Human Impacts on the Biome

In my discoveries today I learned all about how humans impact the desert biome. We are impacting this biome in more ways than you would think. Many types of human activities affect the desert biome, like off roading when we run our vehicles over the desert soil and carve the tracks into the soil that will scar the land for many years. These tracks can kill off vegetation in the desert when the vegetation is hurt so are the animals. Animals that rely on the sandy desert floor for camouflage can be harmed. We also affect the water in the desert without even knowing what it does to the ecosystem. There is so little water that moves through the desert, the plants are provided with water from irrigation from rivers and wells. By removing fossil water, humans are destroying water that other animals were relying on for survival. 

The water cycle

Today on my journey through the desert biome I learned all about the water cycle in the desert. I found this really interesting because rain fall is so scarce in this specific biome. Though it is scarce, the water cycle still happens. When it rains, the plants suck up whatever they can and store it in their roots. An example of a plant in the desert that conserves water is the cactus. When it rains, the plants must store the water because the water cycle moves so slowly in the desert. The desert watersheds are often located underground in aquifers. Water held in a desert watershed rarely ever makes it into the ocean. Even though the desert biome does not frequently go through the water cycle, it still happens. 

Energy Pyramid

One example for each type of symbiotic relationship

An example of parasitism in the desert would be a flea on a coyote. The flea gets a delicious meal, but the coyote gets sick. An example of mutualism in the desert would be a mistletoe plant and a phainopepla bird. The phainopepla bird eats berries off the mistletoe plant and digests the seeds, unintentionally laying them in the soil of the desert. This ensures the survival of the mistletoe plant. An example of commensalism in the desert would be a cactus wren building its nest in a cholla cactus. The cactus wren gains a place to protect its young from predators and the cactus in neither helped nor harmed. 

Climatograph of the desert

Summer and Winter Climate Information

Today I have arrived in the desert. So far I have learned the average temperatures of the desert are 80-110 degrees, but the extreme temperature is 120 degrees. In the winter, the temperature drops as low as 28-39 degrees.