The Desert …and its amazing features By Will R., Reese H., Ryan A., and Abby N. April 10, 2013

Geography By: Reese H.

The Desert The desert is a large and dry environment with very little water. That’s because it uses more water than it produces.

Where the desert is located The desert covers 1/6 of the world. 10% is sand dunes and the other 90% is mountains.

How humans affect the desert Humans affect the world by putting oil rigs and factories around the desert. It polluted the air and the ground.

The desert is found in hot and dry regions like Africa and South America.

Credits nvironment/habitats/desert-profile/ nvironment/habitats/desert-profile/

Meteorology By: Ryan A.

Basic weather average annual temperatures over 64° F (18° C). I guess they're trying to tell us its hot, hot out there. Dry Desert climates are formed by high-pressure zones in which cold air descends. Then the descending air becomes warm but, instead of releasing rain, the heat from the ground evaporates the water before it can come down as rain. The ground is super hot because the sun's rays beat down on it directly overhead. Not a lot of atmosphere to protect it from radiant energy Weather is not the same in all deserts. The seasons in hot and dry deserts are usually very hot during the summer and warm during the rest of the year.

Average rainfall in the desert By the way, approximately 1 in. (.25 cm) of rain falls in dry deserts per year. The average annual temperature of these miles of hot sand is 64° F (18° C). Plants of the Dry Desert have adapted to the lack of water by using dew for moisture and taking in water through their leaves and stems. During winter these deserts get little rainfall. Rain is often light, or in short concentrated bursts.

Average rainfall continued The average precipitation in the Sahara for example is less than 1.5 cm per year. On the other hand, the average precipitation in the American deserts are higher, at about 28 cm per year. Most of the time evaporation rates are faster than rainfall rates. Sometimes the rain evaporates before even hitting the ground.

A Hot Hot HOT! desert The Atacama is the Earth's driest desert. In the Atacama 1 millimeter or more of rain falls every 5-20 years. Cold deserts have short, moist and moderately warm summers, and long cold winters like one could expect in Antarctica. The winter temperature ranges from -5°F to -110°F (-20.5 to -79°C), and in the summer it can be a nice, balmy, 32°F (0°C). The coldest day recorded in Antarctica was - 113°F (-80.5°C)!

Latitude The latitude range is 15-28° north and south of the equator. Their global range covers about 1/5 of the earth, including the world's great deserts: Sahara, Sonora, Thar, Kalahari and the Great Australian.

Daylight IN THE DESERT! Daylight hours range from 5 12 hours to around hours, It all varies depending on which desert. This is the reason for the dry characteristic of this type of desert.

Water facts about the desert It is very desolate and hot in warm deserts. Rainfall is usually very low and is in short bursts after long periods of no rain. There is a cream spread of 11 miles per hour Some plants have very long roots which grow in to the ground to reach underground water sources.

It’s How BIG? Deserts cover about one fifth (20 percent) of the earth's land area. The largest hot desert on Earth is the Sahara. The Sahara Desert is located in northern Africa, spanning 12 different countries The desert is the hottest biome on Earth. It can be well over 100 degrees during the day but it can get down to 32 degrees at night.

Cold Deserts There’s not only hot deserts there’s cold ones too. The Gobi Desert in Asia is cold for most of the year. Areas covered in ice or snow can sometimes be called 'cold deserts', compared to 'hot deserts' in warmer areas. The largest cold desert on Earth is Antarctica.

Resources mate_page.htm l#weather k12.org/desert-biome/weather-report

Plant Life By: Will R.

Barrel Cactus The Barrel Cactus one of the easiest cactus plants to identify because of its round barrel shaped body. The cactus can be anywhere from 5 to 11 feet tall. Even though the cactus in the picture looks small, it is actually about 6 feet tall with small ridges and multiple patches of 3- 4 spikes.

Brittle Bush The Brittle Bush is a small shrub 2 to 5 feet tall. Small branches grow from a tree trunk like center. The branches are bigger toward the root and smaller at the end. They are a part of the sunflower family so they look like a sunflower, but smaller.

Chain fruit Cholla This cactus looks as much as tree as a cactus can. It has a trunk and many branches. The irregular branches dive and rise at random times and are also covered with a layer of sharp spines. These spines are straw colored when young and turn a dark gray as they get older.

Creosote Bush The Creosote Bush is named that way because it smells a lot like the creosote tar that is used on telephone poles to preserve the wood. This shrub is mostly found in the southwest part of America and the northwest part of Mexico. You will most likely see this plant in the desert hills. The bush is basically a group of 4 to 12 plants that grow from one main branch in all directions.

Crimson Hedgehog Cactus The Crimson Hedgehog cactus is a small cactus that grows in clumps of a lot of stems. The stems are circle shaped and are up to 1 foot long and 1 to 2 1/2 inches thick. There are about 9 or 10 “ribs” on the stem.

Desert Ironwood Desert Ironwoods are usually found in sandy areas where water is available. Desert Ironwoods are from the pea family and their leaves and flowers look like the leaves of the sweet pea. They're the tallest trees in the Sonoran Desert, reaching heights of 15 to 25 feet, but they can grow as tall as 30 feet.

Joshua Tree The unusual Joshua Tree grows in the Joshua Tree National Park in California and in the Joshua Forest Parkway in western Arizona. The Joshua Tree's height varies from 15 to 40 feet and 1 to 3 feet around. The Joshua tree has a lifespan of about 200 years.

Mojave Aster The Mojave Aster is also a member of the sunflower family. It's a shrubby plant which can grow up to 30 inches high. The stems are gray-green and long. It has whitish-green narrow, hairy leaves. They are about 3 inches long, and have small spike-like points on their edges. Its flowers have narrow purple pedals surrounding a yellow center. The flower can grow to be up to 2 inches in around.

Ocotillo The Ocotillo plant is found in the Southwest on rocky slopes because the dirt is very dry. From its root to the top it grows stems that can be anywhere from 9 to 30 feet tall. These stems grow in an "S" like pattern. The stems are covered with spines that can be 1.5 inches long. The leaves of the shrub are thick and grow several times in the growing season depending on the amount of rainwater available.

How Plants Have Adapted to Living in the Desert The roots of desert plants are either very deep, drawing from hidden underground water, or very wide and shallow to gather the water right when it hits the ground. Their leaves and stems usually have a heavy coating to help keep moisture in. Cactus plants are particularly well adapted to their hot, dry surroundings. Often the stems of a cactus are ribbed, allowing any dew to run down and be absorbed by the plant's roots. The ribs also allow the plant to expand and contract according to the amount of water it has stored inside. Desert plants have also adapted to their environment by developing unique processes to store water; sometimes going dorment during long dry spells; and many plants have smaller leaves and stems allowing the plant to concentrate the water in a smaller space.

Abiotic Factors that Impact Plants Living in the Desert Rainfall One of the most obvious abiotic factors in a desert is rainfall – or lack of rainfall. Desert usually receive less than 20 inches of rain per year. This means that plants that survive in the desert must be able to live with little water for extended periods of time. For example, cactus plants have evolved to store water in their stems to help them through dry spells. Soil The type of soil in an ecosystem determines what plants can grow. Desert soil usually has good drainage. This means that the soil is loose instead of compacted and hard. When rain does fall in the desert, it seeps quickly into the soil and does not run off taking the nutrients with it. The soil commonly found is alkaline which helps desert plants grow get nutrients through the ground more effectively. Light Desert plants have very little shade to grow in and this limits the types of plants that are able to grow and survive in a desert. Almost all of parts of desert plants are exposed to full sun.

Credits and Citations (For this part) plants-live-without-water#ixzz2OflYycNP plants-live-without-water#ixzz2OflYycNP soils soils desert-ecosystem.html#ixzz2Q1I6TBVC desert-ecosystem.html#ixzz2Q1I6TBVC

Animals By: Abby N.

The End The Desert and its amazing features By Will R., Reese H., Ryan A., and Abby N. April 10, 2013 Thanks for Listening!