The Tropical Desert:-

*Deserts:- are areas where rainfall is too low to sustain any vegetation at all, or only very scanty
scrub.
*they are areas that have been deserted by rainfall and vegetation.
*rainfall in these areas is less than or about 250mm per year and some of these areas do not receive
any rainfall at all.
*rain is usually violent convectional thunderstorms, that occur suddenly.
*maximum day time temperatures can be as high as 40 to 45 degrees Celsius throughout the year
*areas have no winter or cold season .
*night time temperatures can drop to freezing or below freezing due to exceptional radiation loss
because of clear skies this results in high diurnal temperature range.

Location of Hot Deserts:-

*they are located in the subtropical climate zone-this is a zone where there is continuous/unbroken
sunshine for the whole year.
*this is because of stable descending air and high pressure around the 30 degree latitudes North and
South of the Equator.
*some deserts are located on the western coasts of continents between 15 and 30 degrees North
and South of the Equator where they are affected by cold ocean currents causing limited
precipitation.
*some are on western coast lines where they are affected by the rain-shadow effect such is the
Sonoran desert in North America and the Atacama desert in South America.(to be further explained
by the notes on the Orographic Rainfall to follow)
*some are located in interior of continents far from the rain bearing winds.
*examples of desert areas include the
-Sahara,
-Saudi Arabia,
- large parts of Iran and Iraq,
-northwest India,
-California,
-South Africa, Botswana, Namibia
-most of Australia
-South America.

Desert Vegetation:-
*desert vegetation is adapted to dry conditions found in Desert or Arid regions/areas adaptations
include some of the following:-
*reduction of leaves, they have instead spines for protection and reduce moisture loss that occurs
on normal leaves with flat surfaces that provide a huge area for water loss.
*they have thick succulent stems that help them store water for long droughts.
*development of photosynthesis in the stems since the vegetation has no leaves or small size leaves.
*thick waxy cuticle coating on plants to help reduce water loss
*plants also have a dense coating of hairs this slows air moving over the surface of the plant, this
slow moving air helps reduce evaporation.
*plants have extensive underground root systems or spread out extensively under the surface, not
roots that grow straight down to groundwater as is the case in areas with water this allows plants
take use the little water in the deserts.
*desert vegetation is usually referred to as Xerophytic or Xerophytes vegetation or drought
resistant.
*the vegetation includes bulbous cacti, thorny bushes, long-rooted grasses and scattered dwarf
plants
*some grow in areas with high salt levels because of a lot of evaporation that increases salt levels in
the soils
*plants have long roots and well spaced out to gather moisture, and gather moisture.
*seeds of many grasses and herbs have thick tough skins to protect them while they lie dormant and
germinate only when the seeds are moistened by the next rain.