Final answer:
Forest fires are the correct example of a short-term environmental change, happening quickly and having immediate, yet recoverable, effects on an ecosystem, in contrast to long-term processes such as ice ages, tectonic plate movement, and mountain building.
Step-by-step explanation:
An example of a short-term environmental change would be forest fires. Unlike ice ages, tectonic plate movement, and mountain building, which are all long-term processes that can take hundreds to millions of years, forest fires occur over a much shorter period. These can happen suddenly and have immediate effects on the environment but do not alter the Earth's landscape permanently. Short-term changes can include alterations in seasonal patterns, unseasonal rainfall, and changes in the life cycle of insects and animals.Forest fires are a quick event that can drastically alter the landscape, affect wildlife, and change the availability of resources like nutrients and light in the area. However, the environment often recovers from such incidents over the course of years to decades, unlike long-term changes that significantly transform the earth's surface or result in a permanent loss of species or ecosystems.Conclusion Therefore, the main answer to the question would be D. Forest Fires, as they represent a dramatic, yet short-term environmental change in comparison to the gradual shifts described by the other options.