BLIGHT

A collection of prints and textures depicting the various catastrophes of biomes

INTRODUCTION

A biome is an area of the planet that can be classified according to the plants and animals that live in it. Temperature, soil, and the amount of light and water help determine what life exists in a biome.

Not all scientists classify biomes in the same way. Some use broad classifications and count as few as six biomes. These are forest, grassland, freshwater, marine, desert, and tundra. Other scientists use more precise classifications and list dozens of different biomes. For example, they consider different kinds of forests to be different biomes. Tropical rain forests that are warm and wet year-round are one biome. Temperate deciduous forests — those that have cold winters, warm summers, and are dominated by trees that lose their leaves — are a different biome. Taiga forests, which are in cold regions and are dominated by cone-bearing firs and spruces, are yet another biome.

Whether directly or indirectly, human intervention has permanently altered the face of our planet.Unfortunately, in many cases, this unchecked human influence has led to dire threats to the overall health of numerous biomes, especially as a result of global warming. Unless we successfully mitigate the impacts of these direct drivers of change on biodiversity, they will contribute to the loss of biodiversity components, negatively affect ecosystem integrity and hamper aspirations towards sustainable use.

Taking our inspiration from different biomes, we decided to come up with prints to raise awareness
against this human interference and its effect on the biomes. Each one of us came up with 2 different prints, highlighting the threats in their respective chosen biome.

BIOME:TUNDRA

DEPLETION OF RESOURCES IN TUNDRA

In the tundra region, increased human activity and pollution has caused global warming, which has a profound affect in the tundra; Hunting, oil drilling, and other activities have polluted the environment and have threatened wildlife in tundra ecosystems. Environmental scientists are concerned that the continued expansion of these activities — along with the release of air pollutants, some of which deplete the ozone layer, and greenhouse gases, which hasten climate change — has begun to affect the very integrity and sustainability of Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems. For example, the increased occurrence of tundra fires would decrease the coverage of lichens, which could, in turn, potentially reduce caribou
habitats and subsistence resources for other Arctic species. it’s causing all the ice to melt. Other impacts include the oil reserves in the Arctic. Many oil companies are now targeting these huge, untapped reserves for money. These oil and gas industries and, not to mention, garbage have left the tundra polluted.

This texture depicts how the oil-based factories, ski resorts and the consequent air pollution are gradually causing the ice to melt and further cause global warming. Due to their excessive greed, humans themselves are leading the planet towards its doom.
The texture showcases a varied arrangement of blue strips depicting ice; and black, coal- like strips depicting factors such as oil factories, pollution etc that lead to global warming. These strips are inter-mingled and meshed together to depict that if preventive measures are not taken soon, the planet will not be able to maintain its climatic balance.

BIOME: WETLANDS

DEGRADATION OF LAND IN WETLANDS

Human influences have caused significant changes in the function and quality of many wetlands. These changes have resulted from alteration of the physical, chemical and biological components of wetland ecosystems. This increased accumulation of sediment can alter the chemical and hydrologic regime of the wetlands in a relatively short time. Other human activities which can have lasting effects on wetland ecosystems include stream channelisation, dam construction, discharge of industrial wastes and municipal sewage (point source pollution) and runoff urban and agricultural areas (non-point source pollution). These activities contribute to changes in the flood regime of wetlands and the input and cycling of nutrients. Human uses of wetlands, such as drainage for agriculture and filling for industrial or residential development, can impose irreversible impacts to wetlands.

This texture depicts how widespread land development and increased hydraulic and chemical regimes can quickly cause the soil to deplete and erode.
The texture showcases a maze-like formation trying to depict how if we don’t make any changes soon, the lands will become barren, and then we will forever be stuck in this situation that we ourselves have created. The maze can also deciphered as metaphor for the early human civilisation and send the message that we, the people need to start looking after what is ours! The grass depicts the harmful effects of grazing, timber harvest, erosion and depletion of mineral that is soon spreading to all lands. The dirty water serves as a reminder that fishing and water pollution can endanger the aquatic lives.

BIOME:GRASSLANDS

PRINT 1

Grasslands are lands covered in grasses and grass-like plants that have growing points close to the soil and can keep on growing even after being nibbled on by animals. Almost half of all temperate grasslands and 16 percent of tropical grasslands have been converted to agricultural or industrial
uses and only one percent of the original tallgrass prairie exists today. The idea was to come up with something in contrast to the present “hypnotic” aerial view of the agricultural lands. The grasslands tend to lose their fertility once they are turned into agricultural lands resulting in a loss-
loss situation. The burnt circles depict the centre pivot irrigation pattern and hence show the later infertility. And the packaging of goods were used to make the land thus to depict consumerism.

PRINT 2

This biome is home to a range of flora and fauna, which add to its resilience against natural disasters such as droughts or wildfires. Grasslands are threatened by habitat loss, which can be caused by human actions, such as unsustainable agricultural practices, overgrazing, and crop clearing. The idea was to raise awareness about loss of habitat, a result of using grasslands for
agricultural and industrial purposes, in a very virtual way. The whole situation can be seen as a game where the grasslands are been destroyed by the player, shown as a tractor, and eventually when they reach the “prized possessions” i.e. the animals whilst destroying everything, the game
is over.

BIOME: RAINFORESTS

EXPLOITATION OF THE RAINFOREST BY MINING

In the rainforest most mining today revolves around alluvial gold deposits. Due to the meandering nature of Amazon rivers, gold is found both in river channels and on the floodplains where rivers once ran. These deposits are actively mined by large-scale operators and informal, small-scale miners. Gold is usually extracted from this gravel using a sluice box to separate heavier sediment and mercury for amalgamating the precious metal. While most of the mercury is removed for reuse or burned off, some may end up in rivers.

Elemental or inorganic mercury can be transformed (methylated) into organic forms by biological systems and enter food chains. that mercury concentrations increase up the food chain. Top predators, including otters, birds of prey, and humans, will have the highest levels of mercury in their systems. To get the gold, they strip the land of trees or suck up river sediment, and then use toxic mercury to tease the precious metal out of the dirt. The results are environmentally catastrophic. All the scenery should look like broccoli. It looks like desert.

This texture depicts how the gold mining is gradually eating up the rainforests. Humans can never satisfy their greed and end up doing everything in excess. Plastic wrap and glue have been used to show how the gold is scattering all over the lush green forest.

PRINT 2- DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION IN THE RAINFORESTS

At the pace we humans are quenching our self-interests, the day these lush rainforests turn barren is not far. This texture depicts that day. Tissues are used to show dry land with barely any greenery left.

Deforestation is a particular concern in tropical rain forests because these forests are home to much of the world’s biodiversity. For example, in the Amazon around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years, mostly due to forest conversion for cattle ranching. Deforestation in this region is particularly rampant near more populated areas, roads and rivers, but even remote areas have been encroached upon when valuable mahogany, gold, and oil are discovered. The forest degradation often starts with logging of prized trees. The felling and removal of these large trees often damages dozens of neighbouring trees.

Once the forest has been logged, the many gaps in the canopy means it becomes much drier due to exposure to the wind and sun, increasing the risk of wildfires spreading inside the forest.The combination of selective logging and wildfires damages turns primary forests into a thick scrub full of smaller trees and vines, which stores 40% less carbon than undisturbed forests.

COMPILED BY

This collaborative assignment was done by- Aadhyaa Bhatt, Divyangi Mittal and Anushka Agarwal. We each contributed to the project and chose the biomes we individually wanted to work with.We then designed hand-made prints and offered a glimpse into the problems that each biome goes through. The biomes chosen were-

Aadhyaa bhatt- GRASSLANDS (both prints were hand made and she focused both her prints on two individual problems faced by the biome

Anushka Agarwal- PRINT 1: TUNDRA ( the print was hand done and focuses on a problem faced by the Tundra biome)
PRINT 2:WETLANDS ( the print was handmade and focuses on the problem faced by the biome)

Diyangi Mittal- RAINFORESTS( both prints were hand done and were focused on two separate problems faced by the biome