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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.
Many animals obtain energy by eating the surrounding vegetation, however, desert plants are much more difficult for organisms to consume. [10] To avoid intense temperatures, the majority of small desert mammals are nocturnal, living in burrows to avoid the intense desert sun during the daytime.
Many desert animals (and plants) show especially clear evolutionary adaptations for water conservation or heat tolerance and so are often studied in comparative physiology, ecophysiology, and evolutionary physiology. One well-studied example is the specializations of mammalian kidneys shown by desert-inhabiting species. [81]
The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes. Tropical grasslands are mainly found between 5 degrees and 20 degrees in both North and south of the Equator. [2]
The Atacama Desert in Chile The Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Cold desert climates are typically located in temperate zones in the 30s and 40s latitudes, usually in the leeward rain shadow of high mountains, restricting precipitation from the westerly winds. An example of this is the Patagonian Desert in Argentina, bounded by the Andes ranges to
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 ...
Zone 4 - Semi-Arid Areas. Adjoining the desert are the semi-arid areas, a transitional zone between the desert and the denser forests of the Western Ghats. The natural vegetation is thorn forest. This region is characterised by discontinuous vegetation cover with open areas of bare soil and soil-water deficit throughout the year.
A common example is the cactus, which has a specific means of storing and conserving water, along with few or no leaves to minimize transpiration. [8] In addition to the protection provided by spines, chemical defences are also very common. Desert plants grow slowly as less photosynthesis takes place, allowing them to invest more in defence. [8]