15.1.6

Biome Features: Deserts

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Overview of Hot Deserts

Hot deserts have the following general characteristics:

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Soil

  • Soils in the desert are almost like sand.
  • Soil in deserts is very infertile and it is hard for plants to grow.
  • There aren't many plants in the desert, so leaves don't really fall and therefore cannot be decomposed with their nutrients being recycled back into the soil.
  • The soil in deserts feels like sand or gravel.
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Plants

  • Only plants that are adapted to survive with almost no rainfall can live in the desert biome.
  • Cacti, some short grasses, and thornbushes are one of the only types of plants that can survive in deserts.
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Animals

  • Snakes, lizards, other reptiles, and several amphibians are best adapted to survive in deserts.
  • Scorpions and insects also live in the desert.
  • Some mammals and birds do live in the desert at some times of year but the percentage of animals in the desert that are mammals is very low. Because of the high temperatures in the day, mammals in the desert are likely to be nocturnal.
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What is the desert climate like?

  • A desert gets less than 10 inches (25cm) of rain each year.
  • It doesn't rain every week in deserts. Usually, a desert will get 10-20 inches of rain in one burst every 1-2 years.
  • The Sahara desert is usually 45oC during the day and -4oC at night.
  • NASA says that the average daytime temperature of deserts is 38oC.

Jump to other topics

1Geography Skills

2Geology of the UK

3Geography of the World

4Development

5Weather & Climate

6The World of Work

7Natural Resources

8Rivers

9Coasts

10Glaciers

11Tectonics

12Climate Change

13Global Population & Inequality

14Urbanisation

15Ecosystems

16Life in an Emerging Country

17Analysis of Africa

18Analysis of India

19Analysis of the Middle East

20Analysis of Bangladesh

21Analysis of Russia

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