Artificial Ecosystems

• An artificial ecosystem is one that is heavily influenced by human activities
• The practice of mono-culture, crop production and the rearing of animals are all examples of artificial ecosystems
• Like with natural ecosystems there are plants, which are eaten by consumers which are in turn eaten by predators
• All these are decomposed by micro-organisms in the soil and interact with the physical environment
• Energy flows from one feeding (trophic) level to the next
• Most ecosystems are in a state of balance because there are a large variety of producers and consumers living together
• Each organism has a role to play and they are all interdependent
• This balance may be lost if humans interfere
• For example farming activities destroy the equilibrium
• The same types of plants are grown over an area
• This practice is known as mono-culture
• This leads to a decrease of fertility and yieds
• If large numbers of animals are reared in the same area this may lead to overgrazing and the deterioration of the natural ecosystems
• As a result animals and plants in artificial ecosystems suffer from pest problems
• These pests can multiply and spread quickly and easily
• In artificial ecosystems the food produced is for humans only
• Crops supplant other animals and ecosystems
• There is also less or no recycling of nutrients back into the soil
• Food is not available in that area for other animals

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