desert ecosystems
Dry land communities
Desert ecosystems are the communities of organisms and their physical environment in arid regions receiving minimal rainfall.
These systems include hot deserts like the Sahara and cold deserts like the Gobi, each supporting specially adapted plants and animals—cacti, camels, reptiles, nocturnal rodents—that survive extreme temperatures and water scarcity.
The desert ecosystem's food web depends heavily on seasonal rains.
- sand dunesWind-sculpted sediment formations
- shifting sandsConstantly relocating desert terrain
- dust stormsWindblown particulate weather events
- oasesWater sources in arid lands
- xerophytesDrought-tolerant plant species
ephemerals · wadis · cacti · camels · succulents · meerkats · aridity · scorching heat · fennec foxes · jerboas · desertification · arroyos · evaporation rates · water scarcity · indigenous cultures · horned lizards · kangaroo rats · droughts
- Arabian ecologycamels, dunes, gazelles, oryx, wadis
- green techsolar panels, solar power, wind energy, clean energy, wind turbines
- museum exhibitsscience exhibit, dinosaur skeleton, interactive exhibit, art displays, fossil exhibit
- Asian ecologytigers, pandas, elephants, orangutans, bamboo forests
- Middle East wildlifegazelles, camels, oryx, ibex, foxes
desert ecosystemstropical rainforests
Warm, wet forest ecosystems
rainforests · wetlands · swamps · marshes · bogs
desert ecosystemstropical rainforests
Warm, wet forest ecosystems
coral reef ecosystems · rainforests · Amazon rainforest · Congo rainforest · coral reefs
desert ecosystemsdense forests
Closely packed woodland areas
jungles · tropical rainforests · temperate rainforests · boreal forests · taiga