• What is the desert?
• Characteristics of the desert
• Types of deserts
• Desert climate
• Desert flora
• Desert fauna
• Examples of desert
• Desertification

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

Deserts occupy a quarter of the surface of planet Earth.

What is the desert?

The desert is a bioclimatic landscape (or biome) that can be warm or icy and is characterized by having low indices of precipitation, a dry climate, temperatures extreme and a I usually arid. In the deserts there are few species of flora and fauna (and also human populations) who were able to adapt to these harsh living conditions.

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

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

Characteristics of the desert

Some of the main characteristics of the desert are:

• Low rainfall and dry weather. Deserts are areas that receive very little rainfall, because they are regions in which no clouds 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 low presence of living organisms. The rains that a desert can receive are usually sporadic and abundant, leading to the soil erosion for lack of vegetation that absorbs the water.
• Arid soil. The lack of rainfall 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 warm (depending on the case). In polar deserts the temperatures are usually below 0 ° C and in hot ones they exceed 40 ° C and the solar radiation is very strong. In most deserts there is a great temperature range between day and night.
• Low presence of flora and fauna. The lack of rainfall and nutrients in the soil are some of the causes that hinder the growth and development of living organisms in the desert. Most of the species that inhabit the desert use mechanisms to store water or to take refuge from extreme temperatures.
• Eroded soils with low nutrients. The winds in desert areas are usually strong and constant, which causes soil erosion due to the lack of vegetation. In addition, erosion, together with the low level of rainfall, 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 at 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 rainfall. Due to its hostile climate, there are few species of organisms that inhabit this type of biome. The Arctic Circle and the Antarctic 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 the WaterThey are arid areas with very low rainfall because, due to the action of the winds, the rain falls on the sea and the humidity does not reach the coast. An example of this type of desert is the Atacama Desert in Chile.
• Semi-arid deserts. They are those deserts with little humidity, but that receive more rainfall than tropical deserts. They are characterized by hot, dry summers and cold winters with little rainfall. An example of this type of desert is the Ryn Desert in Russia.

Desert climate

Deserts with arid climates have annual rainfall of between 25 and 250 mm.

Temperatures in deserts are often extreme, with a huge temperature variation between day and night. In hot deserts, temperatures exceed 40 ° C during the day and drop below zero at night.

On the other hand, in the polar deserts, the temperature is always kept very low (around -40 ° C) and can rise during the summer to more than 0 ° C.

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

• Semi-arid climates (steppe). They have an average of 250 to 500 mm of rain per year and constitute 15% of the surface of the Earth. They are usually found on the outer edges of deserts proper.
• Arid climates. They have annual rainfall of between 25 and 250 mm (maximum) and cover 16% of the planet's surface.
• Hyper-arid 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 great hot deserts.

Desert flora

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

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

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

On the other hand, in the polar deserts, there is a very scarce and small vegetation, due to the lack of rainfall and the cold and 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, grasses, grasslands and shrubs.

Desert fauna

Camels have a high resistance to drought.

Animals that are adapted to the environment live in the desert and 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 bodily characteristics that help them cope with extreme temperatures and lack of water.

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

• Reptiles. What 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. As camelids (camels and dromedaries highly resistant to drought), coyotes, Wolves, bats, kangaroos, cougars, adax, meerkats, jackals, gazelles and foxes.

The frozen deserts, on the other hand, do not host as many organisms and the algae and the bacterial life. However, the Arctic polar desert has more animal species than Antarctica and it is possible to find, in the outer regions of the desert, bears, reindeer, foxes, hares and other mammals with insulating fur and a lot of stored fat. In coastal areas and in the sea there are seals, killer whales, Whales, fish and plankton.

In Antarctica, birds such as penguins, seagulls, albatrosses, terns and the Antarctic petrel, although most of them live in areas near the coast (where seals and Marine animals).

Examples of desert

The main deserts of the world are:

• Sahara desert. It is a hot desert located in North Africa and that 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 dunes, extreme temperatures, strong solar radiation and very low rainfall.
• Antarctic desert. It is a polar desert that is located on the Antarctic continent, in the southern hemisphere of the planet.It is characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, low rainfall and by having a 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 low rainfall and 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 range, 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 prominent 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 soil (especially in the center of the country) and, broadly speaking, are characterized by 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 most extensive on this continent. It is located on the border of the United States and Mexico and is characterized by its altitude, 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 an arid climate, low temperatures in winter and low humidity (due to the presence of the Andes mountain range, which prevents the passage of wet masses from the Pacific Ocean).
• Atacama Desert. It is a desert located in the 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 low rainfall, intense solar radiation, high thermal amplitude and a low presence of flora and fauna.

Desertification

Desertification is the process in which soils are degraded and become arid and not very fertile. 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 the natural lack of rainfall, soil erosion or natural fires. In addition, there are some human-caused causes that lead to soil desertification, such as indiscriminate logging, depletion of water resources, excessive use of soils, among many others.

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