Is the Desert Ecosystem Threatened or in Any Kind of Danger?

Extreme Temperatures

• Many water holes, which serve as crucial sources of life, dry up, wiping out entire ecosystems. Wildfires kill off many slow-growing trees and shrubs, replacing them with faster growing grasses. Since the deserts are already hot, any temperature increases can further strain the abilities of certain species to survive.
  
  

Agriculture

• People gather firewood and livestock graze, which causes deserts to expand and become even more inhospitable. They try to reclaim the desert for agricultural use through irrigation techniques. However, the excessive water added to the desert through agriculture evaporates and leaves salt behind, creating salt levels that can get too high for some plants to survive in the desert. Many ranchers over-graze and try to change the course of streams so they’ll carry water to their ranches, which causes other desert regions to dry up even more
  
  

Mining

• The mining process destroys desert ecosystems. Miners use potassium cyanide to mine for gold, which kills animals. Others tap into oil and gas reserves, using construction methods that disrupt habitats.
  
  

Nuclear Waste

• Nuclear waste material is sometimes dumped in the desert and deserts have been used as nuclear testing grounds. Radioactive isotopes emit beta and alpha particles that are harmful to life.
  
  

Desert Enthusiasm

• Many people are interested in deserts, as they can have unique landscapes and rock formations. However, frequent tourism can damage them. Some people try to hunt for cacti and other unique plants, which are used as decorations for yards. These cacti are rare and fragile, so collecting them can wipe out entire species. Some animals are also becoming endangered, since people try to collect them and keep them as pets.
  
  

Population Centers

• Air conditioning has led to an increase in the number of people trying to live in the desert. As with all natural habitats, growing human population centers destroy animal habitats. Highways are sometimes built through deserts to connect towns. These highways sometimes have businesses constructed that cater to travelers, taking up space once used by wildlife. As populations grow, people build more homes that expand into the desert. As people produce more trash, some governments consider using deserts as landfills, which harms the ecosystem and the air quality.