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ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURES & FUNCTIONS

CONTENTS

14. Desert Ecosystem

SHARDA R. GUPTA

Objectives:

Controlling Factors Forming Deserts

The distribution and climate of deserts
Adaptation of Plants and Animals to Dry conditions
Biodiversity and Community Composition
 • Desert ecosystem functions
• Human impact on Desert Ecosystems
26.1. Introduction
Dry areas as created by global circulation patterns contain most of the
deserts on the Earth. Mostly, deserts occur in specific latitudes (25 to 35°
north and south of the equator). Deserts are arid where less than 250 mm of
rain falls in a year resulting in low soil water availability, sparse growth of
vegetation, and low productivity. However, evaporation exceeds rainfall in
these ecosystems. The deserts in the world are not restricted by latitude,
longitude, or elevation and show extreme variability in abiotic and biotic
components. The causes of formation of deserts are varied; they show
disjunct distribution and have independent floral histories. Mostly, deserts
are often regions of extreme temperatures where living conditions are
harsh; temperature variability is extremely variable. For example, many
deserts such as the Sahara in Africa are hot all year-round but others, such
as Asia’s Gobi desert, become quite cold in winter. It is interesting that
deserts are having high biodiversity in spite of their low productivity. The
world’s deserts occupy almost 17 percent of the earth’s land surface. The
deserts and desert margins are home to about eight per cent of the global
human population; some of the poorest and most marginalized people in the
world live in deserts. The poor people depend on deserts for sustainable
ecosystem services under changing climate.
26.2. Controlling Factors Forming Deserts
26.2.1. Earth’s air circulation patterns: Subtropical deserts are formed
because of the circulation patterns of air masses. They are found along the
Tropic of Cancer, between 15o and 30 o north of the Equator, or along the
Tropic of Capricorn, between 15o and 30o south of the Equator. Included in
this group are the Sahara Desert and the Kalahari Desert in Africa. In these
regions, hot, moist air rises into the atmosphere near the Equator. As the air
rises, it cools and drops its moisture as heavy tropical rains. The resulting
cooler, drier air mass moves away from the Equator. As it approaches the
tropics, the air descends and warms up again. The descending air hinders
the formation of clouds, so very little rain falls on the land below.
26.2.2. Rain shadow effect: A rain shadow is a patch of land that becomes a
desert because mountain ranges blocked all rainy weather. On one side of
the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow. On the other side of
the mountain, the rain shadow side, it’s warm and dry (Fig.26.1). When an air
mass moves from a low elevation to a high elevation, it expands and cools.
Cool air forms clouds, causing rain and snow, as it rises up a mountain. After
the air mass crosses over the peak of the mountain and starts down the
other side, the air warms up and the clouds dissipate resulting in less
rainfall. Rain shadow deserts exist near the leeward slopes of some mountain
ranges. For example, the Gobi Desert, The Tibetan Plateau, the deserts of
Nevada east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Major rain shadow effects
occur in Atacama Desert, located in Chile.
26.2.3. Distance from the ocean. Some land is so far from oceans (where
air absorbs most of its water) that deserts form. Interior deserts, which are
found in the heart of continents, exist because no moisture-laden winds
reach them. The Gobi Desert, in China and Mongolia, lies hundreds of
kilometers from the ocean. Winds that reach the Gobi have very low
moisture. The Gobi is also in the rain shadow of the Himalayan Mountains to
the south.
26.2.4. Near cold ocean currents: Cold ocean currents contribute to the
formation of coastal deserts. The cold ocean air warms as it passes over
continents. A coastal desert may be almost totally rainless, yet damp with
fog. The Atacama Desert, on the Pacific shores of Chile, is a coastal desert.
Fig. 1. The rain shadow effect, windward and leeward sides of a mountain
range, the windward side receives heavy precipitation while the Leeward
side is dry ( adapted from Singh et al., 2015).
26.3. The main Characteristics of Deserts

Deserts are dry and arid, have an aridity index (P/PET) lower than 0.20.
Humidity (water vapor in the air) is near zero in most deserts.
Light rains often evaporate in the dry air, never reaching the ground.
Temperature extremes are a characteristic of most deserts.
Annual precipitation less than the potential evaporation.
Low soil moisture to support primary productivity.
Animals and plants that live in deserts have adapted to survive in harsh
conditions.
Many desert dwellers rely on groundwater, stored in aquifers below the
surface.

26.4. The Desert Ecosystems: A Global Perspective

Aridity is an important criterion for defining a desert. One of the most
common approaches to measure aridity is through an estimator called the
Aridity Index, which is the ratio between mean annual precipitation (P) and
mean annual potential evapotranspiration (PET) (Thornthwaite 1948).
The hyperarid and arid regions of the world are defined as those areas
with an aridity index (P/PET) lower than 0.20 (Table26.1). Potential
evapotranspiration (PET) is calculated from Thornthwaite’s (1948) equations
as a function of mean monthly temperatures and mean monthly number of
daylight hours, while precipitation (P) is measured directly from weather
stations. Arid and hyper-arid regions have a P/PET ratio of less than 0.20;
rainfall supplies less than 20 per cent of the amount of water needed to
support optimum plant growth (UNEP 1997). Based on this criterion, aridity
is highest in the Saharan and Chilean-Peruvian deserts, followed by the
Arabian, East African, Gobi, Australian, and South African Deserts, and it is
generally lower in the Thar and North American deserts.
Table 26.1. Area of hyper-arid and arid regions of the world (based on
UNEP 1997; Safriel et al. 2005)

* The ratio of precipitation (P) to potential evapotranspiration (PET)

The global distribution of deserts as Hyperarid and arid regions is shown
in Fig. 26.2. In the northern hemisphere, the deserts are found in three
regions (UNEP, 2006, http://www.unep.org/geo/gdoutlook/112.asp):
i. The Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts in North America,
ii. The Sahara desert forms an immense swathe in Northern Africa and the
Somali-Ethiopian deserts in the Horn of Africa.
iii. The deserts of Asia, including the Arabian, Mesopotamian, Persian, and
Thar deserts that stretch from West Asia into Pakistan and India, as well as
the Central Asian deserts in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Taklimakan
and Gobi deserts in China and Mongolia.
The world’s largest desert, the Sahara of North Africa, which experiences
temperatures as high as 57°C, is a trade wind desert. Mid latitude deserts
occur between 30° and 50° N. and S, poleward of the subtropical high
pressure zones. These deserts are in interior drainage basins far from
oceans and have a wide range of annual temperatures. The Sonoran Desert
of southwestern North America- is a typical mid latitude desert. The
Rajasthan Desert of India and the Thar Desert of Pakistan are parts of a
monsoon desert region west of the range.

In the southern hemisphere, the desert chainis formed by (i) the Atacama,
Puna, and Monte Deserts in South America,
(ii ) the Namib and the Karoo in southern Africa,
and (iii) the vast expanse of the Australian Deserts,
( UNEP 2006 and references there in) (
http://www.unep.org/geo/gdoutlook/112.asp).
Parts of the Arctic and the Antarctic are classified as deserts. These polar
deserts contain great quantities of water, but most of it is locked in glaciers
and ice sheets year-round. The largest desert in the world is also the
coldest. Almost the entire continent of Antarctica is a polar desert,
experiencing little precipitation. Few organisms can withstand the freezing,
dry climate of Antarctica
Fig. 26.2. The hyperarid and arid regions representing deserts cover about 17
percent of the Earth’s land surface and are found on every continent. The
largest hot desert in the world is North Africa’s Sahara (adapted from FAO
2016).
26.5. The Abiotic Environment
26.5.1. Climate
Deserts do not have similar climate, show high spatial and temporal
variability of the abiotic environment. The differences in moisture,
temperature, soil drainage, topography, alkalinity, and salinity create
variations in vegetation cover, dominant plants, and associated species.
Resources such as nitrogen are also low in deserts and have been found to
limit productivity. On the basis of combination of low rainfall and different
average temperatures, three types of deserts could be recognized, i.e., hot
and dry desert, cold/temperate desert, and coastal desert (Table 26.2).
Table 26.2. Some characteristics of the three different types of deserts
along with their location in different regions of the world (based on UNEP,
2006)
As discussed in Table 26.2, most deserts receive less than 250 mm of rainfall
per year. The daytime temperature averages 38°C while in some deserts it
can get down to -4°C at night. The temperature varies greatly depending on
the location of the desert. To show variations in temperature and rainfall in
different months, the climate graph for Sahara Desert is shown in Fig.26.3.
Fig. 26.3 ; Climate graph for Sahara desert. Hot conditions dominate
(though often seasonal). Little precipitation (dominated by long dry
periods sometimes with brief wet periods). (http://www.bbc.co.uk/)
In cold deserts, Temperature show extreme fluctuations from hot
summers to cold winters. Precipitation is low and reasonably consistent
growing season is short during the hot months
26.5.2. Desert Soils
Most desert soils are called Aridisols (very dry soil). These soils are
CaCO3-containing soils of arid regions that exhibit at least some subsurface
horizon development. They are characterized by being dry most of the year
with limited leaching. The climate in which Aridisols occur also restricts soil
weathering processes.
Aridisols contain subsurface horizons in which clays, calcium carbonate,
silica, salts, and/or gypsum have accumulated (Fig. 26.4). Materials such as
soluble salts, gypsum, and CaCO3 tend to be leached from soils of moister
climates. In hot deserts, soils are course-textured, shallow, rocky or gravely
with good drainage and have no subsurface water. They are coarse because
there is less chemical weathering. The finer dust and sand particles are
blown elsewhere, leaving heavier pieces behind. In dry regions of the Sahara
and Australian desert, the soil orders are called Entisols. Entisols are new
soils, like sand dunes, which are too dry for any major soil horizon
development.

Figure 26.4. Aridisol soil profile, showing a low-humus surface layer above
a clay and calcium carbonate horizon. (adapted from
https://www.britannica.com/science/Aridisol )
The soils of the Thar desert in India consist of several main groups,i.e.,
desert soils, red desertic soils, sierozems (brownish gray soils), the red and
yellow soils of the foothills, the saline soils of the depressions, and the
lithosols (shallow weathered soils) and regosols (soft loose soils) found in the
hills. All those soils are predominantly coarse-textured, well-drained, and
calcareous (calcium-bearing). A thick accumulation of lime often occurs at
varying depths. The soils are generally infertile and, suffer from severe wind
erosion (http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/81/89881-050-
DE3F1A3C.gif)
26.6. Adaptation of Plants and Animals to Dry conditions
In desert ecosystems, both plants and animals adapt to scarcity of water
either through evasion or resistance to drought. Some animals have the
opportunity to move in response to water availability and long-range
migrations are a common feature of drylands. reproduce in the severe
climates of the deserts requires that they adopt particular strategies.
Some strategies of plants and animals to adapt to dry conditions in
deserts based on Davies et al.(2012),
(https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/conserving_
drylands_biodiversity_iucn_unccd _book_0.pd) are discussed as follows:
26.6.1. Drought escapers
Many desert plants live for one season. Their seeds may lie dormant for
years during long dry conditions. With the onset of rainfall, these plants
quickly pass through various growth phases, germination, flowering, fruiting
and seed dispersal in only a few days. The plants evading the dry conditions
are known as ephemerals. Seeds of most desert annuals have temperature or
moisture controlled dormancy which may prevent germination, but seed
viability is initially high.
Some animals escape the heat in cool burrows they dig in the ground. The
fennec fox, for example, is native to the Sahara Desert. Fennec fox
communities work together to dig large burrows, dew can collect in these
burrows, providing the foxes with fresh water. However, fennec foxes have
adapted to retain enough water in their kidneys from the food they eat.
During dry conditions many desert animals remain underground in holes or
burrows in which the air is relatively cool and humid; more than half of
desert animals are subterranean in their habits.
26.6.2. Drought evaders
The roots of Prosopis and Tamarix can reach up to water table more than
30 meters underground. The plants like Larrea and Atriplex are deep rooted
shrubs with a large lateral expanse from the stems. One of the processes of
soil water redistribution is called ‘hydraulic lift’, where deep soil moisture is
lifted to shallow dry layers through root systems, especially during the night,
which improves nutrient cycling and water balance. The hydraulic
redistribution of deep-rooted plants markedly improves the survival of
shallow-rooted shrubs and herbs in arid deserts, which subsequently
maintain species diversity.
Drought evading animals adopt an annual cycle of activities or go into
aestivation or some other dormant stage during the dry season. Animals
such as certain reptiles avoid the heat by burying themselves underground.
26.6.3 Drought resistors
Desert succulents, such as cacti or rock plants (Lithops) survive dry spells
by accumulating moisture in their fleshy tissues. For example, Opuntia
(family Cactaceae) and many desert CAM plants can tolerate high
temperatures. The succulent plants like Opuntia and cacti develop fleshy
organs, accumulating large amounts of water during the short wet season of
the year. Succulents have generally shallow roots (e.g., Opuntia, Euphorbia,
Agave and Cacti, Fig. 26.5) as they can store water in aerial parts. Leaves are
often reduced to spines, and this increases the volume to surface ratio.
Spines help to reduce heat load, and dissipate heat. The plants such as
Opuntia (cactus) and many desert CAM plants native to deserts can tolerate
much higher temperatures.
Animals that have adapted to a desert environment are called xerocoles.
Xerocoles include species of insects (beetles, ants, and locust), reptiles,
birds, and mammals (Davies et al., 2012). Xerocoles contain a built-in
mechanism which lowers the moisture loss all through excretion and
evaporation. Camels are very efficient water users. The camels have
developed the most remarkable adjustments to desert conditions as they
minimize water loss; can tolerate wide fluctuations in body temperature.
26.6.4 Drought Endurers
Shrubs and trees that go dormant, or animals such as frogs that aestivate
during dry seasons.
Most of the desert animals are nocturnal. They sleep through the hot days
and do their hunting and foraging at night. For example, a desert tortoise’s
thick shell insulates the animal and reduces water loss. Using its tail like a
parasol, the African ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) protects itself from the
sun in the Namib Desert. Some seed-eating rodents do not need water to
survive and depend on their burrows to regulate their metabolism, that
constitutes an extended part of their body.
In the case of trees, some mixed strategies to adapt to dry conditions are
summarized in Box 26.1.

26.7. Biodiversity and Community Composition

Deserts typically have a plant cover that is sparse but enormously diverse.
Water scarcity plays a major role in influencing biological diversity in the
drylands, but variations in topography, geology, soil type and quality and
variation in other resources have also been important factors (Davies et al.,
2012). The deserts in different parts of the world show large variations in
rainfall patterns, temperature regime, and evolutionary history that
contributes to their unique biodiversity, diverse life-forms and adaptations.
Perennial shrubs dominate most of the deserts, but in a single habitat the
plants range from some of the shortest-lived ephemeral plants, to some of
the longest-lived giant cacti. In the hot deserts, giant cacti and trees with
large fleshy stems coexist with some of the toughest hardwoods, ground-
creeping succulents, and fog harvesting rosettes. Importance of desert
biodiversity is summarized in Box 26.2.
The Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest has the most complex
desert vegetation. One of the unique and keystone species of the Sonoran
Desert is the saguaro cactus, characterized by giant, spiny, green arms
reaching upward. The giant saguaro cacti provide nests for desert birds and
serve as “trees” of the desert. Saguaro grows slowly but may live 200 years.
Although cacti are often thought of as characteristic desert plants, other
types of plants have adapted well to the arid environment. They include the
plants belonging to Fabaceae and Asteraceae.
Cold deserts have grasses and shrubs as dominant vegetation. Some facts
about desert ecosystems and their biodiversity are given in Box 26.3.
Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) is critically endangered and highly adapted
to the harsh conditions of Gobi Desert (Box 26.3).
Many desert plants have very specific requirement of pollinators and seed
dispersers; e.g., giant cacti and agaves of the new world produce sugar-rich
nocturnal flowers facilitating the pollinating services of nectar-feeding bats,
while the sweet pulp of their fruits attracts birds to disperse. The symbiotic
relationship is represented by mutualism (Bees pollinate the cacti and
depend on it for food). Desert rodents feed largely on seeds and play an
important role in the dynamics of desert ecosystems. Reptiles make up one
of the dominant animals in the desert biome and the second group is
represented by burrowing animals. Snakes are important because they are
predators and they control the rodent populations.
The Namib is a cool coastal desert in southern Africa, extends along the
coast of Namibia, merging with the Kaokoveld Desert into Angola in the
north and south with the Karoo Desert in South
Africa(http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/namib_desert/
). There is an extraordinary diversity of succulent plants, as well as the
shrub-like plant Welwitschia mirabilis, which has only two leaves seen
aboveground and can live for over 1,000 years. This plant provides moisture
and nutrients for desert mammals, shelter for snakes, lizards and
arthropods, and is an attraction for eco-tourists. A number of animals and
plants have adapted to life here, including the mountain zebra, gemsbok
(Oryx Gazella), short-eared elephant shrew, Grant’s golden mole ,and Karoo
bustard (Eupodotis vigorsii)

The Thar Desert, extends over about 0.32 million km2 forming about 10%
of the total geographic area of India; ~ 60% of the desert lies in the State of
Rajasthan and 20% in Gujarat (Krishnan 1977; Sharma and Mehra 2009). It is
one of the smallest deserts of the world, has a wide variety of habitats and a
high biodiversity. It is the most densely populated desert of the world.
During summer, the maximum temperature generally varies between 40 and
45◦C, occasional reaching 51◦C. During winter, minimum temperatures may
fall to −2◦C at night. The true desert or marusthali, consisting of Jaisalmer in
its entirety, northern Barmer, and the western parts of the Jodhpur, Bikaner
and Churu districts (Sharma and Mehra, 2009). Some aspects of the
biodiversity of the Thar Desert based on Sharma and Mehra (2009) are
summarized in Box 26.4.
Termites and Ants in Deserts
In most arid regions, termites are numerous in species and number. These
insects eat and provide food for many other animals; especially important in
accelerating decomposition and nutrient-cycling rates (Orgiazzi et al., 2016).
African and Australian termites are the most diverse, whereas North
American termites are poor in diversity. Many species clear vegetation
around their nests, thus affecting plant distribution; their mounds, which are
up to five meters wide and one meter high, affect local water patterns. It has
been reported that harvester ants eat more than 100 species of seeds, but
different species often show narrow seed preferences found in the soil
surface. Ants are important seed dispersers because they drop many of the
seeds they collect; their nests also provide shelter for several other animal
species such as beetles, collembolan.
(http://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/public_path/JRC_global_soilbio_atlas_onlin
e.pdf)
26.8. Desert Ecosystem Functions
26.8.1. Net Primary Productivity
In the highly stressful desert environment, net primary productivity is
generally very low; however, it is also highly variable from time to time and
from place to place. Temporal variations are caused by the occasional input
of moisture; this allows the vegetation to grow for only a short period before
arid conditions resume. Spatial variations are due in part to the structural
patchiness of the vegetation itself, as surface soil beneath shrubs is several
times more fertile than it is between shrubs. However, deserts are regions of
low productivity in general.
Primary production in desert ecosystems is limited by precipitation,
nutrient avail-ability (especially nitrogen), and the species’ production
potential (Hadley and Szarek, 1981). The annual above-ground net primary
production varies from 30 to 300 g dry wt . m-2 yr-1in arid zones( Hadley and
Szarek, 1981). According to these workers, the lowest observed production
(2.6 g dry wt. m-2 yr-1) has been reported for a dune community during a dry
year. The average production over a four year period was 180 g dry wt m-2
yr-1 (bajada) and 137 g dry wt m-2 yr-1 (playa). The largest year-to-year
variation in above-ground production occurs for annual species in the
Mojave and Sonoran deserts, and perennial grasses in the northern
Chihuahua Desert.
 26.8.2 Foodwebs
A Schematic representation of various components and interactions in a
desert food web is shown in Fig. 26.6. For example, in Namib Desert dune
ecosystem, the grazing food chain and the detritus food chain parallel one
another, with the energy ultimately consumed by the higher trophic level
organisms being derived principally from the detritus. For the most part, the
system lacks decomposer microorganisms, whereas important detritivore
groups include termites, millipedes, and isopods (Seely and Louw, 1980). A
portion of the food web based on the grasshopper Trimerotropis
pallidipennis, an important herbivore in the Sonoran Desert, is diagrammed
in Fig. 26.7.
In deserts, food chains are long with several predation links up to the top,
in spite of the desert’s overall low primary productivity (Ayal, 2007; Megías et
al., 2011). Most of the desert’s primary productivity is not consumed by
herbivores and becomes plant litter. Plant litter in deserts is not readily
decomposed by soil micro-organisms, because of periods of low moisture.
As a result, litter is consumed by a large number of macrodetritivores ,
which are preyed upon by only slightly larger small predators, such as
arachnids and reptiles, which in turn are preyed upon by birds and
mammals. Ayal (2007) suggested that the desert food webs have different
properties that enable a high number of trophic levels with low productivity.
In desert ecosystems, the body size of the primary consumers determines
the length of food chains rather than the quantity of primary production
(Ayal, 2007; Megías et al., 2011). Omnivory, intra-guild predation, cannibalism,
and indirect effects increase the complexity of desert food webs.
Megías et al. (2011) reviewed interactions above and below ground and
food web functioning in an arid environment at the Baza Basin, in the Iberian
southeast. According to these workers, some herbivores (rabbits) and
granivores (messor ants) create nutrient and detritus-rich patches, which
have marked effects on the diversity and abundance of species both above
and below ground. Trophic interactions in this semi-arid area are numerous
and complex with many of the interactions involving more than two or three
organisms. These habitats in which organisms deal with extreme abiotic
conditions promote unusual interactions resulting in an increase of
biodiversity (Megías et al., 2011). In Negev desert, plant cover has been found
to mediate predation; some habitats support an effective third trophic level,
indicating that energy is not the major limiting factor in determining the
length of food chains (Segoli et al., 2016).
 Fig. 26.7. Schematic representation of various components and
Interactions of a food web in a desert ecosystem

Fig. 26.8. Partial food web for the grasshopper Trimerotropispa llidipennism
in the Sonoran hot Desert, north America. Solid lines indicate preferred
food items of the grasshopper and its principal predators. Dotted lines
indicate presumed predators and predator-prey relationships between
representatives of the higher trophic level (based on Hadley and Szarek,
1982).
26.8.3 Nutrient Cycling
The nutrient supply in arid regions is confined largely to the upper surface
(0- 5 cm); lower soil layers are typically “nutrient poor” due to low
decomposition and leaching rates. Large quantities of nitrogen are lost to
the atmosphere via erosion and volatilization, leaving only a small
percentage available to roots of higher plants. Nutrient return via litter and
dead plants is also strongly localized around the plants (Garcia-Moya and
McKell, 1970). The best documented spatial patterns of nutrient distributions
in arid ecosystems are the “islands of fertility” associated with shrubs and
trees. The concentric pattern of nutrients and microbial activity that results
may be an important factor limiting the establishment and growth of other
plant species in the spaces between the permanent vegetation (Muller, 1953).
Mycorrhizal fungi are known to enhance nutrition of the host plant and
receive benefit from the host plant in the form of usable energy. Desert
plants form mycorrhizae with endomycorrhizal arbuscular fungi as well as
with ectomycorrhizal fungi. Both form extensive networks of hyphae in the
soil, and glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by hyphae of arbuscular
mycorrhizal fungi, which plays a crucial in soil structure and carbon storage.
The Nitrogen Cycle describes the routes that nitrogen takes through the
ecosystem. The nitrogen cycle relies on bacteria that make nitrogen useful
to organisms and bacteria that can return it to the atmosphere (Fig.26.9).
The atmosphere (nitrogen gas) goes through the fixation of lightning and the
fixation of the organisms and into the soil organic matter (ammonia).
Symbiotic fixation by leguminous and other naturally occurring plants may
be significant in some warm-desert communities (Noy-Meir, 1974). Nitrogen
fixation by soil algae and bacteria probably provides a major input of
nitrogen in most desert ecosystems. Annual nitrogen fixation by algal lichen
crusts in the Great Basin Desert, the largest U. S. desert, was estimated at 10
to 100 kg N ha-‘ yr-~’. Blue-green algae (Anabaena and Nostoc spp.) perform a
similar function in the desert west of Alexandria, Egypt. In the Namib Desert
dune ecosystem, the major source of nitrogen is possibly obtained from uric
acid excreted by the tenebrionid beetles that forage on the accumulated
detritus (Seely and Louw, 1980). Nitrogen return via litter and dead plants is
also localized around the plants. In the soil, the organic matter is converted
by soil microorganisms to ammonium then to nitrate through the process
of nitrification (Fig. 26.9). In arid regions, nutrient levels may limit plant
productivity besides moisture availability. Nitrogen appears to be the key
limiting nutrient in most hot deserts, while in arid regions of Australia,
phosphorus levels are also often insufficient (Charley and Cowling 1968).

26.9. Human impact on Desert Ecosystems

All deserts have evolved under water scarcity and drought has not
destabilized them. But human induced degradation impacts the desert
ecosystems through habitat conversion, overgrazing, clearance of woody
vegetation, farming, irrigation-induced salinity, climate change, over-
harvesting, soil and water contamination by agrochemicals, groundwater
exploitation, and traffic and urbanization. The Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment provides details information on human impact on desert
ecosystems (MA 2005). As shown in Fig. 26.10. the impacts are excessive loss
of soil, change in vegetation composition and reduction in vegetative cover,
deterioration of water quality and reduction in available quantity, and
climate change lead to desertification. The intensity and impact of these
activities can vary from place to place and change over time depending upon
the level of aridity and the varying human pressure on the ecosystem’s
resources.
Desertification, one of the most severe types of land degradation in the
world, is of great importance because it is occurring, to some degree, on
approximately 40% of the global land area and is affecting more than 1 billion
people. In areas where the vegetation is already under stress from natural or
anthropogenic factors, periods of drier than average weather may cause
degradation of the vegetation. If the pressures are maintained, soil loss and
irreversible change in the ecosystem may begin to occur, so that areas
formerly under savanna or scrubland vegetation are reduced to desert.
Desertification is defined as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations
and human activities”(UNEP 1994). Desertification is occurring in many areas
of the world. Africa, Asia and Latin America are the most threatened by
desertification. 2/3 of the continent is desert or drylands in Africa and is
strongly linked to poverty, migration, and food security. The main regions
currently at risk of desertification are the Sahel region lying to the south of
the Sahara, parts of eastern, southern, and northwestern Africa, and large
areas of Australia, south-central Asia, and central North America (MA 2005).
According to Davies et al. (2012), human population increase has led to
steady expansion of cropping even on the most marginal lands due to
irrigation especially from the Indira Gandhi Canal in the Thar Desert of
India. Since the 1960s, changing land use has significantly affected
biodiversity, with desert-adapted species being replaced by species that
demand more water. Reptiles such as lizards, snakes, which are adapted to
survive in extremely dry environments, are likely to be affected by the
transformation of desert areas to irrigated crop fields.
26. 10. Resource Management For Desert Ecosystems
Sustainability is difficult to define for desert ecosystems and may not be
achieved by prescribing a fixed carrying capacity (such as, the number of
livestock that a particular region can sustain). Modern practices of the
sedentary pastoralists and the provision of subsidized supplemental animal
feed increase pressures on ecosystems due to long periods of stay (MA
2005). The various development pathways that can help avoid or reduce
desertification are shown in Fig. 26.11. Land users can respond to stresses by
improving their agricultural practices and livestock production, which may
lead to reduced soil erosion, and salinization. Improved management
practices can lead to high biological productivity and, improved human well-
being, besides providing political and economic stability (MA 2005).
Mobile, extensive forms of grazing have been found to be well adapted to
the highly variable resource availability in desert ecosystems (Niamir-Fuller
et al., 1999). Traditional users have learned to exploit ecosystem cycles
sustainably, by practicing mobile and regulated grazing as a means to
moderate rangeland use. Sustainable resource management policies must
respond to the pulse-reserve character of the desert ecosystem by
supporting mobile or otherwise flexible systems, which can remain
economically viable over long periods of time (UNEP, 2006).
Mitigating the “bust” part of the cycle is another important component of
the sustainable management. This includes emergency support during
drought crises, proactive management to increase societal resilience,
creating diverse rural income sources, providing credit, and sustaining rural
livelihoods during times of stress (UNEP, 2006).

Figure26.10.Schematic description of the various human factors that lead

to desertification (based on MA 2005;
www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.355.aspx.pdf )
 Figure26.11. Some

management practices to avoid or reduce desertification (based on

MA 2005;
www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.355.aspx.pdf)
26.10. Summary
i. Deserts are arid and hyperarid lands where less than 250 mm of rain falls
in a year resulting in low soil water availability, sparse growth of vegetation,
and low productivity; evaporation exceeds rainfall in these ecosystems.
ii. The deserts in Asia are including the Arabian, Mesopotamian, Persian,
and Thar deserts.
 iii. The Sahara of North Africa is the largest desert in the world.
iv. In the southern hemisphere, the main deserts are the Atacama, Puna,
and Monte Deserts in South America, the Namib and the Karoo in southern
Africa, and the vast expanse of the Australian Deserts.
v. Deserts show high spatial and temporal variability of the abiotic
environment; the temperature varies greatly depending on the location of
the desert.
vi. The deserts in spite of their low productivity have high biodiversity,
diverse life-forms and adaptations. The reptiles, including snakes, tortoises
and lizards are one of the more familiar species groups associated with
deserts.
vii. Desert genetic biodiversity is the key to improving dryland agricultural
productivity.
viii. The Thar Desert in India supports rich biodiversity because of its
unique location at a biological crossroads of the Indian subcontinent.
ix. The Namib Desert has a shrub-like endemic plant Welwitschia
mirabilis, which has only two leaves and can live for over 1,000 years.
x. In desert ecosystems, both plants and animals adapt to scarcity of water
either through evasion or resistance to drought.
xi. In the highly stressful desert environment, net primary productivity is
generally very low, variable over time and space, complex feeding and
predator-prey relationships; food chains are long with several predation
links up to the top.
xii. In arid regions, nutrient levels may limit plant productivity besides
moisture availability. Nitrogen appears to be the key limiting nutrient in
most hot deserts
xiii. Land users can respond to land degradation and stresses by improving
their agricultural practices and livestock production, practicing mobile and
regulated grazing, and proactive management to increase societal resilience.

you can view video on Desert Ecosystem

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