The Desert Ecosystem refers to the different species of plants and animals that manage to survive in arid areas without rainfall. Where temperatures are extreme and with totally bare landscapes, nature is capable of providing life. In this article we present the amazing life in the desert. Do not stop reading it, you will be surprised.
desert ecosystem
Desert ecosystems represent one of the most extreme biomes that exist on the planet with arid soil and scarce rainfall, making it an inhospitable place for life in abundance. They are areas where what prevails are mounds of sand, so plants and animals can hardly adapt. Here we present the most relevant characteristics of these peculiar areas.
The deserts
Deserts are the most unpopulated and inhabited area on the planet, thanks to their extreme temperatures and the almost direct incidence of sunlight, they make life almost impossible. This biome, biotic area or bioclimatic landscape represents a region of the Earth's surface that presents uniformities in terms of climate, flora and fauna. The desert is a hostile place that is almost lifeless and inhospitable, but capable of harboring life such as plants and animals that have adapted to the harshness of its climate.
Most of the deserts are located in areas of high pressure and constantly making it difficult to rain. The largest deserts are: in Africa, the Sahara desert, which represents the third largest desert in the world after the Arctic and the Antarctic, the Arabian deserts that cover an area of about 2.330.000 km², occupying almost the entire peninsula. In Central America you can also find deserts like the one in Arizona on the border of the United States with Mexico.
There are also deserts to the north of Chile called Atacama; to the west of Bolivia and the south of Peru, which turns out to be the driest on the planet. All of them are found at great distances from the sea and in the particular case those of the western coasts of southern Africa and South America that are affected by ocean currents. Deserts occupy almost a third of the earth's surface, that is, about 50 million square kilometers. Some were formed on flat slices of crystalline rock, others have arisen from tectonic movements.
Temperatures
The temperatures in the deserts are varied for this reason they are subdivided into steppe or semi-arid zones, which have rainfall between 250 to 500 mm per year. On the other hand, the arid zones present annual rainfall between 25 and 250 mm. And the hyperharids may not present rainfall for years and their temperature can be very high, as in the case of the Lut Desert in Iran, which can reach up to 70 degrees on the ground surface.
The most common in the deserts is that its temperature varies between 40° and 50° and the Sahara that reaches up to 57°, but during the nights it can drop to 10°. In contrast, Antarctica is the largest desert in the world, the coldest, driest and windiest, with temperatures that can reach -89,2 °C (recorded in 1983). Although the average temperature of the Arctic and Antarctic can range between -20 °.
Hydrography
In the desert ecosystem, the presence of water is almost nil, it only appears after precipitation. Thanks to the anticyclones, the atmosphere in these regions has a much higher pressure than in the surrounding areas, producing good weather, clear skies and occasionally fog or mist, so there is little rain.
But there are deserts where water can run and is called audis. This is thanks to the few rains that usually turn into downpours but I know that they don't take long to dry and they rarely end up in the seas.
Basic Desert Types
There are different types of deserts on the planet, the polar ones that are the Arctic and the Antarctic, the sandy ones and those with high temperatures, composed mainly of sand, which due to the action of the winds form the dunes. We also find stony or rocky deserts, which are those whose terrain is made up of rocks or pebbles.
There are also deserts in regions of trade or tropical winds, in mid-latitudes, due to barriers to humid, monsoon, coastal air and the so-called indlandsis, which are polar deserts or polar desert areas. Now, tropical deserts are those located in the equatorial strip, it should be noted that most are of this type, including the Sahara.
Mid-latitude deserts are found in subtropical areas with high atmospheric pressure, far from water sources. Those of auger to the humid air They are consequence of the action of great mountainous barriers. On the other hand, there are coastal deserts located on continental edges and under the effect of complex wind systems, which causes a truly unstable climate system.
Those of the monsoon produced by seasonal wind systems that are born in the ocean and lose their moisture as they move over the continental shelf. There are also cold deserts, located in areas of high altitude and low rainfall, and polar deserts. With temperatures below the freezing point of water, they are extensions of ice and snow, with no precipitation throughout the year.
Desert Ecosystem Flora
Even when life in deserts is almost impossible, there is vegetation and flora that have been able to adapt to these types of climates, where rainfall is scarce and there is little moisture in the ground. This greatly hinders the growth and development of plants and even more so for them to carry out the photosynthesis process. For these reasons, in the desert ecosystem, the most common plant species are succulent and succulent, whose main characteristic is that they have specialized organs for storing water in larger quantities than normal plants.
Its leaves are small and hard with thorns, which help prevent water loss. As for its roots, they tend to be large and elongated to cover a large space and obtain water and nutrients. Among the most common are the biznaga, the beavertail cactus, agave americana, banana yucca, the Organ cactus, desert willow, Joshua tree, date palm, desert sotol, among many others.
Fauna of the Desert Ecosystem
The fauna present in the desert ecosystem is quite scarce, due to the peculiar climatic and landscape characteristics that are presented here. The most common to find in the desert are reptiles because their blood is cold, which allows them to combat extreme temperatures. You can also see various types of insects, beetles, ants, scorpions and spiders. All of them live in burrows that in turn allow them to shelter from the powerful solar rays. On the other hand, mammals such as foxes and rodents can be found. Whose main characteristic is light fur and nocturnal habits.
Likewise, we can find large mammals such as dromedaries and camels, which are animals capable of storing large amounts of water in their bodies, as well as amounts of fat to survive in extreme moments where food becomes scarce. As for birds, in the deserts there are some small birds and some others such as vultures whose most special feature is that they do not have sweat glands. Many of these animals have changed their biological clock, developing nocturnal habits to survive the high temperatures.
Among the most common animals in the deserts are camels, dromedaries, rattlesnakes, Egyptian cobras, thorny devils, black scorpions, camel spiders, mice, meerkats, coyotes, desert foxes, buzzards, vultures, turtle doves, great roadrunners and guanaco. In cold deserts the most common are penguins, seals and polar bears.
Deserts of the World
Among the best-known deserts in the world are in order of importance: Antarctica, Arctic, Sahara, Gobi, Sonora, Kalahari, Namib, Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, Atacama, Karakum, Negev, Taklamakan, Arabian Desert, Rub al- Khali, Syrian Desert, Judean Desert, Arabian Desert and Xerophilous Mount and Sinai.
Fun facts
Did you know that the smallest species of fox in the world lives in the Sahara? The largest saline surface in the world is Chott el Djerid, a lake that has 7.000 km2. In much of the Sahara, there is the rose of Jericho, this plant that is very resistant, when it dries, its branches contract and it forms a ball. It can be in that position for years but when it finds water or moisture it hydrates and returns to its original shape. The arctic desert is the only one in the world without the presence of reptiles. In addition, in some parts it has not rained or snowed in the last 2 million years.
In Chile is the Atacama desert, where scientists have no records that it has ever rained there, in addition to having areas that have existed for more than 40 million years. Fertile soils become desert thanks to climate change, deforestation of forests and indiscriminate grazing.
To learn more about deserts, their flora, fauna and main characteristics, watch the following video.
https://youtu.be/MrtSudLy3t0
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