desert habitats
Sandy, dry environments
Desert habitats are ecosystems characterized by extreme aridity, receiving less than ten inches of annual rainfall.
These environments support specialized plants and animals adapted to scarce water and temperature extremes—cacti, camels, scorpions, and nocturnal creatures that avoid daytime heat.
Deserts range from hot sandy expanses like the Sahara to cold high-altitude plateaus.
The documentary explored desert habitats and their surprisingly diverse wildlife.
- aridityAbsence of moisture
- water scarcityInsufficient freshwater for demand
- camelHumped desert mammal
- wadisSeasonal desert watercourses
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
cacti · droughts · nomadic lifestyles · fennec fox · buttes · kangaroo rat · xerophytes · horned lizard · jerboa · mesas · evaporation rates · blazing sun · extreme temperatures · oases · heatwaves · sand dunes · dust devil · scorpion
desert habitatsrainforests
Wet, dense tropical woodlands
wetlands · tropical rainforests · swamps · marshes · bogs
desert habitatsjungles
Dense tropical woodlands
dense forests · old-growth forests · tropical forests · woodlands · boreal forests
desert habitatspolar habitats
Ecosystems near the poles
tundra · ice sheets · alpine tundra · glacial regions · ice caps