DESERT ECOSYSTEM AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND TYPES

desert ecosystem, formation, its characteristics and types

1. DESERT ECOSYSTEM RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ECOLOGY DONE BY, SAYEEDA SUMAYYA SULTANA 1

2. CONTENT Introduction Formation of a desert Characteristics Biotic components Life in a desert Ecotone Types of desert Bibliography 2

3. INTRODUCTION An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.  Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts. Biotic factors include plants, animals, and other organisms. Abiotic factors include rocks, temperature, and humidity. There are different types of ecosystems based on different climates, habitats, and life forms. This means that ecosystems can typically be divided into hundreds and thousands of smaller systems.  However, all such types generally fall into one of the following two categories: Aquatic Ecosystem Terrestrial Ecosystem 3

4. One such types of ecosystem is the Desert ecosystem. 4 DESERT ECOSYSTEM

5. Formation of a Desert FORMATION Of DESERT IS EFFECT OF WIND ON MOUNTAINS. FIRSTLY, THE MOUNTAINS WILL ACT AS A BARRIER, PREVENTING THE WIND FROM CARRYING RAIN OVER THE DESERT. THIS MAKES DESERTS VERY DRY. SECONDLY, AS THE WIND HITS THE ROCKS OF MOUNTAINS, THEY WILL CRUMBLE AND BECOME SAND. THIS MAKES DESERTS SANDY. USUALLY, DESERTS ARE SITUATED FAR FROM WATER. DESERTS CAN FORM AROUND WATER, HOWEVER WHEN THIS HAPPENS IT IS BECAUSE THE WIND BLOWS HOT AND DRY SAND FROM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER, TURNING THE SECOND LOCATION INTO A DESERT. ALTITUDE IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT FACTORS 5

6. DESERT ECOSYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS 6

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8. Biotic Components Procedures Examples :Shrubs, bushes, some grasses and few trees .In deserts mostly Succulent (e.g., cacti) plants are found available. They have water inside them to stay alive. They have. r on the outside to protect them from the sun. Consumers Examples :Squirrels, nice foxes, rabbits, deer and reptiles. These animals dig holes in the ground to live in. They come out at night to find food. Most of the animals can extract water from the seeds they eat. Decomposers Examples: Fungi and bacteria Desert has poor vegetation with a very low amount of dead organic mater. They are decomposed by few fungi and bacteria. 8

9. 9 Food web

10. 10 Food web

11. Life in the Desert Desert plants grow far apart, allowing them to obtain as much water around them as possible. This spacing gives some desert regions a desolate appearance. In some deserts, plants have unique leaves to capture sunlight for photosynthesis, the process plants use to make food.  plants typically have tiny, waxy leaves. Cactuses have no leaves at all. Some desert plants, such as cactuses, have shallow, wide-spreading root systems. Other desert plants have very deep roots. The roots of a mesquite tree, for example, can reach water more than 30 meters (100 feet) underground. Animals that have adapted to a desert environment are called  xerocoles .  Xerocoles  include species of insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Some  xerocoles  avoid the sun by resting in scarce shade. Most  xerocoles  are nocturnal. They sleep through the hot days and do their hunting and foraging at night. Some  xerocoles  have bodies that help them handle the heat. 11

12. Ecotone A transition zone where one plant community changes into another plant community, usually caused by changes in the environment such as changes in elevation or soil characteristics. 12 Example of ecotone between oasis and desert environments. Desert vegetation on left, oasis on right.

13. TYPES OF DESERT ECOSYSTEM Hot and dry semi-arid coastal cold desert 13

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15. Hot and Dry Desert Ecosystem- These kinds of the desert ecosystem have hot and dry  climatic conditions  through the air and have very low annual rainfall. The hot desert ecosystem is basically found in Central America, South Asia, North America, Africa, Australia etc. There are extreme variations in temperature and soil is rough and harsh. Many mean annual temperatures range from 20-25° C. The extreme maximum ranges from 43.5-49° C. Minimum temperatures sometimes drop to -18° C. Flora:  Vegetation in the Sahara desert includes cactus, date palms and acacia. We can find an oasis in some places. Fauna:  The animal species found here are camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions and many varieties of snakes and lizards. 15 Sahara desert

16. Semi-arid desert ecosystem- This ecosystem has stable ground, hard rocks, and lesser sand dunes. Temperature isn’t extreme.  The best example of this kind of desert ecosystem is the Great Basin, which gets a good amount of rainfall. summer temperatures usually average between 21-27° C. It normally does not go above 38° C and evening temperatures are cool, at around 10° C. Creosote bush, bur sage, white thorn, cat claw, mesquite, brittle bush, and jujube  are the names of some of the plants found in the semiarid desert. Mammals such as rabbits, kangaroo rats, and skunks, along with grasshoppers, ants, snakes, and lizards, inhabit this desert. 16 Sagebrush of Utah,western U.S

17. Coastal desert ecosystem- The  Atacama Desert  in Chile and  Namib  in Africa are a good example of Coastal desert ecosystem. Such desert ecosystems are found near the coastal lines of big water bodies like oceans and seas and are generally affected by the ocean currents. The cool winters of coastal deserts are followed by moderately long, warm summers. The average summer temperature ranges from 13-24° C; winter temperatures are 5° C or below. The maximum annual temperature is about 35° C and the minimum is about -4° C. Winter fogs are common here. They are more hospitable than other desert ecosystem and therefore they have a more flora and fauna than others. Flora: The   salt bush, buckwheat bush, black bush, rice grass, little leaf horse brush, and black sage   Fauna:   coyotes, badgers, toads, insects, lizards, snakes, and birds such as great horned owls, golden eagles and bald eagles .  17

18. Cold desert ecosystem- This desert ecosystem comprises of abundant rainfall throughout the winters and less in summers and generally has chilling winters with snowfall. The summers are short, moderately hot and moist here.  The mean winter temperature is between -2 to 4° C and the mean summer temperature is between 21-26° C. These are usually covered with snow dunes. Such desert ecosystem can be found in Greenland, Antarctica, and Nearctic realm. flora: Plants in cold deserts include  algae, grasses, and plants with spiny thin leaves . Fauna: Woolly Hare, Tibetan Gazzle , Snow Leopard, Himalayan Black Bear, Himalayan Brown Bear, Snow Leopard, Red Fox, Tibetan Wolf 18 Greenland

19. Bibliography https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/desert https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-semi-arid-desert-biome.html https://blog.desertmuseum.org/2022/01/04/weaving-the-web-of-life/ https://www.vedantu.com/geography/desert-ecosystem https://www.slideshare.net/saravanamani1/ecosystem-50288615?qid=3e9ebfa4-2699-47e2-a53a-d63e15ced733&v=&b=&from_search=25 https://www.earthreminder.com/desert-ecosystem-types-characteristics/ https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/deserts.php 19 THANKYOU