Desert
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The document discusses desert environments and the plants and animals found within them. It describes deserts as harsh environments with extreme heat and dryness, yet flash floods and cold nights. It then provides details on the different types of hot and cold deserts found around the world, including their locations, physical features, and example plants and animals. For both hot and cold deserts, it explains the adaptations that allow plants and animals to survive in these difficult conditions with little water.
Desert
- 4. The hot desert is a land of extremes: extreme heat and extreme dryness; sudden flash floods and cold nights. Because deserts are such a harsh environment, deserts often have names likes "Death Valley," "the empty quarter," and "the place from where there is no return."
- 5. .What are the type of deserts ? There are two types of deserts a) Hot Deserts b) Cold Deserts
- 6. Hot Deserts
- 7. DESERT Hot Deserts of the World The main form of precipitation in a hot desert is rain. But that's only ten inches or less of rain per year. This kind of Deserts are mainly found in Southern Africa , Southern Australia,Southern America and Southern Asia . In this desert there is a lot of problems due to water. In this kind of Desert the population is very less. Due to less water many people die in this area.
- 8. Hot Deserts of the World Name Location Size Physical Features Some Plants & Animals Special Facts Arabian Arabian Peninsula 900,000 mi2 2,300,000km2 Covered almost entirely by sand; has some of the most extensive stretches of sand dunes in the world. acacia, oleander, saltbush desert locust, dromedary camel, gazelle, lizard, jackal, oryx Nomadic Bedouin tribes have travelled through the Arabian Desert for thousands of years. Australian (Great Sandy, Victoria, Simpson, Gibson, and Sturt) Australia 890,00 mi2 2,300,000km2 (1/3 of Australia) Great Sandy, Victoria, and Simpson are sandy; Gibson and Sturt are stony. acacia, casuarina tree, eucalyptus, saltbush, spinifex grass blue-tongued lizard, dingo, fat- tailed mouse, kangaroo, marsupial mole, rabbit-eared bandicoot, sand goanna, spinifex hopping mouse, throny devil Aborigines have lived in the Australian deserts for over 30,000 years. Chihuahuan North Central Mexico and Southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) 175,000 mi2 455,000 km2 High plateau covered by stony areas and sandy soil. Many mountains and mesas. cacti, chihuahuan flax, creosote bush, lechuguilla, mesquite, mexican gold poppy coyote, diamondback rattlesnake, javelina, kangaroo rat, roadrunner Largest North American desert. Big Bend National Park located here; more species of birds seen in Big Bend than in any other National Park in the U.S. Kalahari Southwestern Africa 200,000 mi2 520,000 km2 Covered by sand dunes and gravel plains. acacia, aloe gazelle, gerbil, ground squirrel, hyena, jackel, sandgrouse, springbok Bushman have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000 years. Mojave Southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada) 25,000 mi2 65,000 km2 Covered by sandy soil, gravelly pavement, and salt flats. creosote bush, desert sand verbena, joshua tree, mesquite bighorn sheep, chuckwalla, coyote, jackrabbit, sidewinder, zebra-tailed lizard Death Valley located in this desert.
- 9. Monte Argentina 125,000 mi2 325,000 km2 Covered by sand and soil cardon cactus, creosote bush, paloverde armadillo, cavy, jaguarundi, puma, tinamou, tuco-tuco Very similar to the Sonorant Desert Sahara Northern Africa 3,500,000mi2 9,100,000km2 Covered by mountains, rocky areas, gravel plains, salt flats, huge areas of dunes. Areas in the central sometimes get no rain for years at a time. acacia, grasses, tamarisks addax antelope, dorcas gazelle, fennec fox, horned viper, jackal, jerboa, sandgrouse, spiny-yailed lizard Largest desert in the world. Fewer than 2 million inhabitants (mostly nomads such as the Tuareg). Crossed by Arab caravans since the 10th century. Sonorant Southwestern United States (Arizona, California) and parts of Mexico (Baja Peninsula, Sonora) 120,000 mi2 312,000 km2 Covered by sand, soil, and gravelly pavement. Gets more rain than any other North American desert. agave, coulter's globemallow, creosote bush, desert mariposa lily, mesquite, ocotillo, paloverde, saguaro coati, elf owl, gila monster, kangaroo rat, pack rat, roadrunner, sidewinder, tarantula Most complex animal-plant community of any desert. One of the most beautiful deserts in the world. Thar India and Pakistan 77,000 mi2 200,000 km2 Majority of desert covered by sand dunes; rest covered by gravel plains acacia, euphorbias, grasses, shrubs black buck, dromedary camel, great Indian bustard, Indian spiny-tailed lizard, jackel, sandgrouse Small villages of ten to twenty houses scattered throughout the Thar. Mojave Southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada) 25,000 mi2 65,000 km2 Covered by sandy soil, gravelly pavement, and salt flats. creosote bush, desert sand verbena, joshua tree, mesquite bighorn sheep, chuckwalla, coyote, jackrabbit, sidewinder, zebra-tailed lizard Death Valley located in this desert.
- 10. Cold Deserts
- 11. With snow covered land stretching for hundreds of miles with no vegetations or apparent sign of life, save a few stray patches of thorny plants, the cold deserts are very hostile to any animal for making a living. With severe lack of vegetation and adequate sunlight here are cold, frozen desert like places in Asia. No vegetation can grow here because of the snow. Thus animals hardly survive here. Some of the few found ones include the goat-antelopes like ibex, gorals and serows; the yaks; and the central Asian snow leopards with broad feet that serve as snow shoes. Both the ice capped poles of Earth has vast ice sheets and the glaciers flowing down the sea. Huge ice shelves jut far out into the waters. Fierce, bitter winds whirl snow about in blizzards. No place on earth is more forbidding.
- 12. Cold Deserts of the World Name Location Size Physical Features Some Plants & Animals Special Facts Atacama Coasts of Peru and Chile 54,000 mi2 140,000 km2 Covered by sand dunes and pebbles. One of the driest areas on earth. bunchgrass, cardon cactus, tamaruga trees lizards, llama, Peruvian fox, nesting area for many seabirds Only a few thousand people (mostly farmers) live in the inland desert areas. Large deposits of sodium nitrate are found in the desert. Sodium nitrate is used to make gunpowder. Gobi Northern China and Southern Mongolia 450,000 mi2 1,200,000 km2 Covered by sandy soil and areas of small stones called "gobi." camel's thorn, grasses bactrian bamel, gazelle, gerbil, jerboa, lizards, onager, wolf Crossed by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century. Many nomads now settling on government-run farms. Great Basin Western United States (Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah) 158,000 mi2 411,000 km2 Covered by sand, gravel, and clay. Many moutains ranges, basins, and large expanses of salt flats. greasewood, sagebrush, shadscale bighorn sheep, jackrabbit, pocket mouse, poor-will, pronghorn antelope, sage thrasher, side-blotched lizard Great Salt Lake located here. Iranian Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan 150,000 mi2 390,000 km2 Covered by coarse gray soil, stony pavement, and salt flats. grasses, pistachio trees, shrubs monitor lizard, onager, oryx, scorpion World's largest salt flat located here. Namib Coasts of Southwestern Africa 52,000 mi2 135,000 km2 Covered by sand dunes along the coast and gravel farther inland. aloe, bunchgrass, lichens, welwitschia darkling beetle, fringe-toed lizard, golden mole, jackal, sidewinder, viper, web- footed gecko Coast of the Namib Desert is world's greatest source of gemstones. Takla Makan Western China 600,000 mi2 1,600,000km2 Covered by sand dunes and rocky soil. grasses, shrubs bactrian camel, jerboa, long-eared hedgehog, gazelle The word "Takla Makan" means "place from which there is no return." Crossed by Marco Polo in the 13th Century.
- 13. Desert Animals and Plant There are many animals and plants which live in desert they have some specific habits and features also known as Adaption to live in Desert area.
- 14. These are some animals and Plants which live in desert: 1. Animals Animals in the desert must survive in a hostile environment. Intense heat, searing sun, and lack of water are just a few of the challenges facing desert animals. Animals that live in the hot desert have many adaptations. Some animals never drink, but get their water from seeds (some can contain up to 50% water) and plants. Many animals are nocturnal, sleeping during the hot day and only coming out at night to eat and hunt. Some animals rarely spend any time above ground. Spade foot toads spend nine months of every year underground!
- 16. With its heavy head and shoulders and slender hindquarters, the addax is a clumsy-looking animal. Its coloration varies widely between individuals, but there is always a mat of dark-brown hair on the forehead, and both sexes have thin, spiral horns. Addax are typical desert-dwellers, with their large, wide spreading hoofs, adapted to walking on soft sand, and they never drink, obtaining all the moisture they need from their food, which includes succulents. Their nomadic habits are closely linked to the sporadic rains, for addax appear to have a special ability to find the patches of desert vegetation that suddenly sprout after a downpour. They are normally found in herds of 20 to 200. The female produces 1 young after a gestation of 8 1/2 months. Class: Mammalian: Mammals Diet: Plants Order: Artiodactyls: Even-toed Ungulates Size: body:1.3 m (4 1/4 ft), tail: 25 - 35 cm (9 3/4 - 13 3/4 in) Family: Bovina: Bovid Conservation Status: Critically endangered Scientific Name: Addax nasomaculatus Habitat: sandy and stony desert Range: Africa: E. Mauritania, W. Mali; patchy distribution in Algeria, Chad, Niger and Sudan
- 18. Class: Aves: Birds Diet: Insects Order: Passeriformes: Perching birds Size: body:18 - 22 cm (7 - 8 1/2 in) Family: Troglodytidae: Wrens Conservation Status: Non- threatened Scientific Name: Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus Habitat: desert, arid scrubland Range: Southwestern U.S.A. to central Mexico Cactus Wren The largest North American wren, the cactus wren has a distinctive white stripe over each eye and a longer-than-usual tail, which it does not normally cock up. Cactus wrens frequent areas with thorny shrubs, cacti and trees and forage mostly on the ground around vegetation for insects, such as beetles, ants, wasps, and grasshoppers, and occasionally lizards or small frogs. Some cactus fruit and berries and seeds are also eaten. The wrens can run swiftly but usually fly if traveling any distance. Nests are made for roosting in at night and for shelter in bad weather. The breeding season begins in March or April, and there may be two or three broods. The nest is a bulky, domed structure, made of plant fibers, twigs and dead leaves, with a tubelike side entrance that can be up to 15 cm (6 in) long; it is lined with fur or feathers. The nest is situated on a prickly cholla cactus or amid the sharp leaves of a yucca or other thorny bush. From 3 to 7 eggs, usually 4 to 5, are laid and then incubated by the female for about 16 days.
- 20. Class: Aves: Birds Diet: Seeds Order: Passeriformes: Perching birds Size: body:15 cm (6 in) Family: Alaudidae: Larks Conservation Status: Non-threatened Scientific Name: Ammomanes deserti Habitat: stony, hilly desert, dry wooded slopes Range: Africa: Sahara; Middle East, through Iran to Afghanistan Desert Lark The plumage of the desert lark perfectly matches the color of the desert soil and is the best example of soil camouflage in birds. The very dark subspecies, A. d. annae, blends with the black larval sand of central Arabia, while the pale race, A. d. isabellina, does not stray from areas of white sand. The nest is usually built up against a rock or tuft of grass and is reinforced on the windward side by small decorative pebbles. In the harsh desert interior, 3 eggs are laid, while 4 or 5 may be produced at the desert edge.
- 22. Class: Mammalia: Mammals Diet: Large mammals Order: Carnivora: Carnivores Size: body:about 1.5 m (5 ft), tail: about 35 cm (13 3/4 in) Family: Canidae: Dogs, Foxes Conservation Status: Non-threatened Scientific Name: Canis dingo Habitat: sandy desert to wet and dry sclerophyll forest Range: Australia Dingo The dingoes are descended from domesticated dogs introduced by the aboriginal human inhabitants of Australia many thousands of years ago. In anatomy and behavior, dingoes are indistinguishable from domestic dogs, but the two have interbred for so long that there are now few pure dingoes. They live in family groups but may gather into bigger packs to hunt large prey. Originally they fed on kangaroos, but when white settlers started to kill off the kangaroos, dingoes took to feeding on introduced sheep and rabbits. A litter of 4 or 5 young is born in a burrow or rock crevice after a gestation of about 9 weeks. The young are suckled for 2 months and stay with their parents for at least a year.
- 24. Class: Reptilia: Reptiles Diet: Small mammals, eggs Order: Squamata: Lizards and Snakes Size: body:45 - 61 cm (17 3/4 - 24 in) Family: Helodermatidae: Gila Monster Conservation Status: Vulnerable Scientific Name: Heloderma suspectum Habitat: arid and semiarid areas with some vegetation Range: Southwestern U.S.A.: Southern Utah, Arizona to New Mexico; Mexico Gila Monster This formidable, heavy-bodied lizard has a short, usually stout tail, in which it can store fat for use in periods of food shortage. It is gaudily patterned and has brightly colored beadlike scales on its back. The gila lives on the ground and shelters under rocks or in a burrow, which it digs itself or takes over from another animal. It is primarily nocturnal but may emerge during the day in spring. The two members of the gila monster family are the only venomous lizards. The venom is produced in glands in the lower jaw and enters the mouth via grooved teeth at the front of the lower jaw; it flows into the victim as the lizard chews. The gila also eats the eggs of birds and reptiles. Gila monsters mate in the summer, and the female lays 3 to 5 eggs some time later, in the autumn or winter.
- 25. Desert Plant Deserts are the home to many living things. In fact, deserts are second only to tropical rainforests in the variety of plant and animal species that live there. How do you think plants grow in a place that is very, very dry? Many of the fascinating features of desert plants are adaptations -- traits that help the plant survive in its harsh environment. Desert plants have two main adaptations: Ability to collect and store water Features that reduce water loss Desert plants often look different than plants in any other biome. Click on the questions to your left to learn more about desert plants and see their pictures.
- 26. Saguaro The stem of the Saguaro Cactus stores all of its water. The stem is green. Photosynthesis occurs in the top layer of the stem instead of in leaves. This plant has another adaptation that is hidden from us. This is its large net of roots -- that extend far away from its trunk. How would these roots help a desert plant? The roots collect water after rain. Stored in the pleated expandable stem, the water keeps the saguaro alive until the next rain. Saguaro fruit is used in jam and woody skeletons are used in building materials. The Saguaro only grows in the Sonorant Desert.
- 27. Prickly Pear Cactus Since many desert plants store water in their spongy tissue, animals will eat them for the moisture. The thorns keep them safe from many animal predators. You can find lots of Prickly Pear Cactus in the Chihuahua desert.
- 28. Dragon Tree The Dragon Tree is not from the American deserts. It is from the Canary Islands. It has a sap that hardens to a dark red. People call the sap "Dragon's Blood." The sap is sometimes used as a fake stone in jewelry.
- 29. Desert Spoon Succulent leaves can store water inside them. These leaves are usually thick and tough to reduce water loss. The Desert Spoon has leaves that are trimmed and polished for sales as curios. The papago and Pima Indians use them in baskets. The woody stems contain a sugary sap that can be fermented into a drink that is called sotol.
- 30. This is some Basic Information about Desert and it organism. Desert does not stop here only there are many more secrets of Desert.
- 31. Submitted to : Sanjay Kumar Submitted by: LAKSHYA SHARMA