Deserts by Sydney Venzke

250273_10 — 2024-09-11 02:36:07 UTC

This is where deserts are located as shown on the map

What is a Desert?

250273_10 — 2024-09-11 02:54:01 UTC

Deserts can be described as dry, sandy, and arid, where the rainfall averages about only 50 centimeters per year, however there is a misconception that deserts are always hot, but in fact, the temperatures only get up to around 54°C at the hottest and get down all the way to -18°C, especially at night. Some deserts even have cold winters or are cold year round.

Global Importance

250273_10 — 2024-09-11 16:15:12 UTC

In the Arabian desert, oil reserves play a huge part in the economy of the Middle East. Deserts also often create a reason for people to fight over water since it’s so dry, especially during droughts within the desert when water is limited.

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:12:01 UTC

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:14:52 UTC

As you can tell from the graphic, deserts are very dry and not as hot as other biomes

Abiotic Factors

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:26:45 UTC

Precipitation

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:29:51 UTC

Deserts get less than 25 cm per year

Soil

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:33:22 UTC

There is little topsoil in a desert as it is so dry that the high winds blow it away

Terrain

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:39:29 UTC

Although some deserts may be entirely sand and are classified as “dunes”, other deserts may be made of salt flats, rocks, or might even be mountainous. In the case of cold deserts, they are covered permanently in snow and ice.

Biotic Factors

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:42:01 UTC

Animals

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:51:09 UTC

The animals of the desert consist of many reptiles and mostly smaller mammals.

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:52:26 UTC

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:55:52 UTC

This is the fennec fox, a mammal native to the Sahara Desert. They sleep through the hot days and hunt during the cooler night to save on energy. They have also adapted to have larger ears to keep themselves cooler as well

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 13:58:48 UTC

One of the only larger mammals known to live in the desert is the camel, who adapted to store water in their bodies

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 14:05:12 UTC

This African lizard that lives in the desert of Namib is also called the “Dancing Lizard” because they lift one leg at a time to keep their feet off of the hot surface of the desert.

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 16:39:12 UTC

The Saguaro Cactus is only found in the Sonoran desert in southern United States (mostly in Arizona) and a bit of northern Mexico. Cactus have adapted over time to retain their water sources since there is little water in the desert.

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 21:17:52 UTC

The Welwitschia plant is native to the Namib desert and has adapted by producing leathery leaves to protect from drying out. They tend to live very long lives, there’s one that’s assumed to be around 2,000 years old!

250273_10 — 2024-09-12 21:27:58 UTC

Native to the Chihuahuan desert, the Barrel Cactus stores water in its very thick stems to protect from evaporating too fast.

Plants

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 01:20:19 UTC

All plants of the desert have had to adapt to retain water in some way, shape, or form

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 01:22:41 UTC

The Horned Lizard uses its spikes along its body to blend in with its surroundings of the desert. This lizard’s home is in the chihuahuan desert

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 01:27:02 UTC

The Gila Monster is a reptile who has adapted to using venom as a source of protection.

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 01:35:35 UTC

The California Poppies have adapted to live in the desert by utilizing shallow roots since there is little top soil and often do not live past the spring

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 01:40:10 UTC

Although primarily used for their oil as a moisturizer from the seeds, the Jojoba plant has a waxy surface to protect from dehydration on especially dry days

Environmental Concerns

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 01:41:27 UTC

The environmental concerns of a desert include the overuse of resources in these deserts such as a water source, gem mining, or oil drilling, global warming causing deserts to become even hotter, and climate change causing rainfall to become sparser.

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 02:08:55 UTC

Although the video is lengthy, it goes in depth about how the use of sand that is taken from deserts is important in infrastructure and building (especially with concrete), at 7:33 they begin to explain the environmental issues occurring from this overuse of sand

Process of Sand mining/Its impact

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 02:18:04 UTC

Sand Mining

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 02:33:00 UTC

In deserts, more specifically ones on the coast or ones with rivers, sand is usually taken for construction purposes for things like concrete. This is destructive for ecosystems and especially for fish and the biodiversity within the water systems.

Bibliography

250273_10 — 2024-09-13 02:38:01 UTC