Desert+Conservation

Human Impact on Deserts Humans have negatively Impacted the desert biome through mining for water that once used does not come back thus decreasing water supplies to that area. In the Sonora Desert the creation of the city of Phoenix killed of native plants and animals lessening the natural cycles in the area.

Humans have positvly impacted the desert biome through reducing air pollution. Humans conserve energy and recycle paper and plastic products and maintain stoves and wood burners.

Overgrazing

One problem that the desert faces is overgrazing. Overgrazing is when cattle and other animals eat every last bit of plant matter in an area. When there are no more plants in an area, new plants can’t grow and the desert gradually gets bigger.

One possible solution to overgrazing is to plant grasses that grow in warmer temperatures and grasses that grow in the cooler temperatures. This means that the animals graze on some grasses in summer and graze on other grasses in the winter. This way, the grass has a chance to re-grow and doesn’t die completely.

Mining

Another problem the desert faces is mining, specifically uranium mining. Since uranium is radioactive, the soil that is dug up and moved around in the mining process is contaminated. The contamination of the soil is very bad for the ecosystem. For instance, when the mining site can no longer be used secondary succession cannot happen because of the contaminated soil and the site is basically a barren wasteland.

A possible solution to help the ecosystem come back is to remove the contaminated soil from the site. If enough soil is removed from the site and moved to a more safe location, secondary succession may be able to set it.

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