring
i n A u s t r a l i a ( n o t n a t i v e ) e g : F o x e s , r a b b i t s , d e e r, c a t s ,
r a t s , m i c e , p i g e o n s , i n d i a n m y n a s , c a n e t o a d s , i v y,
w a n d e r i n g d e w, b l a c k b e r r i e s …
Unfortunately this is a very long list!
INTRODUCED SPECIES

Causes:
Early settlers bringing fauna for sport and farming e.g. cows,
rabbits, foxes etc. Early settlers bringing flora and fauna to make
Australia more like home. Species attaching to equipment or
vessels e.g. Northern Pacific Seastar underneath ships.

Impacts on OE’s:
Compete with and displace native species for nutritious soil and
food, reduce biodiversity, contribute to land degradation.

Impacts on society:
Loss of biodiversity, some landscapes dominated by pest and
introduced species.
CLIMATE CHANGE
What is it?
A significant and lasting
change in the statistical
distribution of weather
patterns over periods ranging
from decades to millions of
years. It may be a change in
average weather conditions,
or in the distribution of
weather around the average
conditions (i.E., More or fewer
extreme weather events).
CLIMATE CHANGE
Causes:
Whilst climate change can be seen as a natural process, human
processes - through the burning of fossil fuels - contributed largely
since the industrial revolution.

Impacts on OE’s:
Increased risk of bushfires, greater intensity of droughts/floods,
reduction of fish stocks due to reduction in stream flow.

Impacts on society:
Less snow fall resulting in increased need for man man snow,
reduced availability of water for nature and human consummating
(agriculture and manufacturing), melting of Arctic and Antarctic
ice caps - causing widespread flooding.

Full list of impacts on page 270

URBANISATION
What is it?
The physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural migration and even
suburban concentration into cities, particularly the very largest ones.
URBANISATION

Causes:
Population growth places an increased demand on land for
infrastructure and resources.

Impacts on OE’s:
Habitat modification through loss of vegetation, introduced
species, loss of habitat and biodiversity. Loss of river flows due to
the demand for water, reducing availability for native flora and
fauna. Loss of vegetation for human use.

Impacts on society:
Loss of places to recreate, inspire and be creative in. Increased
pressure on agriculture industry to provide food. Increased pressure
on water supply (translates to higher cost).
BROAD IMPACTS OF THESE THREATS
When combining the total impact of the previous threats, there are many
overarching impacts on both society and outdoor environments. Such
as…
• Less places to find inspiration or stimulation for creativity
• Less access to recreational sites/places for adventure. This places more pressure on the
places that people can access.
• Decline in the economic viability of the tourist industry (due to accessibility), = less
income and quality of life for those who rely on tourism.
• A loss of biodiversity, species extinction, soil degradation and erosion, increased
greenhouse gas emissions, rising salinity levels, a deterioration in water quality and
health, and food shortages.
• The destruction of indigenous lifestyles amongst cultures that rely on natural OE’s for
their survival.
• Pressure and imbalance resulting from introduced species such as feral cats, rabbits,
foxes and weeds leading to the extinction of native species and domination of landscapes
and ecosystems by others.
• The potential loss of species with economic, medical, food or resource benefits.