Desert (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what the desert is, its characteristics and the different climates that predominate in this biome. In addition, the flora and fauna it houses and the main deserts in the world.

What is the desert?

The desert is a bioclimatic landscape (or biome) that can be hot or icy and which is characterized by having low precipitation rates, a dry climate, extreme temperatures and arid soil. Deserts are home to few species of flora and fauna (and also human populations) that were able to adapt to these harsh living conditions.

The deserts They occupy approximately a quarter of the planet's surface and 53% corresponds to hot deserts (such as the Sahara) and the rest to frozen deserts (such as Antarctica). Deserts are distributed throughout the five continents, in areas such as northern Africa, northern Mexico, the tundra of Russia, Antarctica, the icy plains of Greenland and Alaska, and northern Chile and southern Chile. from Argentina.

In hot deserts, wind erosion and solar radiation are very intense. temperatures are high and the soil is usually sandy, stony or rocky. For its part, in polar deserts, temperatures are usually below 0 °C, the climate is dry and there is little flora and fauna.

Desert Features

Some of the main characteristics of the desert are:

Low rainfall and dry climate. Deserts are areas that receive very little precipitation, because they are regions where clouds do not form. For a territory to be desert it must receive less than 250 mm of rain per year, and low rainfall has consequences such as aridity of the soil and a scarce presence of living organisms. The rains that a desert can receive are usually sporadic and abundant, which leads to soil erosion due to lack of vegetation that absorbs water.
arid soil. The lack of precipitation produces arid and dry soils. These soils are poor in nutrients and are usually made up of sand or stone. In the case of polar deserts, the ground is covered by a large layer of ice.
Extreme temperatures. In the desert the temperatures are extreme, both cold and hot (depending on the case). In polar deserts, temperatures are usually below 0 °C and in hot deserts they exceed 40 °C and solar radiation is very strong. In most deserts there is a large thermal amplitude between day and night.
Low presence of flora and fauna. The lack of precipitation and nutrients in the soil are some of the causes that hinder the growth and development of living organisms in the desert. Most species that inhabit the desert use mechanisms to store water or to take refuge from extreme temperatures.
Eroded and low nutrient soils. The winds in desert areas are usually strong and constant, which produces soil erosion as a result of the lack of vegetation. Furthermore, erosion, together with the low level of precipitation, causes a decrease in soil nutrients that prevents the constant or varied growth of plant organisms.

Types of deserts

The main types of deserts are:

tropical deserts. They are those deserts that are located near the equator or the tropics. They are characterized by their high temperatures, their great thermal amplitude during the day and night and by having low levels of precipitation and humidity. An example of this type of desert is the Sahara Desert in North Africa.
polar deserts. They are those deserts that have very intense cold temperatures, are very dry, have low solar radiation and a low annual level of precipitation. Due to its hostile climate, there are few species of organisms that inhabit this type of biome. The Arctic and Antarctic Circles are areas of the planet with polar desert.
coastal deserts. They are those deserts that are on coastlines and near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Despite being close to water, they are arid areas with very low rainfall because, due to the action of the winds, the rain falls into the sea and the humidity does not reach the coast. An example of this type of desert is the Atacama Desert in Chile.
semiarid deserts. They are those deserts with little humidity, but that receive more precipitation than tropical deserts. They are characterized by having hot, dry summers and cold winters with little precipitation. An example of this type of desert is the Ryn Desert in Russia.

desert climate

Temperatures in deserts are usually extreme, with an enormous thermal variation between day and night. In hot deserts, temperatures exceed 40 °C during the day and drop below zero at night.

For its part, in the polar deserts, the temperature always remains very low (around -40 °C) and can rise to more than 0 °C during the summer.

There are three types of climates in the desert, according to the average annual rainfall:

Semi-arid climates (steppe). They average 250 to 500 mm of rain per year and make up 15% of the Earth's surface. They are usually found on the outer edges of the deserts themselves.
arid climates. They have annual rainfall of between 25 and 250 mm (maximum) and cover 16% of the planet's surface.
Hyperarid climates. They have a very low rainfall rate and in these regions it does not usually rain for years. This type of climate is found in the polar deserts and in the heart of the large hot deserts.

desert flora

The flora of the deserts is very particular and is usually scarce a product of the low humidity levels that make it impossible for many plant species to carry out photosynthesis. The flora of the desert varies according to the type of climate.

In hot deserts, life has adapted to adverse conditions, so there is usually xerophilous vegetation: thorny, fleshy and resistant plants, with great water storage capacity. Some examples of hot desert flora are: cacti, agave, acacia, rose of Jericho, cactus and succulents.

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In the hot deserts There are areas where there is water (which are known as oases) and have humid conditions that allow greater proliferation of plant life. In the oases it is possible to see palm trees and taller bushes, even fruit trees such as dates or coconuts.

On the other hand, In the polar deserts, there is very scarce and small vegetation due to the lack of precipitation and cold, frozen soils. The flora of the Arctic desert is more abundant than in Antarctica (where only Antarctic grass, Antarctic carnation and mosses can be found) and inhabit plants such as mosses, herbs, grasslands and bushes.

desert fauna

In the desert there live animals that are adapted to the environment and that They have mechanisms to preserve body moisture. Some take refuge in burrows to get away from the daytime sun, others have water reserves in their body or body characteristics that help them cope with extreme temperatures and lack of water.

Some of the animal species that inhabit different types of hot deserts are:

Reptiles. Like snakes, iguanas, turtles, lizards and lizards.
insects. Like ants, locusts, fleas, butterflies and beetles.
Arachnids. Like scorpions and tarantulas.
Birds. Such as ostriches, owls, woodpeckers, hawks, owls and vultures.
Mammals. Such as camelids (camels and dromedaries with very high resistance to drought), coyotes, wolves, bats, kangaroos, pumas, adax, meerkats, jackals, gazelles and foxes.

Frozen deserts, on the other hand, do not host as many organisms and algae and bacterial life stand out. However, the Arctic polar desert has more animal species than Antarctica and it is possible to find, in the outermost regions of the desert, bears, reindeer, foxes, hares and other insulating fur mammals and a lot of stored fat. Seals, killer whales, whales, fish and plankton live in coastal areas and in the sea.

In Antarctica, birds stand out as penguins, seagulls, albatrosses, terns and the Antarctic petrel although most of them live in areas near the coast (where seals and marine animals can also be seen).

Examples of desert

The main deserts in the world are:

Sahara desert. It is a hot desert located in North Africa and covers part of the territory of countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Egypt and Mauritania. It is the largest hot desert in the world and is characterized by having dunes, extreme temperatures, strong solar radiation and very low rainfall.
Antarctic desert. It is a polar desert located on the Antarctic continent, in the southern hemisphere of the planet. It is characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, little rainfall and having soil with few nutrients, which prevents the development of flora.
arctic desert. It is a polar desert located in the extreme north of the planet within territories such as Greenland, Alaska, Canada and Iceland. It is characterized by its low temperatures throughout the year, frozen soils and little precipitation in the form of snow.
Gobi Desert. It is a desert located in Asia, in the territories of China and Mongolia. It is one of the largest deserts in the world and is characterized by its thermal amplitude, its aridity and for being the cradle of important fossil finds.
Arabian desert. It is a desert located in Asia, within the Arabian Peninsula, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Iraq and Oman. It is characterized by its great thermal amplitude (between winter and summer and day and night), low rainfall and its aridity.
Australian deserts. They are deserts that are part of the Australian territory and some of the most notable are: the Great Victoria Desert, the Great Sandy Desert, the Gibson Desert and the Tanami Desert. These deserts occupy a large portion of the Australian land (especially in the center of the country) and, broadly speaking, are characterized by having arid soils, low rainfall, high temperatures and little presence of living organisms and human settlements.
Chihuahuan Desert. It is a desert located in North America and is one of the largest on this continent. It is located on the border of the United States and Mexico and is characterized by its altitude, its valleys, its dry climate and the presence of a great diversity of living organisms.
Patagonian desert. It is a desert located in the southern hemisphere, in Argentina and Chile. It is characterized by having an arid climate, low temperatures in winter and low humidity (product of the presence of the Andes mountain range, which prevents the passage of humid masses from the Pacific Ocean).
Atacama Desert. It is a desert located north of Chile, in South America, which stands out for its extreme aridity. It is a coastal-type desert, because it borders the Pacific Ocean, and is characterized by having little rainfall, intense solar radiation, great thermal amplitude and a low presence of flora and fauna.

Desertification

Desertification is the process in which Soils degrade and become arid and infertile areas.. This situation can occur naturally or due to human causes, and causes ecosystems to suffer a decrease in the presence of living organisms, due to environmental imbalance.

It is a process that can occur due to a natural lack of precipitation, soil erosion or natural fires. Besides, There are some human-caused causes that lead to desertification. of the soil, such as indiscriminate logging, the depletion of water resources, the excessive use of soils, among many others.

Desertification is a problem that affects the biodiversity of the planet because animal and plant species must adapt to the new conditions of the territory or migrate to other latitudes where they find the water reserves and nutrients necessary to survive. Furthermore, the loss of fertile soils harms the agricultural production necessary to feed the world's population.

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