Final answer:
Burning fossil fuels affects plant life by causing nutrient-depleting acid rain and harmful ground-level ozone. It also leads to ocean acidification, release of pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, melting of the cryosphere, and traps heat in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
Step-by-step explanation:
Changes in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels have two main effects on plant life:
- Acid rain, resulting from the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, removes essential nutrients from the soil which can harm plant growth.
- Increased ozone levels at ground level, also a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion, can slow plant growth by damaging the photosynthetic process in the leaves.
When carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in seawater, the ocean waters become more acidic. This acidity can harm marine life, especially organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells or skeletons, as it makes it more difficult for them to produce these hard exoskeletons.
The pollutants released by burning fossil fuels include nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. These contribute to the formation of acid rain and can also increase greenhouse gases.
Fossil fuel usage impacts the cryosphere by causing higher levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which in turn leads to warmer global temperatures and the melting of sea ice and glaciers.
Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are harmful because they trap heat in Earth's atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change that affects biodiversity and can lead to the extinction of many species.