Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture.[1]
Contents |
Definition and Occurrence
Deserts and xeric shrublands receive an annual average rainfall of ten inches or less, and have an arid or hyperarid climate, characterized by a strong moisture deficit, where annual potential loss of moisture from evapotranspiration well exceeds the moisture received as rainfall. Deserts and xeric shrublands occur in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climate regions. Desert soils tend to be sandy or rocky, and low in organic materials. Saline or alkaline soils are common. Plants and animals in deserts and xeric shrublands are adapted to low moisture conditions. Hyperarid regions are mostly devoid of vegetation and animal life, and include rocky deserts and sand dunes. Vegetation in arid climate regions can include sparse grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands. Plants adapted to arid climates are called xerophytes, and include succulent plants, geophytes, sclerophyll, and annual plants. Animals, including insects, reptiles, arachnids, birds and mammals, are frequently nocturnal to avoid moisture loss.
See also
Desert and xeric shrublands ecoregions
|
Australasia Deserts and xeric shrublands
|
|
|---|---|
| Carnarvon xeric shrublands | Australia |
| Central Ranges xeric scrub | Australia |
| Gibson Desert | Australia |
| Great Sandy-Tanami Desert | Australia |
| Great Victoria Desert | Australia |
| Nullarbor Plain xeric shrublands | Australia |
| Pilbara shrublands | Australia |
| Simpson Desert | Australia |
| Tirari-Sturt's Stony Desert | Australia |
| Western Australian mulga shrublands | Australia |
|
Indomalaya Deserts and xeric shrublands
|
|
|---|---|
| Deccan thorn scrub forests | India, Sri Lanka |
| Indus Valley desert | India, Pakistan |
| Northwestern thorn scrub forests | India, Pakistan |
| Thar desert | India, Pakistan |
|
Nearctic Deserts and xeric shrublands
|
|
|---|---|
| Baja California desert | Mexico |
| Central Mexican matorral | Mexico |
| Chihuahuan desert | Mexico, United States |
| Colorado Plateau shrublands | United States |
| Great Basin shrub steppe | United States |
| Gulf of California xeric scrub | Mexico |
| Meseta Central matorral | Mexico |
| Mojave desert | United States |
| Snake-Columbia shrub steppe | United States |
| Sonoran desert | Mexico, United States |
| Tamaulipan matorral | Mexico |
| Tamaulipan mezquital | Mexico |
| Wyoming Basin shrub steppe | United States |
|
Neotropic Deserts and xeric shrublands
|
|
|---|---|
| Araya and Paria xeric scrub | Venezuela |
| Aruba-Curaçao-Bonaire cactus scrub | Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao |
| Atacama desert | Chile, Peru |
| Caatinga | Brazil |
| Cayman Islands xeric scrub | Cayman Islands |
| Cuban cactus scrub | Cuba |
| Galápagos Islands xeric scrub | Ecuador |
| Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub | Colombia, Venezuela |
| La Costa xeric shrublands | Venezuela |
| Leeward Islands xeric scrub | Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, Saba, US Virgin Islands |
| Malpelo Island xeric scrub | Colombia |
| Motagua Valley thornscrub | Guatemala |
| Paraguana xeric scrub | Venezuela |
| San Lucan xeric scrub | Mexico |
| Sechura desert | Peru |
| Tehuacán Valley matorral | Mexico |
| Windward Islands xeric scrub | Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Saint Peter and Saint Paul rocks | Brazil |
- this is because it gets only ten inches of precipitation a year
|
|||||
References
- ^ Merriam-Webster.com Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of xeric
External links
- Deserts and xeric shrublands (World Wildlife Fund)
- Map of the ecozones
- Index to Deserts & Xeric Shrublands at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
- Xeric World Online Community focused on the study of Xeric Plant Species.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
