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environmental threats & solutions
Threats |
Fires - The chaparral biome is prone to fires by either lightning strikes or occasionally human error. However (mostly in California), fires are set alight on purpose as dead plants and trees, or known as “fuel”, accumulate over time, and if not controlled, when a fire eventually outbreaks it is big and can threaten surrounding homes. So to ensure this does't happen, people burn the chaparral. Yes the chaparral ecosystem is familiar with fires and actually needs it to survive, but too much is occurring.
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This is a problem as human activity keeps altering the intervals between fires and the organisms in the biome find it hard to adjust to the changing fire regimes (intervals of fires, intensity etc.). The chaparral community is balanced when there are fires every 30 years, however human activity either causes this to occur every 5-10 years, or suppresses it to occur every 50. Plants and animals cannot adjust to this changing regime and are slowly dying off due to it.
Industrial Development - Industrial development is a big threat to the chaparral biome. Growing Cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles are urbanising more of the chaparral biome as the warm climate and the fact that it is situated mostly on the coast is a pull factor that attracts people to this biome. As more people are coming to this biome, it means there is more development, which destroys the land.
This destruction of land kills plants and destroys animal’s habitats. Animals also sometimes venture out of their habitat into urban areas and can endure serious injury or even death. Pollution is also prominent in urban areas, both from general litter and pollution in the air, which is very dangerous to animals. |
Solutions
Fires:
Solutions to stopping excessive bushfires:
Industrial Development & Pollution:
Solutions to manage Industrial Development & Pollution:
Solutions to stopping excessive bushfires:
- Harsher penalties for offenders. This would stop people starting fires as they would fear the consequences. In some chaparral areas, there are no penalties at all, and people have the right to start fires at will.
- More education into the damage bushfires do would show people the harm they are causing to the chaparral and if they destroy it, what impact it would have on a global scale.
- List some areas as heritage sites and create national parks to ensure the safety of the chaparral.
- Create legislation that protects the land and ensures its preservation.
- Create fire risk management plans to combat human made bushfires and stop them from spreading.
Industrial Development & Pollution:
Solutions to manage Industrial Development & Pollution:
- Combine with organisations such as WWF, Green Peace and Co-Op America to manage the conservation of the chaparral biome.
- Use equipment that does not emit an excessive amounts of pollution into the air. Place laws that forbid the use of certain machines in certain areas that pose a danger to wildlife.
- Place more bins to stop litter, and provide more education on the topic.
- Provide education on what litter can do to an ecosystem.
- Create tougher legislation that bans certain areas being urbanised and developed.