| |
| | Biodiversity Hotspots - Succulent Karoo - Human Impacts |
 | | A sparse human population of only 300,000 people and the fact that more than 90 percent of the hotspot is used for natural grazing (a form of land use that is, theoretically, compatible with maintenance of biodiversity) have eased the conversion pressures on this region as compared to the other hotspots. |
 | | This mining is now supplemented by the large-scale extraction of heavy minerals, including gypsum, marble, monazite, kaolin, ilmenite, and titanium, which threatens to vastly increase the impact of mining on the region's biodiversity. |
 | | The scarlet paintbrush (Crassula falcata) from the Little Karoo region typifies the hotspot's unique plant diversity, which is at risk due to invasive species, habitat loss, and climate change. |
| www.conservation.org /xp/Hotspots/karoo/impacts.xml (420 words) |
|