How plants survive in the desert

how plants survive in the desert adaptations

Deserts are areas of the world whose climatic characteristics are extreme. There are quite hostile conditions for life to develop in good conditions. Therefore, many plants and animals must generate new adaptations in order to survive in these environments. Today we are going to talk about how plants survive in the desert. There are incredible adaptations that have allowed plants to survive in these vast deserts.

In this article we are going to tell you how plants survive in the desert and what adaptations they need to do so.

Desert climate

how plants survive in the desert

In the desert climate the evapotranspiration process reigns. It is the loss of moisture that is localized on a surface due to direct evaporation caused by solar radiation and increased temperatures. To this was added the little perspiration that exists from the water of the plants. The evapotranspiration phenomenon causes the amount of rainfall to remain at a very low value throughout the year. Values ​​that remain at 250 mm per year. It is a fairly scarce data, which characterizes the lack of vegetation and humidity in the environment. One of the best known places on the planet as an example of a desert climate scenario is the Sahara desert.

The desert climate is generally characterized by being located near the tropics. The latitude in which most deserts are found are around 15 and 35 degrees. In this kind of weather evaporations are greater than precipitations. The rate of evaporation has a higher value than that of precipitation. This is what makes the soils do not allow the gestation of plant life.

In areas of the Middle East they have an average of 20 centimeters of rain per year. However, the amount of evaporation exceeds 200 centimeters. This means that the evaporation rate is up to 10 times higher than the precipitation rate. Because of this, the humidity is very low.

How plants survive in the desert

heat-adapted sheets

Once we know what the characteristics of the desert climate are, we are going to see what series of adaptations the plants have had to generate to survive in these climates. Let's see what they are:

Greater water conservation

Plants that learn how to survive in the desert are better able to conserve water. We know that plants lose water through the evapotranspiration process. This process is the movement of water through the plant into the atmosphere. The plants that have a greater surface are those that perspire faster and lose a greater amount of water. They need to have as much water as they can to survive. Many of the arid plants have miniature leaves or thorns that reduce their surface area to minimize water loss through the evapotranspiration process.

The thorns not only reduce water losses but also help deter animals from eating the plant. There are many animals that only They eat plants in the desert to supply their water. One group of plants that has this water conservation strategy is Sclerolaena.

Heat protection

Another strategy to learn how plants survive in the desert is protection against heat. We know that deserts have very high temperatures during the day and very low at night. Plants with green leaves can absorb heat. This makes them not every interesting in a desert. In a desert, absorbing heat is the last thing a plant wants. Therefore, another of the adaptations of these plants is to have the leaves with a gray, blue or a mixture of gray, blue and green color. This mix of colors helps reduce heat absorption. For example, a bush or bluish-gray can reduce the heat absorption of its leaves thanks to its bluish-gray color.

How plants survive in the desert: reproduction

desert plants

Reproduction is another aspect to take into account when there is too much heat in a place. People often flee the heat by staying indoors. This is also done by a number of annual plant species. And there are several annual plants that complete their short life cycles during the rainy season. Its cycle is to grow, produce seeds and die. The seeds remain dormant and are able to survive in dry environments.

When the environmental conditions outside are favorable, the seeds finish and the plants can take advantage of those favorable humidity conditions. Normally during this time when they have more humidity is when in the desert you can see more plants.

Drought tolerance

Another of the adaptations that plants generate in the desert is tolerance to drought. During the summer months or prolonged dry spells, drought-tolerant plants tend to appear dead. They are plants that reduce their activity to a minimum. The most normal thing is that they look like simple plants like lack of leaves and without foliage that are dead. However, they are in a dormant state while waiting for the rain.

Finally, another of the adaptations to know how plants survive in the desert is the photosynthesis rate. Photosynthesis is nothing more than the conversion of carbon dioxide, water, and energy from the sun into sugar and oxygen. Plants absorb carbon dioxide through stomata. In hot weather the stomata swell and the water evaporates us. This helps reduce water loss. On the contrary, in cold climates the stomata are always open. The C4 pathway is what helps desert plants absorb carbon dioxide without losing water. It is a different structure within your cells that allows it to fix carbon dioxide in very low concentrations of water and high temperatures.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about how plants survive in the desert.


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