DESERT ECOLOGY

Introduction

While studying the physical features and geomorphology of landforms, a very

unique nature of landmass comes into our mind. It is very unique in various aspects.
That is the dry landmass called as the Desert. Earth has numerous land areas
covered by deserts. Among all the terrestrial ecosystems, deserts are very typical
landforms due to their unique ecological conditions. Desert and near-desert areas
cover nearly one-third of the land surface of the globe . Most of the major desert
areas like as the Sahara, the Arabian, the Kalahari, and the Deserts of Australia all
lie between 10 and 30 degrees north or south of the equator. Deserts are dry
ecosystems comprising a substantial part of the globe.

While deserts are dry, they can be found all around the world. While we may think
of a desert as a hot, dry piece of land, it can be cold as well. Regardless of the region,
any desert is usually cold at night and receives very little rainfall. However, they do
produce plants, which have adapted to such living conditions.

Deserts are characterised by the following ecological factors:

a. Sandy soils and a rocky substratum

b. Scanty rainfall and high evaporation

c. Hot and Cold weather

d. Prevailing Wind action

e. Poor Soil Moisture and water resources

The ecosystem is dependent upon the type of desert; temperate deserts, also referred
to as cold deserts, or hot or subtropical deserts. Hot deserts and cold deserts have
different kinds of ecosystems. However, despite being very different, the two kinds
of deserts have a few similarities.

Similarities of temperate and subtropical deserts:

 Both get fewer than 10 inches of rain annually.

 Dry air is found in both kinds of biomes.
 Both have harsh living conditions that impact people or animals living
there.
 Plants have adapted to having less water and harsher temperatures.
 Animals have adapted to the conditions as far as energy, food
consumption and when to get out and be active.

In general, deserts are made up of a number of abiotic components – including sand,

the lack of moisture, and hot temperatures – basically anything that makes up an
ecosystem that isn’t alive. However, there are also a number of biotic factors that
affect deserts, which include living things, such as plants and animals.

Abiotic Components

Climate

Temperate Deserts

Antarctica is an example of a temperate desert. The temperatures are actually so

cold, they could lead to the death of humans. In order to survive, the animals that
live in these kinds of deserts have adapted with the passage of time. The ways they
have done this is by adding extra layers of fat, or needing less food and energy in
order to survive.
Subtropical Deserts

These deserts are too hot for many plants and animals to handle. The animals who
call these deserts home have adapted to having less water. Because it is so hot
during the day, they have become nocturnal, getting out during the night when it is
cooler and easier to maneuver without getting overheated. But, because the nights
are cold, they have had to become accustomed to the colder nights. Plants have had
to adjust to having less water, so they are sparse and often close to the ground.

Location

Mountains

There are two major factors in the deserts’ creation; mountains’ rain shadows and
the large circulation of global winds. As water-filled air is pushed up the mountain
slopes, it cools then drops water on that particular side of the mountain. In the event
of larger mountain ranges, very little water makes it to the other side. Therefore
deserts are often found near mountainous areas, such as:

 The Caucasus Mountains in Asia, where the Karakum and Kyzyl Kum
deserts are
 The Atacama Desert, which is partly caused by the Andes Mountains in
Chile
 Parts of California, where the Santa Cruz mountains are
 The Sahara desert, which is affected by a number of different mountain
ranges

Wind patterns

Global wind patterns, which are complicated, play a significant role in where deserts
are located. Winds that circle the globe are the result of the difference between
warmer equatorial temperatures as well as the polar temperatures that are cooler.
After air has been warmed at the equator, it moves upward. Then it moves toward
the north pole and toward the south pole, where it loses moisture, cools off and then
sinks before returning to the equator. Therefore, stable wind patterns and shifting
global patterns can contribute to where a desert is.

The passage of time greatly influences where and how deserts form. As time has
passed, the locations of deserts have moved through the passage of geologic time.
This change has been the result of the uplifting of mountain ranges and the
continental drift. The horse latitudes are where more deserts are situated, which is
generally straddling the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, which falls
between 15 and 30 degrees to the equator’s north.

There are geologically ancient deserts, such as the Sahara Desert in northern Africa,
which is 65 million years old or the Kalahari in central Africa. In North America,
three of the four major deserts are within a geological region called the Range
Province and the Basin, which falls between the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky
Mountains then extending into the state of Sonora in Mexico.

The forces of erosion thousands of years past shaped the desert landscapes during
heavy rainfall. The rocky mountain slopes and hillsides caught the rain, which
picked up loose sediment, sand, cobbles and boulders then moved them. As gravity
caused the water to be carried downhill, sediment was moved down to the basin. At
the bottom of the mountain, the water spread out across a broad area where the
mouths of canyons were widened.

Temperature

The temperature of a given desert will vary due to its geographic location. However,
a characteristic of all deserts is the dryness. Heat is reflected by water vapor, which
is either in the form of cloud cover or humidity, resulting in a cooling effect. Because
of the reactions and the characteristics, deserts experience extreme temperatures,
regardless of whether it is heat or cold.
The temperature fluctuations can result in other effects. Cool air sinks and warm air
rises, so the fast changes of temperatures cause the air to move fast from one place to
another. Because of that, deserts are windy, and those conditions contribute to
evaporation. About 90% of available sunlight is transmitted by clear dry air, which
in comparison to a typical humid climate seeing 40% of the available sunlight. The
additional sunlight has ultraviolet radiation, which can cause major damage to
plants, animals and people.

Precipitation

The desert environment has an unpredictable and uneven of the precipitation that is
does receive, although that precipitation is minimal in nature. Precipitation amounts
can vary from year to year. Some years it may seem as though the desert has gotten
more rainfall than usual, but most years have very little rainfall. There can actually
be entire years that the desert doesn’t see a drop of rain.
Biotic Components

Plant Life

Water is important everywhere and for every living thing. And it is, of course,
extremely important in the desert. Because of the lack of water, the plants have made
major adaptations.

Plant Adaptations

 The seeds of annual plants stay dormant until a time when there is
adequate rainfall available to support a young plant.
 Cacti and other succulent plants store water in their spines, which are
residual leaves. The stem is where photosynthesis takes place and the stem
has pleats that are able to expand fast when rain falls.
 Evergreens have way cuticles and sunken stomata on shrubs that help hold
water and prevent it from escaping. As an example, the holly plant’s leaves
are held at 70-degree angles so the sun only hits its sides. When the sun
sinks low in the sky, the entire leaf is exposed. A fine salt covering is on the
leaves and that helps reflect the sun off of the plant.

More than a fifth ofs the earth’s land is comprised of deserts. The lack of water can
create a survival problem for any humans, animals, plants or organisms. Besides the
low rainfall, deserts experience a high amount of water loss from evaporation from
the ground and through transpiration of plants. Evapotranspiration is from the
combination of evaporation and transpiration. Potential evapotranspiration is how
much water that would be lost by transpiration and evaporation if they were
possible. Scientists measure this amount under controlled conditions with a large
pan of water.

Soil in the desert is known for its coarseness, which permits the little moisture that is
in it to pass through quickly, which means it is not as available for plants. Salts
accumulate as a result from the high evaporation rate. The soil becomes alkaline and
limits plant growth, which is also known as primary productivity.

Animal Life

Because of the entire process required to maintain life in the desert, the impact is that
the size of individual animals is limited as well as the size of animal populations.
The extremes of heat and aridity result in deserts being one of the most fragile of the
ecosystems in the world.

Visitors to the desert should also take the proper precautions to protect themselves
as the environment is much different than any other location.

Despite common beliefs that things can’t live in the desert there are a number of
creatures that have learned to survive on the distinctive plant life and in the difficult
conditions.

 Large mammals like camels make their homes in the desert, and are suited
to travel long periods of time without water. Lions live in the deserts of
Africa, although they are endangered due to changing weather patterns
and the presence of humans.
 Small rodents find homes in the desert, with variations from gerbils to
hedgehogs. Larger hyenas and jackals are also often found in deserts.
 Lizards and snakes are particularly suited to the dry, hot climate of the
desert, as are amphibious creatures like a number of toads and
salamanders.
References

1. Pullen, Stephanie. "The Desert Biome". University of California Museum of

Paleontology. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
2. "World Deserts". Mojave National Preserve: Desert Ecology. National Park
Service. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
3. Noy-Meir, Imanuel (1973-11-01). "Desert Ecosystems: Environment and
Producers". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 4 (1): 25–51.
doi:10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000325. ISSN 0066-4162.
4. Rosenfeld, Daniel; Rudich, Yinon; Lahav, Ronen (22 May 2001). "Desert dust
suppressing precipitation: A possible desertification feedback loop".
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America. 98 (11). doi:10.1073/pnas.101122798. PMC 33408 Freely accessible.
5. "Desert Features". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
6. Edgell, H. Stewart (2006). Arabian Deserts. Springer. pp. 201–238. ISBN 978-1-
4020-3970-6.