Desert

= Hot and dry desert = [|http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=desert+soil&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1092&bih=533&]
 * == Soil - course texture,shallow,rockey or gravely with good drainage and have no subsurface water ==

[|http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=climatogram+for+desert+biomes&um]
 * = Climatagram =
 * = 5 special plants :) =

**Barrel cactus :**
=== Barrel cacti are classified into the two genera [|Echinocactus] and [|Ferocactus], both of which are found in the Southwest Desert of [|North America]. Uses rain water, sunlight as food. i's nest season is summer. ===

**brittle bush:**
== Encelia farinosa grows to 1 m-3 ft tall, with fragrant [|leaves] 3–8 cm long, ovate to deltoid, and silvery [|tomentose]. The [|capitula] are 3-3.5 cm diameter, with orange-yellow [|ray florets] and yellow or purple-brown [|disc florets]. They are arranged in loose [|panicles] above the leafy stems [|fruit] 3–6 mm and there is no pappus. ==

**chain fruit cholla:**
=== The chain fruit cholla looks as much like a tree in the desert as a cactus possibly can. It has a central trunk from which sprout many spiny "branches". It is commonly found in dry, sandy soils of bajadas, valleys floors, and plains of the Sonoran and Chihuahua Desert, south Arizona and northwest Mexico. ===

can grow to a height of 15 feet, and be 6 feet across.

 * desert ironwood:**

pancake prickly pear cactus:
=== The prickly pear cactus is a widely used and versatile cactus. It can be used in many different ways such as foods, crops, etc.. In many places the prickly pear is grown as a crop, but in others they are just grown in the wild. The prickly pear has started to grow as a weed in some areas but in others it is vulnerable. ===

The prickly pear cactus grows in many places. It's found in the Sonoran and the Mojave Desert. The Sonoran Desert is located 25.3° to 33° North and 105° to 118° West


Texas Horned lizard black widow spider Greater road runner Caracal Meerkat
 * ==**5 Animals**==


 * =**3 Fungi**=

There are hundreds of Mycena mushroom species. Most are saprophytic, with subterranean hyphae feeding on buried, decaying vegetation. The mushroom, or fruiting body, appears above ground only briefly when temperature and humidity are ideal for spreading spores into the environment and thus reproducing a new generation. Mycena are very small; in this case the caps are less than 12 mm wide.
 * Mycena Mushrooms**


 * Terricolous Lichen**



Bracket fungi, or shelf fungi, among many groups of the fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota. Characteristically, they produce shelf- or bracket-shaped fruiting bodies called conks that lie in a close planar grouping of separate or interconnected horizontal rows.
 * Bracket fungi**


 * Food** Web

__ Environmental Concerns! __

Arid Environment

 * Lack of water prevents a desert from supporting much plant and animal life, although some species thrive in this environment. Burgeoning human populations on the edges of the desert strain the water supply, which affects the already sparse flora and fauna.

Desertification

 * Desertification is the process in which once usable land becomes inhospitable and loses its ability to sustain life, essentially becoming unusable. Desertification is growing due to misuse of land resources, such as over-farming and over-grazing.

Human Activity

 * Though droughts trigger desertification, human activity is the largest cause, reports the United Nations. Over-cultivation, poorly drained irrigation systems, mismanagement of available water, digging for fossil fuels and introduction of invasive species are only some of the environmental problems in desert biomes created by humans.

__ Adaptations __ The two main adaptations that desert animals must make are how to deal with lack of water and how to deal with extremes in temperature. Many desert animals avoid the heat of the desert by simply staying out of it as much as possible. Where do animals in the desert get their water from? Since water is so scarce, most desert animals get their water from the food they eat: succulent plants, seeds, or the blood and body tissues of their prey. How do desert animals prevent water from leaving their bodies? Desert animals prevent water leaving their bodies in a number of different ways. Some, like kangaroo rats and lizards, live in burrows which do not get too hot or too cold and have more humid (damp) air inside. These animals stay in their burrows during the hot days and emerge at night to feed. Other animals have bodies designed to save water. Scorpions and wolf spiders have a thick outer covering which reduces moisture loss. The kidneys of desert animals concentrate urine, so that they excrete less water. Plant adaptations: Desert plants differ in the ways they adapt themselves to the hot and dry environment. Some desert plants have a short life cycle. When the rains come, these plants sprout quickly, flower and die. Their seeds lie dormant in the soil, until the next rain enables them to germinate and bloom. Most desert plants grow far apart and their roots extend out so that each plant can get water and minerals from a large area. Other desert plants have roots that extend deep into the ground to obtain water from deep beneath the ground. When it rains, cactuses and other succulent (juicy) plants take up as much water as possible and store it in their leaves and stems which will provide the water they need during the dry months. Their waxy leaves and stems also slow down water loss through transpiration. Other plants survive by shedding their leaves in dry periods to reduce water loss. Animal adaptations: Desert animals include many kinds of insects, spiders, reptiles, birds and mammals. They are adapted to the heat as well as scarcity of water. Deer, foxes, wolves and other animals may visit a desert after a rainfall in search of food. Butterflies and bees emerge from their pupa state to feed on the flowers that bloom. The insects breed quickly so that the next generation reaches the pupa stage before the desert dries up. The jackrabbit's light-coloured fur helps it blend into its surroundings and its large ears help it to keep cool by giving off heat. Many small animals hide under rocks or dig burrows underground and stay there during the day to escape the heat and the sun. Most desert animals are nocturnal - they avoid the extreme midday heat by feeding at night, when the temperature has dropped and the air is much cooler. Some of them are dormant (inactive) in the summer. Larger desert animals try to stay in shady areas during the day. They obtain water from the food they eat and from the few water holes that exist in a desert. The camel stores its food as fat in large humps on its back. The stored fats are broken down to help the camel survives long periods without food and water.