Geology and Soils in Deserts of the Southwestern United States - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 54

2.12 Human Impacts on Desert Geology and Soils
Although deserts have existed for thousands of years, they are quite easily disrupted and
damaged by human activities. 19 Large-scale conversion of natural desert landscapes to
urban and agricultural landscapes leads to loss of native species, enhancement of urban
heat islands, creation of fugitive (airborne) dust, and increased exposure to geological
hazards. 23,24 Development on alluvial fans, pediments and hillslopes, emplacement of
dams, and grazing have altered existing drainage patterns, soil patterns and develop-
ment, vegetation patterns, sediment-transport processes, and groundwater recharge. 25
Some of the resulting effects from these changes include increased flooding potential,
boulder fall hazards, slope failure, stream bank erosion, and soil loss. Groundwater
withdrawal for agricultural and residential use has caused earth fissures, subsidence,
and structural failures in buildings (see Chapter 5). Increased human presence in des-
erts for recreational use has caused degradation of soil surfaces and soil/groundwater
contamination.
As we continue to develop our understanding of deserts and the physical, chemical,
and biological processes that are active within them, we gain a better understanding of
how fragile these geosystems and ecosystems are. Increased collaboration between sci-
entists in many disciplines, architects, city and landscape managers, urban planners, and
a concerned and educated public is necessary to ensure that deserts remain functioning
biomes for future generations to experience. 26 It is hoped that the results of such collabora-
tions will help us to decrease our impact on deserts, foster preservation and conservation
efforts, and perhaps allow us to truly “design with the desert.”
References
1. W.G. Whitford. Ecology of Desert Systems (New York: Academic Press, 2002).
2. R. Cooke, A. Warren, and A. Goudie. Desert Geomorphology (London, U.K.: University College
London Press, 1993).
3. E.J. Tarbuck, F.K. Lutgens, and D. Tasa. Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology , 9th edn.
(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2007).
4. P. Kearey, K.A. Klepeis, and F.J. Vine. Global Tectonics , 3rd edn. (Cambridge, MA: Wiley-
Blackwell, 2009).
5. D. Nations and E. Stump. Geology of Arizona , 2nd edn. (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing
Co., 1996).
6. K.E. Karlstrom, ed. Proterozoic Geology and Ore Deposits of Arizona , Digest 19 (Tucson, AZ:
Arizona Geological Society, 1991).
7. J.P. Jenney and S.J. Reynolds, eds. Geologic Evolution of Arizona , Digest 17 (Tucson, AZ: Arizona
Geological Society, 1989).
8. S.S. Beus and M. Morales, eds. Grand Canyon Geology , 2nd edn. (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2003).
9. M.J. Selby. Hillslope Materials and Processes , 2nd edn. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993).
10. P.W. Birkeland. Soils and Geomorphology , 3rd edn. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).
11. L.D. McFadden, J.B. Ritter, and S.G. Wells. Use of multiparameter relative-age methods for age
estimation and correlation of alluvial fan surfaces on a desert piedmont, eastern Mojave Desert,
California, Quaternary Research 32: 276-290, 1987.