Hot & Dry Desert
Location
Four major North American Hot & Dry deserts are the Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin. Others outside the U.S. include the Southern Asian realm, Neotropical (South and Central America), Ethiopian (Africa) and Australian.
Four major North American Hot & Dry deserts are the Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin. Others outside the U.S. include the Southern Asian realm, Neotropical (South and Central America), Ethiopian (Africa) and Australian.
Human Impact
There is no direct human impact that specifies to threatening a particular type of desert, but the entire desert biome is being effected by humans. Humans are drilling all over deserts. The desert population rises long with the demand for water. The water that animals once drank is being drilled and drained for industries, agriculture, and people. Grazing animals in the desert can destroy many of the deserts plants and animals, being counterproductive. Global warming is increasing the extent of drought, drying up water holes, along with increasing wild fires which burn the slow-growing shrubs and trees. Deserts are often used as nuclear waste dump sites, as they are used for nuclear testing.
Plants
Shade in most deserts is very rare. Plants are mainly ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees. Leaves are fully supported with water-conserving characteristics. They tend to be small, thick and covered with a thick outer layer. The cacti have leaves that are spines and photosynthetic activity is limited to the stems. Some plants open their stomata only at night when evaporation rates are lowest. These plants include yuccas, ocotillo, turpentine bush, prickly pears, false mesquite, sotol, ephedras, agaves and brittlebush.
Shade in most deserts is very rare. Plants are mainly ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees. Leaves are fully supported with water-conserving characteristics. They tend to be small, thick and covered with a thick outer layer. The cacti have leaves that are spines and photosynthetic activity is limited to the stems. Some plants open their stomata only at night when evaporation rates are lowest. These plants include yuccas, ocotillo, turpentine bush, prickly pears, false mesquite, sotol, ephedras, agaves and brittlebush.
Weather
Rainfall is usually very low and/or concentrated in short bursts between long rainless periods. Evaporation rates regularly exceed rainfall rates. Sometimes rain starts falling and evaporates before hitting the ground. Rainfall is lowest on the Atacama Desert of Chile, where it averages less than 1.5 cm. Some years are even rainless. Inland Sahara receives less than 1.5 cm a year. Rainfall in American deserts is almost 28 cm a year.
Animals
The animals include small carnivores that are only active at night. The dominant animals are those that are burrowers and kangaroo rats. There are also insects, arachnids, reptiles and birds. The animals stay inactive in burrows during the hot day and come out to hunt at dusk, dawn or at night, when the desert is cooler. Some of the animals that live in an hot & dry desert are javelina, rattlesnake, coyote, and thorny devil.
The animals include small carnivores that are only active at night. The dominant animals are those that are burrowers and kangaroo rats. There are also insects, arachnids, reptiles and birds. The animals stay inactive in burrows during the hot day and come out to hunt at dusk, dawn or at night, when the desert is cooler. Some of the animals that live in an hot & dry desert are javelina, rattlesnake, coyote, and thorny devil.
Jocelyn Garcia