Hot Desert Ecosystem Flashcards

All 7 cards in this deck

Describe the climate of a hot desert.

Less than 250 mm of rainfall a year, daytime temperatures over 40°C in summer, and nights that can drop close to 0°C (a large diurnal range).

What are hot desert soils like?

Thin, sandy or stony, dry and low in nutrients because there is little leaf litter; evaporation often leaves a salty crust on the surface.

Give one example of interdependence between climate, plants and soil in a hot desert.

Low rainfall means sparse vegetation, so little leaf litter reaches the soil; the soil stays thin and infertile, which further limits plant growth.

Give two ways desert plants such as cacti are adapted to the physical conditions.

Long tap roots or wide shallow roots to reach water, and thick fleshy stems that store water with spines instead of leaves to cut water loss.

Give two ways desert animals are adapted to extreme heat and lack of water.

Behavioural: nocturnal, sheltering in burrows by day. Physical: large ears to lose heat and the ability to go days without drinking (e.g. camel, fennec fox).

True or false? Hot deserts have low biodiversity because of the extreme conditions.

True. Very few species can cope with the lack of water and extreme temperatures, so food webs are simple and easily damaged by development.

True or false? A hot desert is defined by its high temperatures rather than by its low rainfall.

False. A desert is defined by low rainfall — under 250 mm per year — not by how hot it is.