Human Interactions

Harms To The Desert

• Global warming is increasing drought frequency, which dries up water holes.
• High temperatures may produce increase the number of wildfires, which alters desert landscapes by eliminating slow-growing trees and shrubs and then replaces them with fast-growing grasses.
• Grazing animals can destroy many desert plants and animals.
• Potassium cyanide used in gold mining can poison desert wildlife.
• Off-road vehicles can cause irreparable damage to desert habitats. (If used irresponsibly) 
• Oil and gas production may disrupt sensitive habitat.
• Nuclear waste may be dumped in deserts, which have also been used as nuclear testing grounds.

Solutions To The Desert

• Plant sand-fixing bushes and trees.
• Find new ways to rotate crops to protect fragile soil.
• More efficient existing water resources and better control to improve arid lands.
• Plant leguminous plants, which extract nitrogen from the air and fix it in the ground, to restore soil fertility.
• Use off-road vehicles only on designated trails and roadways.
• Dig artificial grooves in the ground to retain rainfall and trap windblown seeds.