The industrial world plagues the ecosystems of northern Mexico and the southern US. The conquered mind sees a vast open landscape that humans are entitled to exploit, destroy, and degrade. As we learn about the history of these lands and our ancestral ties to them, we have the responsibility of learning exactly how they are continuously exploited. Our deserts are alive and hold complex webs of species that deserve our nurturing and respect.
In the South, there are several major geographic regions, and each of them contain one or more of the ecosystems below. The major regions are the Chihuahuan Desert, the Sonoran Desert, the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the Great South Texas Plains. The seven major types of ecosystems that exist in the Southwest are Desert, Grassland/Shrubland, Montane Forest, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Tamaulipan Thornscrub, Riparian, and Gulf Prairie and Marsh habitats.
Desert Habitat
Deserts are arid places that get an average of less than 10 inches of rain per year. Some of the most interesting plants and animals live in deserts; they have adapted to little and unpredictable water. There are incredibly rare and beautiful species in deserts, such as Brady’s Pincushion Cactus—which only grows in a 27 square mile area along the Colorado River. Some cacti can grow as tall as trees, such as the Saguaro Cactus which reaches 40 feet in height on a regular basis. Without these plant species in these ecosystems, the soil can erode and create areas in which it’s incredibly difficult for anything to grow. The Sonoran Desert is widely considered to be the most biodiverse desert in the world, with a wide range of plant and animal species due to its varied climates and unique adaptations within the desert ecosystem. It is incredibly important to protect these ecosystems that cycle nutrients into the soil and support all sorts of beautiful life.
Grassland/Shrubland Habitat
Grasslands cover a huge portion of the Southwest, including some of the deserts. For example, grasslands cover 30% of the area of the Chihuahuan Desert. Grasses are hardy plants, able to survive without shade and through drought, fire, and livestock grazing. Grasslands are important as they provide habitats for a variety of animals such as bison, mule deer, and prairie dogs. They can store up to 30% of the carbon present in the world, preserve soils, mitigate freshwater, prevent erosion, and provide pathways for migration. Grasslands are highly threatened and are one of the least protected.
Montane Forest Habitat
Montane forests cloak the high-altitude mountainsides with ponderosa pines, mixed conifers, spruce-firs, and aspen trees. These species, and many others grow despite incredibly cold winters and mild summers. Montane forests are home to some incredibly rare species, such as the Guadalupe Mountains Violet, only known in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It grows on limestone cliff faces. Another threatened species in montane forests is the Mexican Spotted Owl, which is one of the largest owl species in the US. Because montane forests make up only a small part of the Southwest as a whole, the species that make their home there are very susceptible to climate change and other changes to their environment, such as logging or excessive grazing. This ecosystem must be protected just as all the others must be, as a home to animals and plants of profound beauty.
Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Habitat
Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands are the most common type of forest in the Southwest, mostly in areas where rains are uncommon. The Juniper trees are slow to reproduce; they have one high-production year and then several low-production years in between, and during droughts they are particularly vulnerable to parasitic beetles and types of diseases. Some of the rare plants this ecosystem has to offer are Navajo Sedge, which only lives around springs and other water features, and Zuni Fleabane, an herb with only 20 known population groups. This ecosystem brings beauty between the grasslands at low-level elevations and the montane forests of high-level elevations.
TAMAULIPAN THORNSCRUB Habitat
Also called the South Texas Plains, this ecoregion is characterized by trees and short scrubs that have many spikes, with up to 8,000 of these plants per acre. Some of the plants present in this ecoregion are Honey Mesquite, Texas Ebony, Cenizo, Palo Verde, and Huisache. This dense, thorny forest is home to over 1,000 plants, 500 birds, 300 butterflies, and over 40 threatened or endangered species. The Tamaulipan Thornscrub is essential in maintaining the health of our environment. It aids in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, providing nutrients to the soil, and preventing soil erosion, which is necessary to have clean air and fertile soils. Due to agriculture, ranching, urbanization, and the building of the wall, less than 1.5% of the Tamaulipan Thornscrub remains in the Valley. Protecting the Tamaulipan Thornscrub is essential for our animals, our plants, and our people so that we can all continue to grow and co-exist with one another for generations to come.
Riparian Habitat
Riparian areas are those around bodies of water, seasonal or permanent, and provide many species with a place to live or a method of migration. They are transitory areas between bodies of water and the floodplains. They help with water pollution, reduce flooding, and help the earth soak up more water. An endangered species that depends on riparian habitat is the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. This bird needs the vegetation from riparian ecosystems to build its nest and raise its spawn. This ecosystem provides support to a wide variety of impressive animals and plants that need lots of water to survive.
GULF PRAIRIE AND MARSH HABITAT
The Gulf Prairie and Marsh environment is found along the southeast coast of the so-called United States, bordering the Gulf of Mexico. It is close to sea level, with an elevation of less than 150 feet. Rivers and streams connecting to the Gulf of Mexico are interwoven in this slow-draining plain. This landscape mostly consists of a hypersaline lagoon, the 6th largest in the world, and holds the longest barrier island known as South Padre Island. It helps maintain our water quality and protects the neighboring lands from storms with its natural barriers. Our Gulf Prairies and Marshes are home to more than tens of thousands of shorebirds and songbirds that migrate in the spring and fall. It is a place where many fish and shrimp spawn, with around 90% of Texas fish species relying on them for their future generations. It is also home to several endangered species such as the Attwater’s Prairie-chicken and the Whooping crane.
These seven types of ecosystems in the South provide both incredible beauty and biodiversity. These ecosystems are ever-changing, ever-growing webs of interaction between the soil, the plants, the animals, and humans. Humans can hurt these webs of interactions, or we can respect and nurture the land as the land nurtures us.