2. INTRODUCTION
• Desert ecosystems located in tropical regions are environment of
extremes, with lack of moisture and generally synonymous with arid
regions
• They are some of the hottest and driest areas of the planet, with no
or sporadic rainfall
• According UNEP (2006), the heterogeneity of topography
contributes to the desert formation, in special outside the mid-
latitude belts
3. TYPES
The four main types of desert include,
Hot and dry deserts
Semi-arid deserts
Coastal deserts
Cold deserts
4. HOT AND DRY DESERTS:
In these deserts, the temperatures are
warm and dry year-round
Some famous arid deserts include the
SAHARA DESERT that covers much of the
African continent and the
MAJOVE DESERT located in the southwest
of the United states
5. SEMI-ARID DESERTS:
Semi-arid deserts are a bit cooler
than hot and dry deserts
The long, dry summers in semi-arid
deserts are followed by winters with
some rain
They are found in North America,
Greenland, Europe, and Asia
6. COASTAL DESERTS:
Coastal deserts are a bit more humid
than other types of deserts
Although heavy fogs blow in from the
coast, rainfall is still rare
The ATACAMA DESERT of Chile in
South America is an example of a
coastal desert
7. COLD DESERTS:
Cold deserts are still dry but have extremely
low temperatures in comparison to the other
types of deserts
The ANTARTIC is an example of a cold desert
The summers are short, moderately hot and
moist here
These are usually covered with snow dunes
8. FEATURES
• Aridity
• Less rainfall
• Extreme temperature
• Velocity of wind
• Scarcity of water
• Humidity
• Biodiversity
• Plants grow very slowly
9. STRUCTUREAND FUNCTION
i. The different components of a desert ecosystems are:
A) ABIOTIC COMPONENT :
The abiotic component includes the nutrients present in the soil and the
aerial environment .The characteristic feature of the abiotic component is lack of
organic matter in the soil and scarcity of water
B) BIOTIC COMPONENT :
The various biotic components representing three functional groups are
i. Producer organisms
ii. Consumers
iii. Decomposers
10. Desert ecosystem is habitat to various species of plants
and animals
They act as carbon sink which means the bacteria in the
sand helps to store the carbon dioxide and prevent it from
entering the atmosphere
This ecosystem is a big source of minerals and natural gas
and oil
This kind of ecosystem is ideal for the preservation of
historical remains artefacts
