In this lesson we are going to discuss the desert vegetation, types and the location
Answer Text: Desert VegetationTropical Desert Vegetation- Found in tropical deserts.Characteristics• Vegetation is present except in bare rock and sand covered areas.• There are more plants on oasis e.g. date palms and a variety of shrubs.• Some plants are succulent to have high water storage capacity.• Some have spikes to protect them from animals.• Some have thorn-like leaves to reduce rate of transpiration.• Some have long roots to enable them to tap water from deeper parts of rocks.• Some shed leaves during dry season and grow new leaves during wet periods to reduce water loss.• Some are salt tolerant (halophytic) by having many water storing cells to counter soil salinity or alkalinity.Temperate and Arctic Desert Vegetation- Found in warm temperate deserts and arctic climates.Characteristics• Grasses and woody plants.• Woody plants which are Xerophytic and halophytic.• Shrubs have shallow roots due to permafrost.• Plants flower and produce fruits within short wet season.• There is scarce vegetation in Tundra.• Plants present in arctic deserts are such as lichens, mosses and flowering plants such as anemones and marshmarigold.Uses of Desert Vegetation(a) Bilberries in temperate deserts bear edible fruits.(b) Small trees are source of fuel foe Eskimos who live in arctic region.(c) Vegetation in tropical deserts is important in arresting sand dunes to prevent them from burying oasis and settlements.(d) In tropical deserts fringes vegetation is valuable food for animals.(e) Date palm is cultivated for its fruit.
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