DESERT

ECOSYSTEM
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ECOLOGY

DONE BY,
SAYEEDA SUMAYYA SULTANA
CONTENT

 Introduction
 Formation of a desert
 Characteristics
 Biotic components
 Life in a desert
 Ecotone
 Types of desert
 Bibliography

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INTRODUCTION

 An ecosystem is a geographic area

where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well
as weather and landscape, work together to form a
bubble of life.
 Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as
abiotic factors, or nonliving parts. Biotic
factors include plants, animals, and
other organisms. Abiotic
factors include rocks, temperature, and humidity.
 There are different types of ecosystems based on
different climates, habitats, and life forms. This
means that ecosystems can typically be divided into
hundreds and thousands of smaller systems.
 However, all such types generally fall into one of the
following two categories:
• Aquatic Ecosystem
• Terrestrial Ecosystem

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 One such types of ecosystem is the Desert ecosystem.

DESERT ECOSYSTEM

Deserts are barren areas of land characterised by extremely high or low

temperatures, with low rainfall and scarce or no vegetation.

Deserts are examples of terrestrial ecosystems, which are found throughout

the world.

Neither all deserts are flat, nor do all deserts have cacti or oases.

These are regions with a short rainy season. It is scorching in the daytime, and
very cold at night in the desert.

Desert ecosystems exist worldwide and cover about 17 percent of desert areas.

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Formation of a Desert
FORMATION Of DESERT IS EFFECT OF WIND
ON
MOUNTAINS.

 FIRSTLY, THE MOUNTAINS WILL ACT AS A

BARRIER, PREVENTING THE WIND FROM
CARRYING RAIN OVER THE DESERT.
THIS MAKES DESERTS VERY DRY.
 SECONDLY, AS THE WIND HITS THE
ROCKS OF MOUNTAINS, THEY WILL
CRUMBLE AND BECOME SAND. THIS
MAKES DESERTS SANDY.
 USUALLY, DESERTS ARE SITUATED FAR
FROM WATER. DESERTS CAN FORM
AROUND WATER, HOWEVER WHEN
THIS HAPPENS IT IS BECAUSE THE WIND
BLOWS HOT AND DRY SAND FROM ONE
LOCATION TO ANOTHER, TURNING THE
SECOND LOCATION INTO A DESERT.
 ALTITUDE IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT
FACTORS
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DESERT
ECOSYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS
Aridity

It is the common characteristic of all the deserts on the earth. Aridity simply implies the deficiency of moisture’s or
dryness. Desert experience very less rainfall and thus result in aridity.

Extreme temperature

Desert ecosystems experience extreme temperatures during day and night. The days are very hot and the nights can be
extremely cold. It is the sole characteristic of all the desert ecosystems either hot or cold all lacks moisture.

Scarcity of water

Due to less rainfall, there is a shortage of water in a desert ecosystem. Due to the scarcity of water deserts have to face
the situation of drought half of the year.

The quality of the soil

In deserts is very low to grow vegetation. It is dry, rocky, thin, sandy, mainly grey in colour and has no organic contents
like nitrogen, phosphorus etc which are essential for the growth of plants.

The population density

Density Is very low in deserts and nearby areas as there is there a scarcity of water, food and climatic conditioner are
too harsh.
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Less rainfall/ precipitation

Less precipitation is one of the major features of deserts and also the reason behind the dryness. The rainfall
in deserts is seasonal and occurs only for a limited duration. The annual rainfall that a desert receives every
year is just 25-30 centimeters.
Velocity of wind

It tends to be very high in a desert ecosystem. This is the reason deserts experience sandstorms/ dust storms
of high intensity resulting in the formation of huge sand dunes.

Humidity-

The humidity level in a desert ecosystem is very low in the daytime and relatively high at night.

Biodiversity in a desert ecosystem –

However, the survival in a desert ecosystem is very hard but despite the fact, deserts are home to various
plants and animals. The plants and animals have adapted to survive in the harsh and extreme conditions of
the desert.
Plants grow very slowly

In this ecosystem that includes basically vegetation’s with spines like cacti that can 7easily survive in such
conditions.
Biotic Components
Procedures
Examples :Shrubs, bushes, some grasses and few trees .In deserts
mostly Succulent (e.g., cacti) plants are found available. They have
water
inside them to stay alive. They have. r on the outside to protect them
from the sun.
Consumers
Examples :Squirrels, nice foxes, rabbits, deer and reptiles.
These animals dig holes in the ground to live in. They come out at night
to find food. Most of the animals can extract water from the seeds they
eat.
Decomposers
Examples: Fungi and bacteria
Desert has poor vegetation with a very low amount of dead
organic mater. They are decomposed by few fungi and bacteria.

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Food web

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Food web

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Life in the Desert
 Desert plants grow far apart, allowing them to obtain as much water around them
as possible. This spacing gives some desert regions a desolate appearance.
 In some deserts, plants have unique leaves to capture sunlight for photosynthesis,
the process plants use to make food. plants typically have tiny, waxy
leaves. Cactuses have no leaves at all.
 Some desert plants, such as cactuses, have shallow, wide-spreading root systems.
 Other desert plants have very deep roots. The roots of a mesquite tree, for
example, can reach water more than 30 meters (100 feet) underground.
 Animals that have adapted to a desert environment are
called xerocoles. Xerocoles include species of insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Some xerocoles avoid the sun by resting in scarce shade.
 Most xerocoles are nocturnal. They sleep through the hot days and do their hunting
and foraging at night.
 Some xerocoles have bodies that help them handle the heat.
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 Ecotone
 A transition zone where one plant community changes into another plant
community, usually caused by changes in the environment such as
changes in elevation or soil characteristics.

Example of ecotone between oasis and desert 12

environments. Desert vegetation on left, oasis on right.
 TYPES OF DESERT
ECOSYSTEM

 Hot and dry

 semi-arid

 coastal

 cold desert

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 1. Hot and Dry Desert Ecosystem-
➢ These kinds of the desert
ecosystem have hot and
dry climatic conditions through the
air and have very low annual
rainfall.
➢ The hot desert ecosystem is
basically found in Central
America, South Asia, North
America, Africa, Australia etc.
➢ There are extreme variations in
temperature and soil is rough and
harsh.
➢ Many mean annual
temperatures range from 20-25°
C. The extreme maximum
ranges from 43.5-49° C.
Minimum temperatures
sometimes drop to -18° C.
Sahara desert • Flora: Vegetation in the Sahara desert
includes cactus, date palms and
acacia. We can find an oasis in some
places.
• Fauna: The animal species found
here are camels, hyenas, jackals,
foxes, scorpions and many varieties
of snakes and lizards.
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 2.Semi-arid desert ecosystem-
➢ This ecosystem has stable
ground, hard rocks, and lesser
sand dunes.
➢ Temperature isn’t extreme.
➢ The best example of this kind
of desert ecosystem is the
Great Basin, which gets a good
amount of rainfall.
➢ summer temperatures usually
average between 21-27° C. It
normally does not go above
38° C and evening
temperatures are cool, at
around 10° C.
➢ Creosote bush, bur sage,
white thorn, cat claw,
mesquite, brittle bush, and
jujube are the names of some
of the plants found in the
Sagebrush of Utah,western U.S semiarid desert. Mammals such
as rabbits, kangaroo rats, and
skunks, along with
grasshoppers, ants, snakes, and
lizards, inhabit this desert.
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3. Coastal desert ecosystem-
➢ The Atacama Desert in Chile
and Namib in Africa are a good
example of Coastal desert ecosystem.
➢ Such desert ecosystems are found
near the coastal lines of big water
bodies like oceans and seas and are
generally affected by the ocean
currents.
➢ The cool winters of coastal deserts
are followed by moderately long,
warm summers. The average
summer temperature ranges from
13-24° C; winter temperatures are 5°
C or below. The maximum annual
temperature is about 35° C and the
minimum is about -4° C.
➢ Winter fogs are common here. They
are more hospitable than other desert
ecosystem and therefore they have a
more flora and fauna than others.
➢ Flora:The salt bush, buckwheat bush,
black bush, rice grass, little leaf
horse brush, and black sage
➢ Fauna: coyotes, badgers, toads,
insects, lizards, snakes, and birds
such as great horned owls, golden
eagles and bald eagles.
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 4. Cold desert ecosystem-
➢ This desert ecosystem comprises of
abundant rainfall throughout the
winters and less in summers and
generally has chilling winters with
snowfall.
➢ The summers are short, moderately
hot and moist here.
➢ The mean winter temperature is
between -2 to 4° C and the mean
summer temperature is between
21-26° C.
➢ These are usually covered with snow
dunes. Such desert ecosystem can
be found in Greenland, Antarctica,
and Nearctic realm.
➢ flora: Plants in cold deserts
include algae, grasses, and plants
Greenland with spiny thin leaves.
➢ Fauna: Woolly Hare, Tibetan Gazzle,
Snow Leopard, Himalayan Black
Bear, Himalayan Brown Bear, Snow
Leopard, Red Fox, Tibetan Wolf
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Bibliography
 https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/des
ert
 https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-semi-
arid-desert-biome.html
 https://blog.desertmuseum.org/2022/01/04/weaving-
the-web-of-life/
 https://www.vedantu.com/geography/desert-
ecosystem
 https://www.slideshare.net/saravanamani1/ecosystem-
50288615?qid=3e9ebfa4-2699-47e2-a53a-
d63e15ced733&v=&b=&from_search=25
 https://www.earthreminder.com/desert-ecosystem-
types-characteristics/
 https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/deserts.ph
p

THANKYOU 19