We attended a lecture on “Waste impact on ecosystems” by Dr. Amy Choong who is teaching Waste and our Environment (LSM1307). The link allows you to search for the effects of a pollutant on a particular habitat, ecosystem, or even more specifically, a species of organism.

Below is an example of selecting “Acid deposition” as the pollutant, and “Broadleaved, Mixed and Yew Woodland” as the habitat.

The selection brought us to a results page showing a range of information that includes:

•  Effects and implications
• Pollution deposition type and risk
• Indicators of acid deposition
• Examples of species-specific responses
• What factors modify acid deposition impacts?
• Evidence of recovery
• Critical load/level

The information is quite detailed, to the extent that it tells you the specific pollutant acting on the habitat. For instance, how epiphytic organisms like lichens and mosses would have a negative impact when acid is being deposited on the surface that they are growing. It also provides a list of chemicals that are causing impacts on the habitat, along with detailed explanations that are cited and referenced within or at the end of the page.

Here is the link to the page: http://www.apis.ac.uk/search-pollutant-impacts 

There are also other information from this webpage that you can explore, such as “Site Relevant Critical Loads” and “Biomonitoring”.

We hope this source could potentially help our classmates with their final essay writing!

 

References:

Air Pollution Index System. (n.d.). Habitat/species pollutant impacts database. Retrieved October 28, 2020, from http://www.apis.ac.uk/search-pollutant-impacts

Choong, M. F. A. (2020). Waste impact on ecosystems (I) [PowerPoint slides]. Unpublished manuscript, LSM1307 Waste and our Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore