By: Abiman, Kartar, Owais, Vishal

Desert BiomeDesert Biome

• Section 1: Physical Landscape

• Section 2: Plants

• Section 3: Animals

• Section 4: Human Influences

• Section 5: Major Deserts Map

Overview Overview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0zIQjzmnT8

Introduction Video Introduction Video

Physical LandscapePhysical Landscape

• Deserts are usually located along the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn.

• The deserts located near the mountains are formed by the "rain shadow" effect. The "rain shadow" effect is a process of how air moves up a mountain which makes it cold and lose its ability to hold any moisture, but when the air gets through and down the other side of the mountain the air becomes warmer and has the ability to hold moisture again. The more moisture the air can absorb, the less precipitation that area will have, which later forms a desert.

• There two different types of deserts, hot deserts or cold deserts. The fact that deserts typically have little to no vegetation causes them to have extreme temperatures. They are made up of sand, rocks, and gravel and receive very little rainfall each year.

Background Background Information Information

• During the day the temperature goes up to 100 degrees F and is freezing cold during the night. The temperature is so extreme because of the lack of vegetation and there's only about 10 to 20 humidity to trap the climate. If it gets too hot, it can cause mirages and hallucinations.

• One type of storm in the dessert is a whirlwind. A whirlwind forms when the hot air and the cold air collide and start to spin very quickly. Sandstorms are also a type of storm in the desert. They can also be deadly if you get caught in one. It can strip away your skin if you're not careful and get caught in the storm. Sandstorms can be started of 12 mph.

• Desserts receive less than 25 cm of rain each year. From December to March the dessert receives the most rain in the year. In each of those months the desert can receive up to 1.3 cm of rain.

Weather/ ClimateWeather/ Climate

• Deserts cover one-fifth of the world. • Deserts are the most fragile ecosystem on our planet

because of the harsh extreme of heat and lack of moisture. The desert is a region of extremes. It is usually extremely dry, extremely remote and extremely hot. It can also be extremely cold at night (especially in the winter), extremely windy (especially in the summer). 

• Deserts can be sandy, stony or covered in pebbles. The land can be flat or have rolling hills. It can have cliffs, canyons and unique rock formations. Some lie below sea level and others rest up on plateaus and mountains.

• There are two types of deserts - hot and cold. Hot deserts receive what little moisture they get in the form of rain.

• Cold deserts receive their moisture in the form of snow. Desert oases occur where the water table is the near the surface of the desert. Some desert oases are big enough to support lush date palms, groves of fruit trees, flower gardens and irrigated fields.

HabitatHabitat

What would happen if something were to change the landscape of a particular biome?If there were no landscapes, then there would be no plants or animals because animals depend on plants and no human influence because it’s going to be a dead land. 

What if the temperature were to rise or lower significantly?If the temperature were to rise or lower significantly then there going to be confusion for the animals that do they need to hibernate or come out in the open. Also for the physical landscapes like plants, trees, flowers and more would die cause of the temperature. Furthermore, the climate would also change in the dessert because certainly the dessert can't go lower than -10.

QuestionsQuestions

What if a developer wants to build on the land; what if an animal becomes extinct? If a developer is going to build in the dessert biome then then all the livings in the dessert  will all be extinct or endangered because of all the pollution the workers going to make, their going to take the sand out of the dessert like almost most of the sand in the dessert and their going to cut the plants like cactus, brittle bushes, Joshua tree, and herbs. Also if the developer wants to build a land on the desert biome then we wouldn't be able to live cause of the land, and there is no fertile land to farm, so we wouldn't be able to survive.

Questions Questions ContinuedContinued

What if a plant were destroyed, or if the rainfall greatly increases or decreases?

• If the plants were to destroyed then: #1. No food for animals #2. The oxygen on earth will decrease especially in the

desert biome like the cactus because Cactus are an ideal plant for the desert because they produce more oxygen at night than other desert plants. This is because they use a mechanism called Crassulacean. (Acid Metabolism which allows them to photosynthesize during the day while exchanging the oxygen for carbon dioxide at night).

• If the rainfall greatly increases then it is going to be cold, there is a chance that there could be fertile soil, new plants will grow in the dessert, the precipitation will rise from 25 cm a year to 100 cm a year and the oxygen level will rise in the desert also you could build on the land .

• If the rainfall greatly decreases then it's going to get 25 % hotter, some animals or plants may die because of the heat, The precipitation will decrease from 100 to 80 cm a year.

Questions Questions ContinuedContinued

What's the precipitation of the desert biome in spring, summer, fall and winter?

What is the largest desert in the world? Where is it located?

QuestionsQuestions

ExamplesExamples1. Arabian desert is completely covered with sand and has some of the most extensive stretches of the sands dune in the world.It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Golf and from Omen to Jordan and Iraq. With an area of 2,330,000 square kilometres. The dessert biome is in Saudi Arabia.

2. Australian dessert covers a large portion of Australia. The desert is located in the central and North-western area of Australia. The size of the desert is 1,371,000 square kilometres.  

PlantsPlants

• How Plants SurvivePlants survive in the desert because they adapt to the weather conditions. Plants that can survive with little water and extreme heat this are called xerophytes. Reducing transpiration which means when emission of water vapour from the leaves of plants, increasing water storage and growing during early hours and cooler seasons are the three main ways that xerophytes stop water loss.

• Types Of PlantsCacti and succulents are one of the most common plants that live in the desert. Crassulacean acid metabolism is a special type of photosynthesis that succulents have. Cacti are a plant that contains water when cut in half.

 • Special Features

Plants have to adapt to the desert so they could live in the area that is extremely hot and that has little water. Plants that live in the desert have adapted a skill which could prevent loss of water.

 

Background Background InformationInformation

What if a developer wants to build on the land; what if an animal becomes extinct? The developer would destroy the plants and the habitats of animals. If the animals extinct like a camel we wouldn't be able to travel in the desert.

What if a plant were destroyed, or if the rainfall greatly increases or decreases?If plants were destroyed animals and humans wouldn't have food to eat and the rainfall greatly increases the plants will get flooded or if it decreases the plants won't have enough water to feed themselves.

What will happen if the plants hadn't adapted to the weather conditions and the biome? If they hadn't adapted to the weather conditions and the biome the plants won't be able to live and animals and humans won't have any food to eat.

Questions Questions

What is the importance of understanding the interdependent roles of plants, animals, the physical landscape and the influence of humans on the biomes of the world? It is important to understand interdependent roles of plants, animals, the physical landscape and the influence of humans on the biomes so we know how the plants interact with the physical landscape, the animals interact with the plants and how the influences of the humans affect the plants and animals. Interdependent means that all members of the group need each other.

What will happen if something were to change the landscape of a particular biome? The plants will not be able to grow their and also if plants don't grow no animals will have food to eat and the animals will die.

 What if the temperature were to rise or lower significantly? The plants and animals that got adapted to the weather conditions will die cause of the change of temperature.

Questions Questions Continued Continued

What will happen if plants hadn’t adapted to xerophytes?

Why can’t plants grow on different biomes?

QuestionsQuestions

ExamplesExamples1. These plants have adapted to

the weather conditions in the desert and also this plant has water inside it and travellers cut the cactus open and drink the water.

2. This plant can survive the extreme heat and lack of water because these plants adapted a special skill.

Animals Animals

Types of animals and special features

• Addax: Addax is a type of antelope and they tip to survive is not drink water, instead they get moisture from licking dew and other plants.

• Camels: A Camel is the main animal in the desert. A Camel has protective eyes blocking the sand from going into their eyes because of their big eyelashes and these thick eyelashes shield their eyes from the hot, dry sun. Also the camel has big nostrils that allow the camel to open and close their nostrils so the sand doesn’t go up their nose.

• Fat Sand Rat: Fat Sand Rat has efficient kidneys which they can produce concentrated urine which allows them to eat halophyte plants (plants grown in the water) and survives harsh extreme heat and lack of water.

• Gila Monster: The way it adapts to the desert is by colouration of the monster. Gila monster has poison to kill its prey.

• Lappet Faced Vulture: The immense broad wings, with widely spaced

primary feathers, are ideal for soaring and gliding for long periods, using few wings beats Road Runners: Its carnivorous habits offer it a large supply of very moist food. It reabsorbs water from its feces before excretion. A nasal gland eliminates excess salt, instead of using the urinary tract like most birds. It reduces its activity 50% during the heat of midday. Its extreme quickness allows it to snatch a humming bird or dragonfly from midair.

Background Background InformationInformation

• These are some animals that live in the desert imagine how many more there might be. Animals adapt to the desert with these special features, without these features they would be able to live in that biome. If animals don’t live in this biome then they will not be able to survive and the plants would be able to survive because of favourable climate and will not be able to have transportation. If other animals come into to the desert then the resources of the animals that already live in the desert will be lowered causing them not to survive.

Information Information Continued Continued

What would happen if something were to change the landscape of a Desert? If they changed the landscape of the desert the animals would not adapt to the new environment because these animals have special features so they can adapt to the desert for example the camel has protective eyes blocking the sand from going into their eyes because of their big eyelashes and these thick eyelashes shield their eyes from the hot, dry sun. Also the camel has big nostrils that allow the camel to open and close their nostrils so the sand doesn’t go up their nose. If the landscape changes the climate will change because that landscape has its adapted climate and this climate would affect the animals and plants and its surroundings. There might be things that the desert animals cannot adapt to such as if the camel were to be in a landscape were the climate is cold then the camel would freeze because it doesn’t have those special features to live in that biome or landscape.

QuestionsQuestions

What if the temperature were to rise or lower significantly?

The animals can’t live in the desert because the weather is not favourable then these features of the animals in the desert won't help causing the animals hard to survive and will affect their way of living. Their surroundings won’t be able to support the animals such as food because the plants won’t grow due to unfavourable climate. If the plants die then there will be a loss of food and oxygen making it harder for things around plants harder to live.

Questions Questions Continued Continued

What if the developer wants to build on the land; what if an animal becomes extinct?

If the builder builds on the land the animals will have to leave their habitat and their surroundings in the new habitat will affect the animals and can make these animals extinct and will affect other animals because if one animal becomes extinct it will harm the food chain or web then other animals in the biome would get affected because their food chain or web might change because there might be something that a camel eats and so does another animal in the biome causing that food to become extinct because their predators are eating them in excess and if that food gets eliminated out of the food chain or web then the prey of that food will have a bigger population which will eat their prey more because of the population of predators eating their prey in excess causing that prey of the animal or food to become extinct and this goes on and this causes disturbance in the food chain or web causing it to collapse just because of the landscape changing.

Questions Questions Continued Continued

What if a plant were destroyed, or the rainfall greatly increases or decreases?If a plant were destroyed in the desert than lots of things will happen for example if a plant is destroyed then food will not be an option for some animals because that is what the depend as their food. Another disadvantage for plants being destroyed is that oxygen is lost which can affect everything around it. Just as kartar said the cactus is important because cactus is an ideal plant for the desert because they produce more oxygen at night than other desert plants. This is because they use a mechanism called Crassulacean( Acid Metabolism which allows them to photosynthesize during the day while exchanging the oxygen for carbon dioxide at night.) If the rainfall increases some parts of the desert will start to become green for example the Sahara desert parts are started to become green due to the increase of rainfall and causing the animals that live in the desert to lose their habitat. If the rainfall decreases in the desert then the desert will become hotter than its usual temperature which may become unbearable for some animals and causing death. The usual amount of rain in a hot desert should be less than 10 inches per year.

Questions Questions Continued Continued

What if other animals came in the desert from other biomes?

Can other animals live in the desert?

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ExamplesExamples1. This is a picture of an addax

who survives without water by licking dews and other plants.

2. This is an Lapped Faced Vulture the immense broad wings, with widely spaced primary feathers, are ideal for soaring and gliding for long periods, using few wings beats.

Human InfluencesHuman Influences

• There are many ways human activities can impact the desert biome, at least where there is an existing ecosystem. Development by mining or residential use is one way, as would be redirecting the limited water supplies for agricultural use elsewhere.

• Off-road riding (for example ATV’s and dirt bikes) can damage desert plants and pollute the soil, as well as disrupting the activities of wildlife. The vehicles leave tracks on the soil, which will scar the land for decades. These tracks also kill off vegetation. When vegetation is harmed, so are the animals, since when vegetation decreases in population, so does the animal population. Animals that hide in the sand can also be harmed. For example, the sand viper which hides so well in the soil, can become an accidental victim of off-roading mayhem.  

Background Background InformationInformation

• The human impact on desert biomes is that the world used to be full of deserts, but because of humans, it is now made into roads and houses for humans.

• Military training in deserts can also cause destruction of plants and animals.

• The desert is very fragile in many ways, because of the low amount of water and plants. Most plants that live in the desert take a long time to grow. For example, the saguaro cactus takes two centuries to grow. Once plants are destroyed, it will take many years for them to grow back. Since soil in the desert is held down by the plants roots, once plants are destroyed the soil is too. The soil will quickly erode away in the strong winds.

• Killing rodents or predators that invade farms impacts the food chain that exists in the desert. Although it may not appear so, most deserts support fragile ecosystems that are easily damaged by roads, mineral refuse, or oil contamination that can come from industries or mines.

Information Information ContinuedContinued

What would happen if something were to change the landscape of a desert?Human influences can change the landscape of the desert because as I mentioned before, they participate in industrial and recreational activities which harm the desert in many ways. For example, building roads and residential areas, riding ATV’s or mining for oil. Also, as my group members mentioned before, the wild life and vegetation would get harmed because they either die instantly or slowly because they are not used to the new environment. Moreover, if the landscape changes the climate will change because that landscape has its adapted climate and this climate would affect the animals and plants and its surroundings.

QuestionsQuestions

What if the temperature were to raise or lower significantly?If the temperature were to raise or lower significantly then the humans would have confusion and they would have to constantly have to change their way of life if they lived in a desert surrounding. Also industrial workers would have to put off their work because the temperature dramatically changed and workers could also get sick because they were not ready for this quick temperature change. But in a long run, this would help the desert because the desert is better off without any human influences. If the humans do influence the desert, they should do it in a good way by being eco-friendly, not polluting and not disrupting any plants or animals.

Questions Questions ContinuedContinued

What if the developer wants to build on the land; what if an animal becomes extinct?

If a developer wants to build on the land it will be bad for the whole desert biome because the developer is influencing the desert in bad ways by disturbing and destroying animals and vegetation and also by polluting the area. Also if the developers build on the land, it will be a bad influence because animals will lose their habitats and they would have to come into new habitats which they are not used too. If an animal becomes extinct then the whole food chain or food web would collapse and other animals will start to starve and slowly all the animals will become extinct. This could also be bad for humans because we eat some of those animals in our daily life. For example, some people eat camel. So humans should just leave the desert biome alone for the best.

Questions Questions ContinuedContinued

What if a plant were destroyed, or the rainfall greatly increases or decreases?If the plants were destroyed, then some animals would not have food, but also some humans that live in the desert area would not have food too and they could starve to death. Also it would be harder to breath for the humans because more plants would be destroyed and plants breath in carbon dioxide which we breath out and let out oxygen which is what we breath in. Also, if cactus die then that would be a huge loss because they produce a lot of oxygen at night more than any other plant. Furthermore, if the rainfall greatly increases or decreases, then the humans that work or live in the desert biome could be surprised with the weather and will have to make necessary changes quick so they don't get harmed or get sick. Moreover, if the rainfall dose greatly increase then a lot of workers will have to cancel their jobs because of heavy rainfall and it could get too hot or cold, or places could get flooded, or plants wouldn't get enough water.

Questions Questions ContinuedContinued

Are human influences destroying the desert biome?

How can humans influence the desert in a positive manner?

Questions Questions

ExamplesExamples1. Rusty cars are left to rot in the

desert, causing wildlife and vegetation disturbances. As you can see, the life bear the cars is starved of the nutrients it needs to grow. This is pollution which can be avoided.

2. Oil companies drill for oil in the desert, making buildings and other machinery which will be left to pollute the desert.

Major DesertsMajor Deserts

Glossary• Crassulacean= Crassulacean acid metabolism is a special

type of photosynthesis that succulents have• Reducing transpiration= which means when emission of

water vapour from the leaves of plants, increasing water storage and growing during early hours and cooler seasons are the three main ways that xerophytes stop water loss.

• Xerophytes= Plants that can survive with little water and extreme heat

• Halophyte plants= Plants grown in the water• Rain shadow effect= is a process of how air moves up a

mountain which makes it cold and lose its ability to hold any moisture, but when the air gets through and down the other side of the mountain the air becomes warmer and has the ability to hold moisture again

• Mirages= Something that appears real or possible but is not.

Bibliography • http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/impact/impact.de

sert.html

http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/biomes/project.cfmhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_impact_do_humans_have_on_the_desert_biome

• http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/impact/impact.desert.html

http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/biomes/project.cfmhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_impact_do_humans_have_on_the_desert_biome

• www.desertanimals.net• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090731-

green-sahara.html