BIOMES

Major semiarid deserts include the sagebrush of Utah, Montana and Great Basin. They also include the Nearctic realm (North America, Newfoundland, Greenland, Russia, Europe and northern Asia). The summers in a Semiarid Desert are usually long and dry, and the winters normally have little rainfall. Summer temperatures are between 21-27°C on average, normally not going above 38° C. During the evenings, temperatures are cool, around 10° C. Cool nights help plants and animals by reducing moisture loss from transpiration, sweating and breathing. Just like a regular hot desert, rainfall in a Semiarid desert is very low, 2-4 cm yearly.

Plants in a semiarid desert all tend to be spiny. This provides a natural protection in the desert. The large numbers of spines shade the surface enough to significantly reduce transpiration. The same may be true of the hairs on the woolly desert plants. Many plants have silvery or glossy leaves, allowing them to reflect more radiant energy. These plants often have an unfavorable odor or taste. Semiarid plants include: Creosote bush, bur sage (Franseria dumosa or F. deltoidea), white thorn, cat claw, mesquite, brittle bushes (Encelia farinosa), lyciums, and jujube. The semiarid desert has many animals, such as kangaroo rats, rabbits, skunks, grasshoppers, lizards, snakes, and burrowing owls. During the day, insects move around twigs to stay on the shady side. jack rabbits follow the moving shadow of a cactus or shrub. Naturally, many animals find protection in underground burrows where they are insulated from heat.

(source: Desert Biome)

As the name implies, coastal deserts are deserts stretching along the sea coast. They are one of the four major types of deserts. Their nearness to the sea gives them unique properties not found in deserts elsewhere. Such deserts are usually found on the western edges of continents with cold ocean currents running parallel to the coast. As the cold currents cool the air above, the air is unable to hold moisture and most of it falls as rain on the sea before it reaches land. Thus, the land alongside the coast with cold ocean currents receives little or no precipitation and turns into a desert. Coastal deserts have moderately brief winter seasons whose temperatures are 5°C and below, with the lowest recorded temperature being -4°C. The summer temperatures range from 13°C to 24°C, with 35°C being the highest ever experienced in the coastal deserts. An average of 13cm of rainfall is known to occur annually. Despite being near water sources, these deserts remain notably dry because most precipitation occurs in the ocean with negligible amounts of moisture reaching land. These deserts have more porous soils characterized by a moderate texture and salt content. Another unique feature of coastal deserts is the formation of heavy fogs in winter. Upwelling cold currents lead to the formation of such fogs often blanketing the desert and blocking solar rays from reaching the sands.

The plants growing in coastal deserts have thick fleshy leaves and stems for storing nutrients and extensive root systems for tapping whatever moisture is available. These adaptations help the plants survive the harsh coastal desert climate. Black sage, salt bushes, and rice grass are some of the plants growing in coastal deserts. Coastal deserts support mammals like coyotes, gemsbok, Grant's golden mole, etc. Many species of reptiles and lizards are found including venomous snakes like Peringuey's adder. It also hosts birds like golden eagles, Karoo bustard, great horned owls, and others. Amphibians and invertebrate species also live in these deserts. The fauna of coastal deserts exhibit several adaptations to survive in the relatively harsher desert conditions. For example, several species of birds and reptiles living here lay eggs that remain dormant until conditions are more bearable.

(source: WorldAtlas)

Cold deserts are characterized by cold winters with snowfall and high overall rainfall throughout the winter and occasionally over the summer. They occur in the Antarctic, Greenland and the Nearctic realm. Cold deserts have short, moist, and quite warm summers with fairly long, cold winters. The average winter is -2 to 4° C and the average summer is 21-26° C. In the winter, a cold desert receives quite a bit of snow. The average yearly precipitation ranges from 15-26 cm. Yearly precipitation has reached a maximum of 46 cm and a minimum of 9 cm. Spring rainfall usually falls heaviest in April or May. In some areas, rainfall can also be heavy in autumn.

Plant heights vary between 15 cm and 122 cm, depending on the area. Most plants shed their leaves and have spiny leaves. Ground cover, like lichens are found to either cover most of the ground, or be widely scattered. Plants found in a cold desert include grasses, shadscale and camel's thorn. Common cold desert animals are jack rabbits, kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice, grasshopper mice, and antelope ground squirrels. In some areas, population density of these animals can range from 14-41 individuals per hectare. Animals like the badger, kit fox, coyote, and all animals except jack rabbits are burrowers, as in they live in a small hole or tunnel that they dug in the winter. Having grown a thick fur coat, deer are found in cold deserts only in the winter. They migrate in the summer, as they have shed their fur coat. Gazelles, jack rabbits, wolves, viper snakes, and lizards are few examples of animals who are active in the early morning but seek shelter during the hottest part of the day, either in burrows or in the shade of plants.

(source: Desert Biome)