Arid,
and Semi-Arid Desert
Arid deserts generally
occur at low latitudes, and can be found in North-America,
South-America, Africa, and Southern Asia.
Seasons in the arid desert are
generally dry and hot, with few occurrences of rain during the
winter. The heat peaks to extremes during the daytime because
there are no clouds to shield the earth from the sun's
rays.
When it does rain, it is not
uncommon for the rain to evaporate before hitting the ground.
The soil is usually either sand or coarse, and rocky.
Vegetation consists mainly of shrubs and small trees of which
the leaves have evolved to retain water. Most desert life
forms have followed this train of evolution, with animals
species being mostly active at night.
Semi-arid deserts are
found in North-America, Europe, Russia, and Northern Asia.
Seasons are generally more
defined than in the Arid desert, with low rainfalls during the
winter. Even if the rainfall is kept at a bare minimum, several
species of animals and plants thrive in this climate, the
animals, while nocturnal, can still be found during the day,
mostly in the shade of the various trees and plants.
Coastal
and Cold Deserts
Coastal deserts are
found in areas that are moderately warm to cool, such as the
Neotropic and Nearctic realm. The winters are usually cool and
short, while the summers are long and warm The soil is
mostly sandy with a high alkaline content, it is also very
porous, so rain seeps quite rapidly into the ground. Most
of the flora in the coastal desert features thick foliage,
with good water retention, and their roots are close to
the surface of the ground in order to get enough water before it
drains into the soil.
Animals of the coastal desert
include rough skinned amphibians, birds of prey, scavenger
mammals reptiles and insects; most have adapted quite well to
the climate, and again, they are largely nocturnal during the
warmer months.
Perhaps the strangest of all
desert biomes is the cold desert, as our perception of
the desert is usually associated with the heat of the sun.
But even if there is a moderately high amount of snow and
rainfall during the wintertime, the soil is too heavy and
alkaline. Alluvial fans pull some of the salt through the
porous soil, so plant life can survive, but then again, as with
its arid counterparts, the cold desert offers less than ideal
conditions for sustaining delicate plants and animals.
Most of the animals in the cold
desert are burrowers, even the carnivores and reptiles which
even though cold-blooded, have made their homes in the cold
desert.
Deer and other larger
herbivores are only found during the winter, as the supply of
grass is more abundant during that period.
