Desert Biome

1
Desert Biome

• By
• Michael Andrews
• Gisselle Morrobel

2
Introduction

• There are three types of desert biomes
• - Cold Deserts
• Long, cold winters short, moist, warm summers
• - Tropical Deserts
• Hot summers and winters
• - Temperate Deserts
• Hot summers cold winter

3
Cold Deserts

• Major cold deserts include
• Atacama (coasts of Peru and Chile)
• Gobi (northern China and southern Mongolia)
• Great Basin (Western United States Idaho,
  Nevada, Oregon, and Utah)
• Iranian (Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan)

• Cold deserts are known for its cold snowy
  winters with heavy rainfall.
• They have short, moist, slightly warm summers to
  contrast the long cold winters.

• Locations
• - Antarctica, Greenland, and near the Arctic
  realm

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Cold Deserts

• Temperature
• Winter
• (-2 to 4 degrees C)
• Summer
• (21 to 26 degrees C)

• Precipitation
• Annual Range 15-26 cm
• - Max 46 cm
• - Min 9 cm
• Usually heaviest is in April and May of spring,
  but can also be heavy in autumn.

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Cold Deserts

• Common Species
• Animals jack rabbits, kangaroo mice (Great
  Basin), whales, penguins (Antarctic regions)
• Plants lichens, mosses, and algae (Antarctic
  regions), sagebrush (Great Basin), bunchgrass
  (Atacama)

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Cold Desert

• Endangered Species
• Animals Blue Whale, Humpback Whale, Polar Bears
• Plants Antarctic Cudweed

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Cold Desert

• Adaptation
• Animals
• Have thick skin for extra warmth.
• Burrow beneath the ground to keep warm.
• Plants
• Most of these plants can grow at any season of
  the year since they survive the harsh cold
  winters of these deserts.
• Have thick matted stem.
• Most are scattered and tolerate cold moisture.

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Cold Desert

• Mans Influence
• The release of carbon dioxide from near urban
  areas has increased the global temperatures which
  affect the climate of the cold deserts.
• Also, certain ethnic groups such as Eskimos,
  Lapps, and Samoyeds include species of this
  environment in their daily diets.

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Tropical Deserts

• Locations
• Between 15 and 30 degrees
• Latitude, centered on the
• Tropics of Cancer and
• Capricorn
• Sonoran Desert (southern Arizona, southeastern
  and Baja California)
• Mojave Desert (Nevada, Arizona, Utah)
• Saharah (North Africa)

• Tropical Deserts are some of the driest places on
  earth.

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Tropical Deserts

• Precipitation
• On average is less than 25cm in a year and is
  unreliable and very irregular.

• Temperature
• Average annual temperature is above 18 degrees C
  (64.4 F)
• These deserts have the highest day temperatures
  of any other climate.

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Tropical Deserts

• Common Species
• Animals Arabian Camel, Vampire Bat
• Plants Elephant Tree (Sonoran Desert), Cardon
  Cactus (Baja California)

Elephant Tree
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Tropical Deserts

• Endangered Species
• Animals Desert Tortoise (Mojave), Bald Eagle
  (Sonoran)
• Plants Groundsel (Sonoran), King Protea (Sahara)

San Francisco Peak Groundsel
Desert Tortoise
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Tropical Deserts

• Adaptations
• Animals
• Many are nocturnal to avoid the heat of day.
  Others burrow and live beneath the surface to
  escape the extreme temperatures.
• Plants
• Conserve enough water to survive and release
  enough heat to not overheat .
• Slow down growth for part of the year to conserve
  moisture.

14
Tropical Deserts

• Mans Influence
• Formation of large cities around the deserts has
  led to a spread in urban pollution.
• Irrigation projects have allowed more plants to
  grow near and in these desert areas.

15
Temperate Deserts

• Location
• Great Basins of Nevada and Utah
• Gobi Desert
• Patagonia
• Most occur on plains and plateaus.

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Temperate Deserts

• Precipitation
• Less than 25 cm every year
• They have a significantly long drought period to
  contrast a short humid period.
• Most precipitation falls in winter except for a
  peak in May.

• Temperature
• Average annual temperature 20-25 degrees
  Celsius.
• Can reach as high as 40 degrees C and as low as
  -18 degrees Celsius at night.
• Has both summer and winter season where the day
  temperature decrease in the winter as opposed to
  the always hot tropical desert.

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Temperate Deserts

• Common Species
• Animals Bactrian Camel, Zebratail Lizard
• Plants Prickly Pear Cactus, Saxaul Tree (Gobi),
  Sagebrush (Great Basin)

Temperate Desert in North Dakota
Zebratail Lizard
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Temperate Deserts

• Endangered Species
• Animals Gobi Desert Bear
• Plants Eureka Valley Evening Primrose

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Temperate Deserts

• Adaptations
• Animals
• Some (like camels) have systems to conserve
  water.
• Others have nocturnal lifestyles to avoid the
  heat of day or may live or hide in burrows to
  escape hot weather.
• Many are small creatures (like reptiles).
• Plants
• Thick stems supply enough water for survival.
• Some trees (like saxaul tree) store water in the
  bark.
• Leaves allow water to escape so many of the
  plants have small leaves that fall off in dry
  weather.
• Sagebrush roots extend far out in all directions
  to absorb water efficiently.

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Temperate Deserts

• Mans Influence
• Humans have disturbed the land to make it
  suitable for agriculture.
• Also use desert to extract minerals.

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Closing

• Characteristics of each desert tend to overlap at
  times, but each has unique features that set them
  apart.

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Closing

• Characteristics of each desert tend to overlap at
  times, but each has unique features that set them
  apart.

Desert Video
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Bibliography

• http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/deser
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  our/Cold20Desert/ColdDesertBiome.htm
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• http//www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/uws
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