The Desert Aaron and Leilana

Climate Temperature Range- 90-100 Degrees Fahrenheit Annual Rainfall- 15 cm

                                                        Vegetation Vegetation is very rare, plants are almost all ground- hugging shrubs and short wooden trees Barrel cactus’ Desert sage Elephant Tree

Animals Small nocturnal carnivores and there are also insects (Dung Beetles), arachnids (Scorpions), reptiles (Gopher Snake) , and birds (Greater Roadrunner) Some common ones are, geckos, owls, desert foxes, and jerboas.

Location (Latitude) There are deserts all over the middle east and central Africa, as well as North and South America and parts of Asia. The American deserts are in the western United States, Mexico, and in Chile. There are also large areas of desert in Australia.

Limiting Factors Limiting factors of the desert include; competition for water and shelter from the excessive sunlight. Competition among plants is rare since there are so few plants and so much available sunlight A factor that limits the growth and development of an organism, population, or process

Net Primary Production The net primary production of desert is about 200 kilocalories per square meter per day

Human Impact: Negative Irrigation used for agriculture may lead to high salt levels in the soil, inhibiting the growth of plants Grazing animals can destroy desert plants and animals Potassium cyanide used in gold mining can poison wildlife Nuclear waste is sometimes dumped in deserts, also, nuclear testing is often done in the desert

Desert Culture In North America, ancient cultures centered on the great basin in modern Utah, Arizona, and Nevada Nearly all desert cultures rely on gathering wild seeds and plants and hunting small game Social groups are usually small and nomadic

Cold Deserts When you hear “desert” you usually think of hot, arid climates, but, in fact, there are also cold deserts Temperate deserts are mild cold deserts, they occur in temperate regions at higher latitudes—and therefore colder temperatures—than those at which hot deserts are found. Cold deserts occur at the poles and in and around the arctic circle

Cold Deserts (cont.) Cold deserts are defined by heavy snowfall in the winter, very little liquid water, and sparse wildlife There are cold/temperate deserts in northern China, Peru, Iran, Turkmenistan, and other places around the world The wildlife of cold desserts includes: foxes, rabbits, lizards, rats and small deer-like mammals such as antelope. Vegetation is rare, but includes sagebrush, cardon cactus, small, woody trees, and grasses