The Desert by Madeline Heller https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0 en-us 2016-06-07 20:28:32 UTC 2025-10-29 10:05:02 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Brightnessdown.png Climate Graph 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113996906 2016-06-07 20:31:29 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113996906 Abiotic Factors 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113996960 When you think of the desert, you probably think of hot, sandy places, like the Sahara. But Deserts are not only hot. They can be cold, too. In fact, cold deserts only receive about 2 inches of rainfall a year, while dry deserts receive 4-5 inches. The soil of a desert is made up of big sections of sand covering miles of land. The sand is dry and not full of many minerals, making it very hard for plant life to survive. Sometimes in cold deserts, moss and grass will combine with sand to make up the land and actually create soil that is rich in minerals, though. ]]> 2016-06-07 20:32:09 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113996960 Biotic Factors 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997062 Cold and Dry deserts have very different biotic factors. Cold deserts are more diverse, having many primary and secondary consumers, while plants and animals find it a little harder to survive in the dry deserts. Plants in the desert have many special features that allow them to survive. Some of these adaptations include having few leaves. This allows the plants to save water, because they use less water for photosynthesis. Plants also have long roots in order to reach water deep in the soil. One more water-conserving adaptation of plants is their ability to store water in their leaves or in their stems, so that when rain does fall, the plants will be able to last on it for a while. Plants in the desert do not need a lot of water at one time, so they can go days, weeks, or even months, without taking in any more water. Animals in the desert also have water conserving adaptations, but they must also worry about the heat if they are in the dry desert. Animals such as the Fennec Fox have long body parts or small bodies in order to keep the heat from getting to them. Some animals can also store water in their bodies or go for a very long time without water, such as the Camel.

]]> 2016-06-07 20:33:26 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997062 Ecological Services 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997094 There are no ecological services in the desert.]]> 2016-06-07 20:33:54 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997094 General Information 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997127 Deserts are classified as arid or dry regions that receive less than ten inches of rain per year.  They contain plants and animals that have adapted for extreme environments environments.  There is lots of bare soil or sand and low vegetation except for ones that have adapted like cacti.  The world’s deserts occupy almost one quarter of the land surface, approximately 20 million square miles.   

]]> 2016-06-07 20:34:26 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997127 General Information 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997248 The desert has many economic values, mostly from tourism, but there are still other uses for this biome.  The military uses the desert for testing planes and other new technologies and also for training troops and bases.  Tourism is a large economic value because there are many natural attractions that are in deserts, including places like the Grand Canyon and Death Valley.  There are also many mountains and rocks, so rock climbers and hikers often go to deserts for recreational purposes.  Filmmakers and photographers can record or take photos here because it has great scenery and the location is perfect for some films.  Since the land is mostly flat and windy, it is great for wind energy and some huge solar farms can be found here as well.  Deserts can be a common place to find fossils of rare dinosaurs or old species.

]]> 2016-06-07 20:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997248 Productivity 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997291 Deserts have little rainfall per year and has extreme temperatures which causes it to only have around 500 kilocalories/m2/year.

]]> 2016-06-07 20:36:38 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997291 Video 3103870 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997313 2016-06-07 20:36:58 UTC https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/113997313 Key Characteristics 3103651 https://padlet.com/3103870/cixfq0p377c0/wish/168465694 Wavelength- 10nm to 400nm
Frequency- 8 x 1014 to
3 x 1016 Hz
Energy- 4.8065-19 to 1.9867-17 joules
Key Facts- 
4 Subtypes- used when dealing with astronomical objects
  • Near/NUV- (300-400nm)
  • Middle/MUV- (200-300nm)
  • Far/FUV - (100-200nm)
  • Extreme/EUV- (10-100)
    • Can only travel through vacuum
    • Completely absorbed in atmosphere 
    • Thermosphere is heated mainly by EUV waves from the sun
    • measured using rockets and satellites
3 Subtypes- 
  • UV-A light- 
    • (320-400nm) longest wavelength
    • least harmful
    • “black light”- used to cause objects to emit fluorescence
    • insects and birds and perceive visually
  • UV-B light- 
    • (290-320nm)
    • Causes sunburns 
    • Increases skin cancer risk and other cellular damage
    • About 95% is absorbed by ozone in atmosphere
  • UV-C light
    • (100-290nm)
    • Extremely harmful and almost completely absorbed by atmosphere
    • Used as disinfectant in food, air, and water to kill microorganisms by destroying their cells nucleic acids



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