Global Location
Where in the world would you find a desert?
There are hundreds of deserts all over the world! With many interesting features. Here are some examples of where you would be able to find a desert!
- Monte Desert (located in South America)
- Mojave Desert, Sonoran, Chiuahan Desert (located in North America)
- Sahara Desert, Libyan, Denakil (located in Africa)
-Great Sandy Desert, Tanami Desert (located in Australia)
There are hundreds of deserts all over the world! With many interesting features. Here are some examples of where you would be able to find a desert!
- Monte Desert (located in South America)
- Mojave Desert, Sonoran, Chiuahan Desert (located in North America)
- Sahara Desert, Libyan, Denakil (located in Africa)
-Great Sandy Desert, Tanami Desert (located in Australia)
Plant and Animal Life
The desert is a dry place and rarely ever gets rain. The plant and animal life living on a desert would have to make sure they are well adapted to the outcomes a desert provides. Plants have to make sure they store water in there roots, leaves, and stems. Some plants have very long roots that go deep into the ground to reach the underground water. While other plants have root systems that just lie right below the surface. When it rains it allows the roots to capture the water.
Here is some examples of plant life in a desert...
1) Sage Brush- Coarse and many-branched, pale-grey shrub. With spreading roots near the surface they allow the sagebrush to gather water from both surface precipitation and the water table several meters beneath.
2) Mulga Tree- Its tiny leaves grow upward, forming a series of funnels that send rain water along branches and down the trunk to the ground
3) Creosote Bushes-Creosote bush is the most drought-tolerant perennial plant of North America. It can live for at least 2 years with no water at all, by shedding its leaves and even shedding branches
4) Cactus- Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments one of the driest places on earth. There long roots allow for them to suck up as much water as possible.
5) Spinifex- Spinifex roots go down a long way: approximately 3 metres. Generally the roots develop from the same nodes as the shoots so that each shoot has its own personal water supply. The spiky leaves contain a lot of silica which makes them stiff and rigid.
Deserts are homes to many reptiles, insects, birds, and mammals. In order to survive, desert animals have developed a number of ways of adapting to their habitat. Some chose to stay in the shade of plants or rocks. Many desert animals are nocturnal. They stay in shelter during the day, when its most hot. And hunt at night when it is colder. Some desert animals get liquids from the plants and bugs they eat. Which allows them to be fine without water. Most pass little moisture out of their bodies.
Here is some examples of desert animals...
1) Camels-A camel's hump does not store water. It stores fat, lessening heat-trapping insulation around the rest of the body.
2) Scorpions- They have eight legs, and a tail with a venom-injecting barb. Scorpions have two venom glands that produce venom used in hunting and self defense. Scorpions do not have bones instead they have an exoskeleton made of the same material our fingernails are composed of.
3) Armadillo Lizard-This heavily armoured reptile is named after the armadillo for its ability to roll itself into an almost impregnable ball when threatened. In this position, the spiny scales covering the neck, body and tail are presented to any potential predator, protecting the soft belly.
4) Kangaroo Rat-The front limbs are reduced and used only for digging, whist the hind limbs are long and powerful and the exceptionally long tail is used for balance.
5) Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy Owl- Mainly eat small birds, insects, and even lizards. They are usually active during the night.
Here is some examples of plant life in a desert...
1) Sage Brush- Coarse and many-branched, pale-grey shrub. With spreading roots near the surface they allow the sagebrush to gather water from both surface precipitation and the water table several meters beneath.
2) Mulga Tree- Its tiny leaves grow upward, forming a series of funnels that send rain water along branches and down the trunk to the ground
3) Creosote Bushes-Creosote bush is the most drought-tolerant perennial plant of North America. It can live for at least 2 years with no water at all, by shedding its leaves and even shedding branches
4) Cactus- Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments one of the driest places on earth. There long roots allow for them to suck up as much water as possible.
5) Spinifex- Spinifex roots go down a long way: approximately 3 metres. Generally the roots develop from the same nodes as the shoots so that each shoot has its own personal water supply. The spiky leaves contain a lot of silica which makes them stiff and rigid.
Deserts are homes to many reptiles, insects, birds, and mammals. In order to survive, desert animals have developed a number of ways of adapting to their habitat. Some chose to stay in the shade of plants or rocks. Many desert animals are nocturnal. They stay in shelter during the day, when its most hot. And hunt at night when it is colder. Some desert animals get liquids from the plants and bugs they eat. Which allows them to be fine without water. Most pass little moisture out of their bodies.
Here is some examples of desert animals...
1) Camels-A camel's hump does not store water. It stores fat, lessening heat-trapping insulation around the rest of the body.
2) Scorpions- They have eight legs, and a tail with a venom-injecting barb. Scorpions have two venom glands that produce venom used in hunting and self defense. Scorpions do not have bones instead they have an exoskeleton made of the same material our fingernails are composed of.
3) Armadillo Lizard-This heavily armoured reptile is named after the armadillo for its ability to roll itself into an almost impregnable ball when threatened. In this position, the spiny scales covering the neck, body and tail are presented to any potential predator, protecting the soft belly.
4) Kangaroo Rat-The front limbs are reduced and used only for digging, whist the hind limbs are long and powerful and the exceptionally long tail is used for balance.
5) Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy Owl- Mainly eat small birds, insects, and even lizards. They are usually active during the night.
Physical Landscape
The climate of a desert is known for its hot and dry climate. The main reason for this hot climate is that deserts are tropical biomes, and are exposed to virtually direct sunlight. Usually deserts get about 1 inch of rain per year. Making things extremely dry. The main geographic features in deserts include rocks, and sand. Water and vegetation is diverse and scarce. A water-rich ecosystem that can be found in the desert is called an oasis. An oasis is fed by underwater streams and often occurs in a low enough area so that the water can be trapped. The average temperature ranges completely but usually deserts are extremely hot and dry. The physical landscape plays a role in influencing the characteristics of the biome because the temperature and features determine what plant and animal life can actually be adapted in the right niche.
The Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle in the desert is a non-stop and continuous process. It involves the desert plants absorbing carbon dioxide together with sunlight and water in the process called photosynthesis to make food. When plants die, they undergo decomposition releasing the carbon elements into the soil as nutrients which are then absorbed by other sprouting plants. Desert animals also partake of these plants, they breathe out carbon dioxide and decompose upon death. The cycle will continue on.
Food Web
Like in any food web you will basically have a hierarchy. The hawk for example will eat the snake, the snake will eat the rodents, and the rodents will eat the plants.
Energy Flow
Human Influences
1) Human Activities- When us humans do activities such a driving over the desert, we actually kill off a lot of the vegetation. This is bad when the animals want to camouflage, and it could kill them as well.
2) Water Deprivation- The little amount of water there is, is bad enough. If we continue to mine and pollute the waters it will just make things more worse then they already are.
3)Military Exercises- Leads to damage to plants, ground, and soil.
When we start mining and housing this all influences a desert biome. When humans kill insects or animals it starts to affect the food chain.
Negative and Positive Impacts
*We have destroyed a lot of habitat
*Our pollution is affecting the temperatures
*We have created desert wildlife water programs
*Make Ranching Opportunities
Some conservation programs are in efforts to protect the deserts such as..
http://www.nature.com/nmiddleeast/2012/120614/full/nmiddleeast.2012.85.html
http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/namibia_kunene/desert_rhino_camp/conservation/
2) Water Deprivation- The little amount of water there is, is bad enough. If we continue to mine and pollute the waters it will just make things more worse then they already are.
3)Military Exercises- Leads to damage to plants, ground, and soil.
When we start mining and housing this all influences a desert biome. When humans kill insects or animals it starts to affect the food chain.
Negative and Positive Impacts
*We have destroyed a lot of habitat
*Our pollution is affecting the temperatures
*We have created desert wildlife water programs
*Make Ranching Opportunities
Some conservation programs are in efforts to protect the deserts such as..
http://www.nature.com/nmiddleeast/2012/120614/full/nmiddleeast.2012.85.html
http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/namibia_kunene/desert_rhino_camp/conservation/