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Sand dunes in the Sahara Desert. Desert ecology is the study of interactions between both biotic and abiotic components of desert environments. A desert ecosystem is defined by interactions between organisms, the climate in which they live, and any other non-living influences on the habitat.
The desert oasis city of Jubbah in Saudi Arabia as photographed from space. In ecology, an oasis (/ oʊ ˈ eɪ s ɪ s /; pl.: oases / oʊ ˈ eɪ s iː z /) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment [1] that sustains plant life and provides habitat for animals. Surface water may be present, or water may only be accessible from ...
Like arid deserts, temperatures can vary greatly in semi deserts. They share some characteristics of a true desert and are usually located at the edge of deserts and continental dry areas. They usually receive precipitation from 250 to 500 mm (9.8 to 19.7 in) but this can vary due to evapotranspiration and soil nutrition.
The Nama Karoo of Namibia has the world's richest desert fauna. [8] The Chihuahuan desert and Central Mexican matorral are the richest deserts in the Neotropics. [9] The Carnarvon xeric shrublands of Australia are a regional center for endemism. [1] The Sonoran and Baja deserts of Mexico are unusual desert communities dominated by giant ...
Desert scene in Egypt. Arid habitats are those where there is little available water. The most extreme arid habitats are deserts. Desert animals have a variety of adaptations to survive the dry conditions. Some frogs live in deserts, creating moist habitat types underground and hibernating while conditions are adverse.
Most major kinds of mineral deposits formed by groundwater are located in the deserts. For example, some valuable metallic minerals, such as gold, silver, iron, zinc, and uranium, are found in Western Desert in Australia. This is due to special geological processes, and climate factors in the desert can preserve and enhance mineral deposits. [11]
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-arid climates, depending on variables such as temperature, and they give rise to different biomes.
However, in some countries these two terms are distinguished: the subject of a habitat is a population, the subject of a biotope is a biocoenosis or "biological community". [ 1 ] It is an English loanword derived from the German Biotop , which in turn came from the Greek bios (meaning 'life') and topos ('place').