Summary of chapter 6 We live in a world that has increasingly forgotten the powerful influence our environment plays in our daily lives. If we come to the conclusion that a plant or animal is inconvenient to us we pursue for its destruction or removal. Changing ecosystems for any benefit must be heavily considered with the knowledge of the current benefit the habitat already serves as well as its history. Interspecific and intraspecific relationships weave a web, so to speak, of any ecosystem that can easily fall apart if one strand is broken. Weed eliminating chemicals are largely used without any thought of later consequence. An example of this method was implemented for sage brush lands of the rocky mountains. Citizens wanted to see the sage land destroyed to give rise to a grassland habitat. This area contains high plains from the west that connects to the low slopes of mountains. The climate is harsh due to the location with high winds, heavy annual snowfall, and intense summer heat. The plants of this area took many long years learning how to adapt to this and eventually the sage took over. The physical characteristics of the sage allowed it to not only benefit the land but also the animals residing in it. The sage grouse relies on the sage bush for their nesting …show more content…
This method is done by spraying a target species to be eliminated and has proven to do less damage to the ecosystem as a whole. The value of wildlife and wild plants remains intact with this method but it has not been widely accepted or used. 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T are the most used herbicides but are believed to have harmful effects on both humans and nature. However, studies have shown 2,4-D to have some important effects for both man and livestock. The application of this herbicide causes an increase in nitrate content of agricultural plants and has been traced back to the deaths of livestock who grazed on