1. Jerica Rode and Tara Banfield
Deserts
Jerica Rode and Tara Banfield

2. What is a desert? Less than 50 cm/year
Occupies 20% of the land surface of the Earth
Four types
Hot and dry
Semiarid
Coastal
Cold

3. Where are they located?
Deserts

4. General Characteristics: Soil
Lithosols
Stone or mineral soil
Evaporated water leaves deposits of salt
Shrubbery and animals add nutrients

5. General Characteristics: Plants
Plant hair helps to reduce evaporation
Produce small leaves in response to rainfall
Some remain as seeds and only germinate during wet periods
Ephemerals

7. Hot and Dry Desert Annual temperature: 20-25°C
Annual rainfall: 1.5 – 28 cm/year
Plants
Small, thick, and covered in cuticles
Open their stomata at night
Animals include species that are able to burrow

8. Semiarid Desert Summer Temperature: 21-27°C
Annual rainfall: cm/year
Plants
Spiny for protection
Some are glossy to reflect radiation
Animals
Avoid direct sunlight

9. Coastal Desert Average temperature: 13-24°C
Average rainfall: 8-13 cm/year
Plants
Some plants form ridges/grooves to hold water
Thick fleshy leaves/stems to store water
Animals
Some are able to speed up their life cycle in ideal conditions

10. Cold Desert Long, cold winters and warmer summers
Annual temperature: °C
Annual precipitation: cm
Plants are scattered
Animals burrow