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Deserts
JERICA RODE AND TARA BANFIELD
What is a desert?

Less than 50 cm/year

Occupies 20% of the land surface of the Earth

Four types
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Hot and dry

Semiarid

Coastal

Cold
Where are they located?
Deserts
General Characteristics:
Soil
Lithosols

Stone or mineral soil

Evaporated water leaves deposits
of salt

Shrubbery and animals add
nutrients
General Characteristics:
Plants

Plant hair helps to reduce evaporation

Produce small leaves in response to rainfall

Some remain as seeds and only germinate
during wet periods

Ephemerals
Hot and Dry Desert

Annual temperature: 20-25°C

Annual rainfall: 1.5 – 28 cm/year

Plants


Small, thick, and covered in cuticles

Open their stomata at night
Animals include species that are able to burrow
Semiarid Desert

Summer Temperature: 21-27°C

Annual rainfall: 2 - 4 cm/year


Plants

Spiny for protection

Some are glossy to reflect radiation
Animals

Avoid direct sunlight
Coastal Desert

Average temperature: 13-24°C

Average rainfall: 8-13 cm/year

Plants


Some plants form ridges/grooves to hold water

Thick fleshy leaves/stems to store water
Animals

Some are able to speed up their life cycle in ideal conditions
Cold Desert

Long, cold winters and warmer summers

Annual temperature: -2 - 4°C

Annual precipitation: 15- 26cm

Plants are scattered

Animals burrow