Interdependence in Hot Deserts
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 2.3.2
Interdependence Between Species in Hot Deserts
In hot deserts, different parts of the ecosystem rely on each other to survive. If any one part of the ecosystem is affected by an external shock, then all the parts can all be affected.
Plants, soil and animals
- Although desert soil is not nutrient-rich, it does contain some nutrients.
- Plants like cacti and short grasses get their nutrients from desert soil.
- Primary consumers (or animals) will eat the plants to survive.
- Animals support the reproductive cycle of plants by pooing out the seeds of the plants, allowing new plants to grow.
Food and water sources
- Any shock that reduced the number of plants in a desert would mean that animals have less food, leading animal population numbers to fall.
- If animal populations fell, fewer seeds would be spread and plants would reproduce less frequently.
- Rainfall is very rare in the desert and may not happen in a year. If a drought continued for too long, plants could die and this could cause animal populations to starve if they had no food.
- Because there is not much plant life, deserts cannot support high-density populations of animals.
People, plants and animals
- Humans need water to survive and crops need water to grow.
- Humans living in deserts usually get water from underground wells. However, if they draw too much water from limited wells, they may run out of water for themselves to drink.
- Artificially watering crops is called irrigation.
Test yourself on Interdependence in Hot Deserts
What must people do to the land in hot deserts to grow crops?
What size animal populations can be supported by the vegetation in hot deserts?