Query: An area of coastal ecosystems larger than New York City is destroyed every year, removing an important buffer from extreme weather for coastal communities and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

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Deforestation <=SEP=> Deforestation , clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use . Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms , ranches , or urban use . The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests . About 30 % of Earth 's land surface is covered by forests .   Deforestation occurs for multiple reasons : trees are cut down to be used for building or sold as fuel , ( sometimes in the form of charcoal or timber ) , while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock and plantation . The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat , biodiversity loss and aridity . It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide . Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive the enemy of vital resources and cover for its forces . Modern examples of this were the use of Agent Orange by the British military in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency and the United States military in Vietnam during the Vietnam War . As of 2005 , net deforestation rates have ceased to increase in countries with a per capita GDP of at least US$ 4,600 . Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland .   Disregard of ascribed value , lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale . In many countries , deforestation , both naturally occurring and human-induced , is an ongoing issue . Deforestation causes extinction , changes to climatic conditions , desertification , and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record . More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world live in tropical forests .   Between 2000 and 2012 , 2.3 e6sqkm of forests around the world were cut down . As a result of deforestation , only 6.2 e6km2 remain of the original 16 e6km2 of forest that formerly covered the Earth .

Marine pollution <=SEP=> Marine pollution occurs when harmful , or potentially harmful , effects result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals , particles , industrial , agricultural and residential waste , noise , or the spread of invasive organisms . Eighty percent of marine pollution comes from land . Air pollution is also a contributing factor by carrying off pesticides or dirt into the ocean . Land and air pollution have proven to be harmful to marine life and its habitats .   The pollution often comes from non point sources such as agricultural runoff , wind-blown debris and dust . Nutrient pollution , a form of water pollution , refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients . It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters , in which excess nutrients , usually nitrogen or phosphorus , stimulate algae growth .   Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up by plankton and benthos animals , most of which are either deposit or filter feeders . In this way , the toxins are concentrated upward within ocean food chains . Many particles combine chemically in a manner highly depletive of oxygen , causing estuaries to become anoxic .   When pesticides are incorporated into the marine ecosystem , they quickly become absorbed into marine food webs . Once in the food webs , these pesticides can cause mutations , as well as diseases , which can be harmful to humans as well as the entire food web .   Toxic metals can also be introduced into marine food webs . These can cause a change to tissue matter , biochemistry , behaviour , reproduction , and suppress growth in marine life . Also , many animal feeds have a high fish meal or fish hydrolysate content . In this way , marine toxins can be transferred to land animals , and appear later in meat and dairy products .

Ecology <=SEP=> Ecology ( from οἶκος , `` house '' , or `` environment '' ; - λογία , `` study of '' ) is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment . It is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology , geography , and Earth science . Ecology includes the study of interactions that organisms have with each other , other organisms , and with abiotic components of their environment . Topics of interest to ecologists include the diversity , distribution , amount ( biomass ) , and number ( population ) of particular organisms , as well as cooperation and competition between organisms , both within and among ecosystems . Ecosystems are composed of dynamically interacting parts including organisms , the communities they make up , and the non-living components of their environment . Ecosystem processes , such as primary production , pedogenesis , nutrient cycling , and various niche construction activities , regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment . These processes are sustained by organisms with specific life history traits , and the variety of organisms is called biodiversity . Biodiversity , which refers to the varieties of species , genes , and ecosystems , enhances certain ecosystem services .   Ecology is not synonymous with environment , environmentalism , natural history , or environmental science . It is closely related to evolutionary biology , genetics , and ethology . An important focus for ecologists is to improve the understanding of how biodiversity affects ecological function . Ecologists seek to explain :   Life processes , interactions , and adaptations  The movement of materials and energy through living communities  The successional development of ecosystems  The abundance and distribution of organisms and biodiversity in the context of the environment .   There are many practical applications of ecology in conservation biology , wetland management , natural resource management ( agroecology , agriculture , forestry , agroforestry , fisheries ) , city planning ( urban ecology ) , community health , economics , basic and applied science , and human social interaction ( human ecology ) . For example , the Circles of Sustainability approach treats ecology as more than the environment ` out there ' . It is not treated as separate from humans . Organisms ( including humans ) and resources compose ecosystems which , in turn , maintain biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living ( biotic ) and non-living ( abiotic ) components of the planet . Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and produce natural capital like biomass production ( food , fuel , fiber , and medicine ) , the regulation of climate , global biogeochemical cycles , water filtration , soil formation , erosion control , flood protection , and many other natural features of scientific , historical , economic , or intrinsic value .   The word `` ecology '' ( '' Ökologie '' ) was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel ( 1834 -- 1919 ) . Ecological thought is derivative of established currents in philosophy , particularly from ethics and politics . Ancient Greek philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle laid the foundations of ecology in their studies on natural history . Modern ecology became a much more rigorous science in the late 19th century . Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection became the cornerstones of modern ecological theory .

Sea level rise <=SEP=> A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly .   Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. .  Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century .   Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems .

Urbanization <=SEP=> Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas , `` the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas '' , and the ways in which each society adapts to the change . It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas . The United Nations projected that half of the world 's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008 . It is predicted that by 2050 about 64 % of the developing world and 86 % of the developed world will be urbanized . That is equivalent to approximately 3 billion urbanites by 2050 , much of which will occur in Africa and Asia . Notably , the United Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global population growth from 2017 to 2030 will be absorbed by cities , about 1.1 billion new urbanites over the next 13 years .   Urbanization is relevant to a range of disciplines , including geography , sociology , economics , urban planning and public health . The phenomenon has been closely linked to modernization , industrialization and the sociological process of rationalization . Urbanization can be seen as a specific condition at a set time ( e.g. the proportion of total population or area in cities or towns ) or as an increase in that condition over time . So urbanization can be quantified either in terms of , say , the level of urban development relative to the overall population , or as the rate at which the urban proportion of the population is increasing . Urbanization creates enormous social , economic and environmental changes , which provide an opportunity for sustainability with the `` potential to use resources more efficiently , to create more sustainable land use and to protect the biodiversity of natural ecosystems . ''   Urbanization is not merely a modern phenomenon , but a rapid and historic transformation of human social roots on a global scale , whereby predominantly rural culture is being rapidly replaced by predominantly urban culture . The first major change in settlement patterns was the accumulation of hunter-gatherers into villages many thousand years ago . Village culture is characterized by common bloodlines , intimate relationships and communal behavior whereas urban culture is characterized by distant bloodlines , unfamiliar relations and competitive behavior . This unprecedented movement of people is forecast to continue and intensify during the next few decades , mushrooming cities to sizes unthinkable only a century ago .   Today , in Asia the urban agglomerations of Osaka , Karachi , Jakarta , Mumbai , Shanghai , Manila , Seoul and Beijing are each already home to over 20 million people , while Delhi and Tokyo are forecast to approach or exceed 40 million people each within the coming decade . Outside Asia , Mexico City , São Paulo , London , New York City , Istanbul , Lagos and Cairo are , or soon will be , home to over 10 million people .