Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is when a habitat is no longer able to support the plants, animals, or other organisms that live in it. When this happens, the organisms could die. Some might move to other places.
Habitat loss can happen naturally. Wildfires can destroy plants that animals need to live in or to eat. Lava flows from volcanoes can do the same thing.
Habitat loss can also be caused by the actions of people. For example, when trees are cut down, birds who nested in the trees can no longer live there. Clearing grassland to make habitats for people can take away habitat for other animals. Some natural habitats are protected by laws, for example National parks.
Habitat Destruction Media
Map of the world's biodiversity hot spots, all of which are heavily threatened by habitat loss and degradation
Satellite photograph of deforestation in Bolivia. Originally dry tropical forest, the land is being cleared for soybean cultivation.
Jungle burned for agriculture in southern Mexico
Chelonia mydas on a Hawaiian coral reef. Although the endangered species is protected, habitat loss from human development is a major reason for the loss of green turtle nesting beaches.
Forest in Grands-Jardins National Park 10 years after a forest fire occurred
The draining and development of coastal wetlands that previously protected the Gulf Coast contributed to severe flooding in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Example of human caused habitat destruction likely capable of reversing if further disturbance is halted. Uganda.
Natural vegetation along this coastal shoreline in North Carolina, US, is being used to reduce the effects of shoreline erosion while providing other benefits to the natural ecosystem and the human community.
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