Environmental Science Deserts: Roup-3

Environmental Science
DESERTS
• Group-3
• Kushagra
• Nrupesh Patel
• Jerin Panicker
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

• A desert is a barren area of landscape where

Deserts little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living
conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack
of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the
ground to the processes of denudation. About one-third
of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid.
Climate
• The desert climate, is a climate in which there is an

excess of evaporation over precipitation. The
typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert
climates hold little moisture and evaporate the little
rainfall they receive.
• Deserts receive less than 25 centimeters (10 inches)
rainfall per year. Cold deserts have short, moist, and
moderately warm summers. The winters are long
and cold. The average winter temperature is
between –2 and 4°C (31–39°F); the average
summer temperature is between 21 and 26°C (70–
79°F)
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.
Animals
• A xerocole, commonly referred to as a
desert animal, is an animal adapted to live
in the desert. The main challenges they
must overcome are lack of water and
excessive heat. To conserve water, they
both avoid evaporation and concentrate
excretions.
• Desert fox, Chile.
• Addax antelope.
• Deathstalker scorpion.
• Camel.
• Armadillo lizard.
• Thorny Devil.
• Rock Hopper penguin
• How plants adapt to arid
conditions
• thick, waxy skin to reduce
loss of water and to reflect
heat.
• large, fleshy stems to store
water.
• thorns and thin, spiky or
glossy leaves to reduce
water loss.
• spikes protect cacti from
animals wishing to use
stored water.
• deep roots to tap
groundwater
Plants
• Barrel Cactus. ...
• Saguaro Cactus. ...
• Lace or Hedgehog Cactus. ...
• Organ Pipe Cactus. ...
• Brittlebush. ...
• Creosote Bush. ...
• Desert Ironwood.
Oasis
• An oasis can be formed by an

underground aquifer or river
that creates enough pressure
for water to seep to the
surface, forming the oasis. Thes
e aquifers and natural springs
allow for life to exist in harsh
climates like the desert and are
often well known to local
herders, farmers, and travelers
in the region.
Types of
desert:-
• The four basic

desert types are the
hot-and-dry (or
subtropical) desert, the
semiarid (or cold-
winter) desert, the
coastal desert and the
cold (or polar) desert.
• A subtropical desert is a type of ecosystem, or biome that is
Subtropical characterized by high temperatures, very low precipitation
and warm soils. Examples of these types of deserts are the
desert Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahua, Sahara and the Great

Victoria Deserts.
• A semi-arid climate or
steppe climate is the climate
of a region that receives
precipitation below potential
evapotranspiration, but not
as low as a desert climate.
There are different kinds of
semi-arid climates,
depending on variables such
as temperature, and they
give rise to different biomes
Semi-Arid desert
Coastal deserts
• These deserts are found in areas
that are moderately warm to
cool. Winters typically are cool
and brief, and summers are long
and warm. Coastal
deserts support a wider variety of
plant life than hot and dry or
semi-arid deserts.
Cold deserts
• A cold desert is a desert which is

extremely cold. for example in
Antartica . The annual
precipitation averages 166mm
making it one of the driest
regions in the world. with the
temperature reaching -90°C it is
extremely cold. Other examples
of cold deserts are the
Gobi desert, Greenland etc.
• Desertification is a type of land
degradation in drylands involving loss
of biological productivity caused by
natural processes or induced by human
activities whereby fertile areas become
increasingly more arid . It is caused by
desertification a variety of factors, such as
through climate change (particularly
the current global warming) and
through
the overexploitation of soil through
human activity
• 1. Afforestation and planting of soil binding grasses
can check soil erosion, floods and water logging.
• 2. Crop rotation and mixed cropping improve the
fertility of the soil. It would increase production which
can sustain large population.
• 3. Desertification can be checked by artificial bunds or
Control of covering the area with proper type of vegetation.
Desertification: • 4. Shifting of sand can be controlled by mulching (use

of artificial protective covering.)
• 5. Salinity of the soil can be checked by improved
drainage. Saline soil can be recovered by leaching
with more water, particularly where water table of
the ground is not very high.

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Environmental Science

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

• A desert is a barren area of landscape where

• The desert climate, is a climate in which there is an

• An oasis can be formed by an

• The four basic

desert Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahua, Sahara and the Great

• A cold desert is a desert which is

Desertification: • 4. Shifting of sand can be controlled by mulching (use

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