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Chihuahuan Desert
Threats
The Chihuahuan Desert's landscape and ecology are rapidly changing. The desert's habitats, plants and animals are rapidly vanishing, and a water crisis threatens the survival of wildlife and people. Pressure on the Chihuahuan Desert's biodiversity comes from five main sources:
Water misuse and mismanagement
The overuse of water from rivers, streams and desert pools is causing a continual deterioration of aquatic ecosystems, many of which no longer support a permanent flow of water. The construction of dams, ground water extraction, deforestation and pollution from agrochemicals are all common problems facing the Chihuahuan Desert's major watersheds.
Agriculture
The landscape as we see it now is the result of several decades of cattle, sheep and goat overgrazing. During the past 150 years, grazing has changed the landscape dramatically, decreasing the number of native grasses and increasing the number of shrubs. Overgrazing has also led to the desertification of the land, eliminating large tracts of vegetation altogether.
Lack of knowledge of the Chihuahuan Desert's importance
In the past, deserts were often regarded as barren wastelands devoid of life or value. And humans inhabiting deserts believed that the ecosystem needed to be altered in order to make it more livable and economically valuable. But this misconception is beginning to change as WWF and others work to educate people about the value of the desert.
Climate change
An estimated 90 percent of the Rio Grande is regularly diverted for irrigation—in fact, in 2001 the river dried up for the first time in recent history, failing to reach the Gulf of Mexico.Part of this is due to the effects of climate change within the region.
Wildlife trade
Illegal poaching and unsustainable harvesting present serious threats to the region’s biodiversity, which includes rare plants and reptiles.
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