Human Impact

 http://www.abc.net.au/science/photos/2012/11/21/3636626.htm

The human impact on the Great Victoria Desert is very good.  Due to the harsh climate and its geographical isolation, the Great Victoria Desert has not been disturbed much by humans aside from the original natives living in it.  There is very little room in the Great Victoria Desert for farming and grazing lands.  This has prevented the land from being disturbed and cleared. Some mining has been occurring in the desert.  However, it has not at all caused any degradation in the environment. In that regard, few people have settled in the Great Victoria Desert, and thus the human disturbance has been kept to a minimum.  Furthermore, under the Australian Parliament, around 20% of the Great Victoria Desert has been placed under conservation protection.  The largest of these areas, the Unnamed Conservation Park, covers around 21 thousand square kilometers and access to these regions are extremely limited.

-http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/aa1305

However, not everything is all good with the Great Victoria Desert, in the 1950s and 1960s, nuclear weapons testing were initiated in regions near the Great Victoria Desert by the United Kingdom.  These nuclear weapons tests resulted in various sites in the desert to be contaminated by radiation.  Of particular concern is plutonium-239 due to its long half-life and possibility of contamination through inhalation.  There have been attempts at a clean-up in 1996 and 1999 but the effects of the country’s efforts are debatable.  Indirectly, the roads that were built to access the test sites can be used by off-road vehicles and lead to further erosion of the land.

-http://www.eoearth.org/article/Great_Victoria_desert?topic=74361

 http://www.environment.gov.au/land/publications/acris/pubs/bioregion-great-victoria-desert.pdf

http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/pdf/science/bio_audit/great_victoria_desert01_p343-350.pdf

Most alarming, however, is the introduction of non-native species to the desert.  Australia as a whole has been continuously plagued by these feral animals and the Great Victoria Desert is no exception.  Of particular concern are the infamous rabbits of Australia, who continuously eat away all of the native vegetation and reproduce constantly.  Also included are mice, wild dogs, feral cats, and foxes.  The isolated natural wildlife of the desert has few countermeasures against these invasive species and with no natural predators, these animals are essentially free to do what they wish. 

-http://www.environment.gov.au/land/publications/acris/pubs/bioregion-great-victoria-desert.pdf

-http://www.eoearth.org/article/Great_Victoria_desert?topic=74361 

History of the Great Victoria Desert

 http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fgvd/facts.htm

The Great Victoria Desert has been inhabited by Abiroginal people for over 24,000 years.  They lived with the harsh environment of the desert, establishing wells and soaks in order to obtain precious water.  In the 1950s, many of these people were displaces to make room for nuclear weapons testing.  Fortunately, some lands were awarded back to the natives through acts such as the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act 1981.  They also help with the conservation of the desert, maintaining reserves dotted throughout the area. 

In terms of ‘Western’ discoverers, Ernest Giles crossed the desert and named it for the current English Queen, Queen Victoria.  From 1903 to 1908, an explorer by the name of Frank Hann came looking for pastoral lands and gold.  Finally, in the 1960s, Len Beadell built various roads in the desert, including the road going across the Great Victoria Desert, the Anne Beadell Highway.   
-http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/great-victoria-desert.html

-http://www.diamantina-tour.com.au/outback_info/deserts/great_victoria/great_victoria_aboriginal.asp

Fauna and Vegetation

Plant Life

 http://www.abc.net.au/science/photos/2012/11/21/3636626.htm

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fgvd/plants.htm

 http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fgvd/plants.htm

Despite the Great Victoria Desert being a hot, arid desert with an abundance of sand dunes, the ecoregion sports great diversity in plant life.  The vegetation mostly consists of open woodlands, with the majority of the trees being eucalyptus trees, such as Marble Gum, and other endemic trees such as the Western Myall.  These trees are sparsely laid out, providing little shade from the sun for the desert wildlife.  Also present are grasses and shrubs like hummock grass, mulga, and belah.  All in all, 140 different plant species were found in 2009 by the Friends of the Great Victoria Desert, a testament to how diverse the plant life is in the desert. 

-http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fgvd/plants.htm 

-http://www.eoearth.org/article/Great_Victoria_desert?topic=74361 

Animals

http://www.abc.net.au/science/photos/2012/11/21/3636626.htm

 http://www.abc.net.au/science/photos/2012/11/21/3636626.htm

The Great Victoria Desert boasts a large diversity in animals, housing over 100 different reptilian species, one being the rare great desert skink.  Due to the diversity of regions in the Australian Outback, the Great Victoria Desert animals have evolved in isolation, allowing more variation in the reptilian species.  Up to nine different gecko species can be found in overlapping regions, indicative of the diversity in the region. 

-http://www.eoearth.org/article/Great_Victoria_desert?topic=74361

-http://www.environment.gov.au/land/publications/acris/pubs/bioregion-great-victoria-desert.pdf