Hot deserts Flashcards
How are hot deserts interdependant?
Plants take up nutrients from soil and provide nutrients to animals that eat them. Animals spread seeds through their dung, helping plants to reporudce
How are plants adapted to hot deserts?
CActi are succulents. they have large fleshy stems for storing water and thick waxy skin to reduce transpiration
HOw are animals adapted to hot deserts
a camels hump stores fat that they break down into water when needed
Fennec foxes have large ears which gives them a larger surface area to lose heat from
Oppurtunities in the sahara
OIl and gas- Algeria is a leader in oil extraction in sahara with around 94% of iits exports coming from oil and gas industries
Tourism- many people visit outskirt of sahara, popular activities include sandboarding
Challenges to development
Extreme temperatures- Physical work is difficult at high temperatures so oppurtuinities like farming and mining can be limitied
Limitied water supply- Deep boreholes extract water stored uner the sahara without replenishing it
Inaccesibility- Sahara is hge with few roads so people and materials travel long distances, e.g. it takes 5 days to transport salt from salt mins in mali out of desert
CAuses of desertification
Climatr change- Rainfall- climate change fredcues rainfall in areas that are already dry. Less rain means less water is available for plants growth, meaning more plants die
Human activities-
Removal of fuel wood- many people rely on wood as fuel for cooking, this leaves soil exposed
Overgrazing- too many catt;e eat plants faster than they can re grow, this erodes the soil
Over cultivation- if plants are planted in same area continually, all nutrients in soil are used up, meaning plants can no longer be grown in this area.
Population growth- more people put pressure on the land leading to more deforestation, overhrazing, and over cultivation
How can risk of deseritification be reduced
Water managements- growing crops that need little water e.g. oilves can reduce warer use. Using drip irrigation on crops can avoide the soil being eroded by lots of water being added at once
Soil management- leaving ares of land to rest can let them recover nutrients. Compost can be used to add extra nutrients to the soil
