Nearly a third of world's cacti face extinction, says IUCN

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Nearly a third of world's cacti face extinction, says IUCN

Arthur Neslen
Monday 5 October 2015 16.00 BST

Nearly a third of the world’s cacti are facing the threat of extinction, according to a shocking global assessment of the effects that illegal trade and other human activities are having on the species.

Cacti are a critical provider of food and water to desert wildlife ranging from coyotes and deer to lizards, tortoises, bats and hummingbirds, and these fauna spread the plants’ seeds in return.

But the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)‘s first worldwide health check of the plants, published today in the journal Nature Plants, says that they are coming under unprecedented pressure from human activities such as land use conversions, commercial and residential developments and shrimp farming.

But the paper said the main driver of cacti species extinction was the: “unscrupulous collection of live plants and seeds for horticultural trade and private ornamental collections, smallholder livestock ranching and smallholder annual agriculture.”

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/05/nearly-a-third-of-worlds-cacti-face-extinction-says-iucn

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Here in the Southwest,

the drought has wiped out tons of the Cati Species only to be replaced with Cheat Grass that has zero natural enemies including grazing animals. The Yucca also is dying off,as well as the Joshua Trees,which provide Habitat for many migrating birds.

[NickB79]

2. The Joshua trees aren't doing well at all

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2014/05/31/global-warming-joshua-tree-national-park/9729285/

Some scientists have estimated that if global temperatures continue to warm as predicted due to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, Joshua trees could vanish from up to 90 percent of their range in the park by the end of the century.

Prolonged drought and a hotter climate are taking a toll on a wide range of plants in the deserts of the Southwest. California junipers have been dying in some areas, leaving pale gray skeletons of branches. Pinyon pines are also dying rapidly, attacked by beetles that have flourished due to milder winters. Researchers have confirmed that many species of trees and shrubs are gradually moving uphill in the Santa Rosa Mountains, and in Death Valley, photographs taken decades apart have captured a stunning shift as the endangered dune grass has been vanishing, leaving bare wind-rippled sand dunes.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Every Juniper-Cacti-Joshua

and Sage have died on our Claim. These are being replaced by Varnish Bush and Cheat Grass which explode in Wild Fire situations. BLM finally rounded up the Boru's and Mustangs in our area. Yes the Horse people went nuts,but there is zero feed stock left and something had to be done. Even the Mesquite brush is dead and that was the last browse plant left. Just the tip of the climate change effects.

[nolabels]

4. Perhaps a month or two after the next big rainstorm......

you go out and water of a few of the sage seedlings. Then every so often (1 or 2 months), when you can, go out and water them again. I live on a couple acres on the outskirts of the desert and it works for me. Those that i can help are doing okay.

Really i wouldn't be too concerned about it all, mother nature is just running her course. The next great die off (where the self-exaulting vermin are swept aside) off is now occurring. Just ask any geologist worth their salt, they will set you straight

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Nature will redo it's self over time.

What we see is,the specie change and that change is not good over the long run. Yes,if you dump enough water on the Desert it will become green. What I see is,the flora and fauna that is important to the Desert ecosystem is being replaced with invasive plants that do not support the ecosystem.

We do find moisture when digging in Ravines or Washes,and you have to go deep to find it. In saying that,hillsides are another story. Apparently the water table has dropped more than what most hydrologist's have expected and in that we see only Varnish Bush and a few Chola surviving do only to their root structure.

[nolabels]

6. Then you are kinda talking about tumble weeds too

Man, cause i have been bumper crops of those pesky things for over a decade. I have heard that they are actually a plant with origins from Russia. But yea, from what probably mostly just sage over a hundred years ago, it has mostly disappeared because of many reasons. But mostly it has to do with Humans.

One of the few good things about round here is mostly nobody wants this kind of property too much. That is as far as developers go anyway. There are big boulders all over the place, on many of the lots, some upwards to ten tons or maybe even more

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Sage loss is one of the more

critical issues. Mostly caused by Climate Change and Weather Pattern Changes brought on by humans and the after effects of grazing. Most of our desert land has been over grazed for a decade or more,and the Politic being what it is,not going to change in the next day or so. With the increase of Co2 in the atmosphere,we are seeing our storm fronts being effected by the land scape meaning cloud formations are at a much lower elevation causing a change in moisture patterns. Example of is what happened in the Vegas Valley yesterday. Clouds at less 1200feet with the wring out effect on the up slope of the mountains.

Tumble weed is not a native plant,not sure were it came from. Thistle was brought to the U.S. by Russians and Germans and the good old Dandelion came from Norway as a Salad green.