Alright biomes travellers, I'm Stephanie and I will be your tour guide for 4 of biomes excursions. First up: the Deserts!
Deserts are considered an extreme biome. There are 4 types of deserts: arid, semi-arid, coastal, and cold.
Arid deserts are located at low altitudes in North America, South America, Africa, and Southern Asia. They have an average temperature of anywhere between 20-25 degrees and an average precipitation level between 1.5-28 cm (the level of precipitation dpends on the location of the desert. Arid deserts contain many plants including prickly pears and agaves. They also contain many types of animals including kangroo rats and armadillos. Arid deserts also contain the endangered desert tortoise. The desert tortoise became endangered because of development, increase in disease, and human collectors
Semi-arid deserts are located in North America, Europe, Russia, Northern Asia and Australia. They have a temperature range 0f 21-27 degrees Celsius and a precipitation range of 2-4 cm per year. They contain many plants like mesquite and cat claw and animals including the desert big horn sheep. They also contain the endangered sonoran pronghorn which was hunted nearly extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Along with the endangered species there are also several species which are being monitored. These are: the bobcat, the banded gila monster, and the cactus feriginous pygmy owl.
Coastal deserts are located in areas of South and Central America. They have a temperature of 13-24 degrees Celsius and a precipitation range of 8-13 cm. Coastal deserts contain animals like the great horned owl and plants like rice grass and black sage
Cold Deserts are found in the Antartic and in Greenland. They receive between 15 and 26 cm of rain annually and have a temperature range between -2 and 4 degrees Celsius. They have animals like badgers. They have very limited plant life but they do contain lichen.
The deserts have no aquatic ecosystems but they do have some interesting land formations. These include alluvial fans (piles of rocks at the foot of slopes formed by erosion), zeugens (rocks rounded by the wind), yardangs (overhanging ridges with steep sides), mesas, plateaus, and canyons.
What you pack for your excursion depends very much on what kind of desert you're going to. If you're going to an arid or semi-arid desert, I would suggest packing T-shirts, shorts, sandals, a good hat, sunscreen and plenty of water. If you're going to a coastal desert, you met want to bring jeans and a few sweaters. And if you're going to a cold desert, bring your heaviest parka, hats, mittens, boots/snowshoes, and long underwear.
If you wish to view the spectacular natural beauty of the deserts you can take a cruise to Antartica or hike the Grand Canyon. There are plenty of opportunities for hiking and sightseeing. You might want to visit Arches National to catch a glimpse of the fabulous rock formations before any more collapse.
If you travel to the desert please do not take any wildlife, and please DO NOT use ATVs. Off-roading has damaged the desert landscape and desert tortoises are endangered in part because tourists decided to take one home. Other activities which impact this biome include mining, ranching, and development
Off to jet to the next biome. See you soon!
Sources: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm, http://www.worldbiomes.com/biomes_desert.htm http://www.ecotourdirectory.com/ http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/biomes/biomes.desert.html http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/main.php?section=biomes&topic=desert
Pictures: http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/44911/2409007110104606292S600x600Q85.jpg http://www.wildlifearchives.com/images/desert-saoudien.jpg
http://animals.timduru.org/dirlist/sheep/DesertBighornSheep_18-Portrait-Closeup.JPG
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