The scientists have come up with a new report that reveals the changes that humans have made by examining the deep-down soil of the wetlands.
By uncorking the long and thin cylinders from the soil of the riverbeds, it showed the impact of human life on nature in the last decade. Shocking results might radically change the assumptions when the project was started.
Dr. Ondrejj Mottl, an ecologist based in Bergen, Norway said, “It’s amazing – one of the most fascinating things,” while talking about the mud.
Dr. Mottle has been collecting mud cores from different areas and researching them with his colleagues. By extracting the cylinders, the layer of mud can finally show what has been a mix of sediment on the top of soil since the millennia.
He said, “They’re our window to the past,” just like an archeological element.
The cores of mud have changed in each settling layer along with pollen which shows the change in vegetation that humanity has brought with our changing lifestyles.
The scientists have predicted the ‘signal’ a few years back and with the latest report, they are proving the results. Centuries ago when the industrial revolution took place, the ecosystem started changing radically and its reminiscences are still visible.
Pollen records from the mud show that the first impact on the natural world has occurred around 4000 years ago. Since then, the natural landscapes and the future of forests are getting weaker and weaker.
The evidence and theories are the biggest proof of changing and decaying fossil pollen in different depths of the soil. The changing pollen compositions can be noticed in every layer.
The scientist went to the root of this matter and compared it to the earthy condition 18,000 years back when the earth was defrosting and the environment was changing drastically.
Suzette Flantua, a global ecologist also at the University of Bergen, said, “The last 10,000 years was – climate-wise – relatively stable, so [that’s when] we’re able to pick up the influence of humans,”
She further added, “We see that trend [in vegetation change] picking up at different points.”
According to scientists and biologists these days, this period of earth’s time can be called an Anthropocene, an epoch of human influence on our planet.
Dr Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist based at the University of Michigan, said, “We’re going to continue to get that large-scale human influence and on top of that there’s climate change.”
He further explained, “There’s some climate change already baked in.” He suggested that we should “farm forests for carbon” creating jobs at the same time.
Biodiversity and ecological balance can be kept by an amicable living among humans, animals, and trees.
Dr Mottl said, “To know what we are trying to restore, to know what exactly is a pristine wilderness – this is the most important thing. “Lots of national parks are trying to be wild and pristine, without knowing if what they are doing is returning a place to its natural state.”
