CONTENTS What is a desert biome Where are deserts Desert plants 4 6 8 Subtropical desert life 10 Coastal desert life 12 Semi-arid desert life Polar desert life 14 16 Born survivors 18 Desert food chains 20 People in the desert Desert resources Desert threats Desert futures Glossary Find out more Index 22 24 26 28 30 31 32
WHAT IS A DESERT BIOME Most people think of deserts as hot and sandy but there are several different kinds of desert What makes a desert a desert is a lack of rain Most deserts get less than 10 inches 25 cm of rain a year whereas 80 inches 200 cm can fall in a rainforest every year Only one in ten of the world’s deserts has sand dunes Most like this one in northern Niger are rocky with occasional plants Different deserts Some deserts are large flat expanses of sand but others have rocks and mountains or hills of sand called dunes that can reach 1300 feet 400 m high Some deserts reach sizzling temperatures of 130 F 54 C or more while other deserts have chilly winters or are freezing cold all year like Antarctica Some deserts receive very light but regular rain showers others get all their annual rain in one heavy storm that lasts for just an hour Fact Focus Biome or Habitat Biomes are regions of the world such as deserts forests rivers oceans tundra and grassland that have similar climate plants and animals A habitat is the specific place in a biome where a plant or animal lives 4
Desert life Some deserts look empty and lifeless The lack of water and soil means that plants grow far apart to get a share of any water available But there is a rich variety of plant life ranging from saguaro cacti as tall as a four story house to plants that look like tiny stones see page 9 There are few trees to give shade so although there are some large animals such as camels most desert-dwelling animals are small Some such as desert tortoises have shells or tough scaly skin to protect them from the fierce temperatures Others such as ground squirrels make burrows under the ground to escape the daytime heat The Cape ground squirrel has a long very bushy tail that it uses like an umbrella to provide shade when it is feeding in the hot Kalahari Desert Amazing Adaptation Adaptations are special features or body parts that living things develop over time to help them survive in a biome Mammals such as camels that live in hot deserts have very furry backs to protect them from the burning sun 5
