Adaptation of Plants to Hot Deserts
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 2.3.3
How are Plants Adapted to Hot Deserts?
Plants have evolved adaptations to survive in the high temperatures and low rainfall of hot deserts.
Roots
- Plants' roots either go very deep into the ground or spread out broadly around the plant.
- This allows the plants to capture the maximum water possible when it does rain in a hot desert.
Small spines instead of leaves
- Trees in taiga forests have needles to reduce water loss.
- In deserts, lots of plants have spines instead of needles or leaves.
- This gives the minimum possible surface area so that water can be preserved by the plant instead of lost via evaporation/transpiration.
Water storage mechanisms
- Succulent plants (like cacti) have a thickened area that can be used to store water.
- Plants in the desert need some area to store water because rainfall is so rare.
Dormant seeds
- Some plants only reproduce when it has rained. If they tried to reproduce when there was no rain, the seeds/saplings would die.
- Seeds can be dormant for months or years and then 'germinate' once there is rainfall in the desert.
Test yourself on Adaptation of Plants to Hot Deserts
Adaptations of plants to the conditions in hot deserts
What is the main reason that some desert plants have rapid life cycles?