Biodiversity in Hot Deserts
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 2.3.5
Biodiversity of Hot Deserts
Hot deserts do not have much biodiversity.
Where is biodiversity highest?
- Overall, hot deserts have a much lower degree of biodiversity than tropical rainforests.
- Temperatures are too high, water is too scarce and the soil is too nutrient-free to support large and biodiverse populations.
- Special evolutionary adaptations are needed to survive in deserts. Often species of animals that live in deserts are unable to live in other parts of the world and are unique to hot deserts.
What are threats to hot desert animals?
- Climate change increasing the temperature of the Earth means that deserts are becoming even hotter.
- Even species that have evolved only to live in deserts could find deserts too hot to survive in the future due to global warming.
Test yourself on Biodiversity in Hot Deserts
Which type of ecosystem is more biodiverse?
What are the main threats to desert biodiversity?
Why are deserts not very biodiverse?
Which word describes most of the species found in desert biodiversity hotspots?