Our planet heats up unevenly, so there are many different climatic zones on its surface that form natural zones. One of them is the desert. It has a sparse flora or is generally characterized by its absence. There are several types of deserts:
- sandy;
- saline;
- stony;
- clay.
The Arctic desert, that is, the territories of the Arctic and Antarctica, is highlighted in a separate category. Land in these zones may or may not have snow cover.
McMurdo Dry Valleys
This is the snow-white dry desert of Antarctica. These are the Antarctic oases on Victoria Land. The total occupied area is 8 thousand square kilometers, on which there is no ice. This is the driest place on the entire planet, where rain and snow have not fallen for more than 2 million years. It is believed that this place maximally reflects the natural conditions of the planet Mars. In the desert, there are frequent katabatic winds, that is, reaching 320 kilometers per hour, which cause the evaporation of moisture. In winter, the air temperature drops to -50 °С.
Despite such harsh conditions, endolithic plants were found in this area. BUTthere are no animals in the desert. The researchers found only endolytic bacteria that live on the so-called Blood Falls. They are protected from dry air by relatively damp rocks. With the onset of summer heat, bacteria get out, because of this place they called the Red Falls. And their color is associated with a diet based solely on sulfur and iron.
Arctic
The desert zone of the Arctic stretches from North America to Asia. The climate here is quite severe - in some places the atmospheric temperature can reach -50 ° C with little precipitation. Vegetation is sparse. We will name the animals of the Arctic deserts:
- Pink seagull. A rather large bird, in weight it can reach 250 grams, with a body length of 35 centimeters. Handles harsh winters well.
- Narwhal. Assigned to the genus of cetaceans, it has a horn that sticks out of its mouth, although in essence it is an ordinary tooth. This tooth can grow up to 3 meters long.
- Seal. It is in the Arctic that you can find several species of this ancient and amazing animal: the harp seal, the sea hare and the common seal.
- Walrus. The closest relative of seals. It has gigantic dimensions - up to 3 meters in height, with a weight of about 1 ton. Is a predator.
- Polar bear. One of the largest land predators on the entire planet. It can reach a height of 2.5 meters, with a weight of 500 kg. Attacks almost everyone, even large animals, seals and walruses.
Sugar
The most famous and largest sandy desert on the planet. The total occupied area is about 9 million m². This area is the hottest on the planet. Sometimes the air temperature reaches +57 °C. At the same time, heavy rains are constantly passing here, but there are often sandstorms, during which sand can rise 1000 m in height.
The animal world of the Sahara desert is very diverse, despite the harsh living conditions. Therefore, these representatives of the fauna can be called the most interesting on the planet, and they are very rare in other parts of the globe:
- Horned viper. The poison of this reptile is so dangerous that it causes irreparable damage to the blood cells of the victim. As a rule, a meeting with her ends in death, although this animal of the desert is classified as an endangered species.
- Dromedary, or one-humped camel. Today it is present exclusively in households. A very hardy and strong animal, able to go without water for a long time.
- Gazelle dorcas. Very fast (running up to 80 km/h) and light animal (average body weight - 25 kg). It has a sandy color, which allows the artiodactyl to hide among the dunes.
- Dung beetle, or scarab. Once considered sacred. It feeds on the manure of artiodactyl animals of the desert. Having found the droppings, she rolls it into the underground voids with her hind legs, where she eats it.
- Yellow scorpion. Insect venom rarely causes he alth problems in adults, but for the elderly and children it can be fatal. This is a very small animal with verypoisonous neurotoxins.
Semi-deserts
Such territories are also called the deserted steppe. This is something between savannahs and deserts, which are located in the temperate geographical zone. In such a desert, animals and plants are more diverse. There are no forests here yet, but there is a specific ground cover. The average temperature here is from +20 °С to +25 °С, and in the tropical parts of the Earth it reaches +30 °С. Semi-deserts on the planet have many similarities, but also differences depending on the belt.
Temperate
This is a strip of 500 kilometers from the Caspian lowland to South America. Territories in Eurasia differ from those in North and South America in atmospheric temperature. In Eurasia, in winter, it can drop to -20 °C. The soil can be described as saline, brown and light chestnut. Further south, there are more signs of a real desert.
For the fauna of the semi-deserts of Russia, gazelles goitered gazelles, viscachas, bustards-beauties are inherent. Lizards, turtles, saigas and snakes are found in South and North America.
Subtropics
This natural area is located on the slopes of plateaus, uplands and plateaus. These are the Armenian Highlands, the Anatolian Plateau, the valley of the Rocky Mountains, Karoo and Fliders, etc.
The fauna of the desert in the subtropics is different from the territories of the temperate zone. Porcupine, cheetah, striped hyena and Mediterranean viper live here. It is in the subtropical deserts that you can see the cobra,sand efu and onagers. Termites play a huge role in the ecosystem.
Tropics
The deserts of this zone occupy the largest territory of the African continent. This is the Sahel semi-desert, located in the south of the Sahara Desert and is the northern part of Burkina Faso. The climate here is quite dry and hot. There is little vegetation on the territory of the semi-desert, there are fragments of light forests and single trees of twisted or red acacia.
Once upon a time, a huge number of tropical desert animals lived here - mostly artiodactyls. These were gazelles and saber-horned antelopes, as well as kongoni antelopes. There were a lot of herbivorous fauna and predators, including even a hyena-like dog, a cheetah and a lion. The birds chose wetlands as nesting sites.
Today, a real ecological disaster is brewing in the semi-desert, we can say that the natural balance has already been completely disturbed here.
One of the first causes is deforestation, although it is difficult to imagine such a problem for a semi-desert. Nevertheless, most of the vegetation is used by local residents as food for livestock, while depriving wild artiodactyls of food.
Locals use slash-and-burn as a type of farming. If you use this technique for several years in a row, then the soil becomes barren for 15 or even 20 years.
But the most dangerous thing is that the rare vegetation of the semi-desert is usedfor fuel preparation. Due to these reasons, these spaces are becoming poorer every year, droughts are becoming more frequent and unique animals disappear.
Animals of deserts and semi-deserts have not yet disappeared from the face of the earth for the reason that most of the territories are at a sufficient distance from humans. It is our duty to take care of our little brothers, carry out sand containment activities on a regular basis and green the border areas.
