Deserts and xeric shrublands
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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Deserts and xeric shrublands also called xerófila are a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture,[1] usually defined as less than 250 mm of annual precipitation. It is the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of the earth's land surface area.[2] They may be further characterized as hyperxerófila (very dry) and hypoxerófila (less dry).
Contents
Character of the biome
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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Biodiversity: Deserts and xeric shrublands may have a very diverse and rich flora. Reptile fauna may also be very diverse with pronounced local endemism in some regions.
Minimum resources: Many species track seasonally variable and patchy resources and require large natural landscapes to persist. Available water sources and riparian habitats are critical for the persistence of many species.
Poor soils: Because biomass productivity is low, the litter layer is almost nonexistent and the organic content of surface soil layers is very low. Also, evaporation tends to concentrate salts at the soil surface.
Sensitivity to disturbance: As the desert is highly sensitive to grazing, soil disturbance, burning, plowing, and other cover alteration; restoration potential can be very low and regeneration very slow. The introduction of exotic species may be a serious problem.
Desertification
The conversion of productive drylands to desert conditions, known as desertification, can occur from a variety of causes. One is human intervention, including intensive agricultural tillage or overgrazing[3] in areas that cannot support such exploitation. Climatic shifts such as global warming or the Milankovitch cycle (which drives glacials and interglacials) also affect the pattern of deserts on Earth.
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 |
| Okanagan (South) shrub steppe | Canada |
| Snake-Columbia shrub steppe | United States |
| Sonoran desert | Mexico, United States |
| Tamaulipan matorral | Mexico, |
| Tamaulipan mezquital | Mexico, United States |
| Wyoming Basin shrub steppe | United States |
See also
- Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI)
- Xeriscaping- gardening or landscaping in xeric environments
- Xerophytes- plants adapted to xeric environments
- Shrub-steppe
- Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
- Sagebrush steppe
- Mesic
- Hydric
References
- ↑ Merriam-Webster.com Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of xeric
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ C.Michael Hogan. 2009. Overgrazing. Encyclopedia of Earth. Sidney Draggan, topic ed.; Cutler J. Cleveland, ed., National council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC
External links
- Deserts and xeric shrublands (World Wildlife Fund)[dead link]
- Index to Deserts & Xeric Shrublands at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
- Xeric World Online Community focused on the study of Xeric Plant Species.
