Investigating Earth's Desert, Grassland, and Rainforest Biomes

Investigating Earth's Desert, Grassland, and Rainforest Biomes — page 1
INTRODUCTION Any amount of traveling around the world reveals a constantly changing landscape alive with abundant and diverse plants animals climates and landforms Biomes are major ecological communities large areas of Earth in which particular animals and plants and environ mental conditions are found Deserts grasslands and rainforests are three biomes that cover a sig nificant part of our lively and varied planet This volume investigates this varied trio offering a broad overview of some of the most fascinating regions on Earth About 20 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by deserts Although deserts are typically thought of as hot they may also be cold Most of the world's hot deserts are between 20° and 35° north and south of the equator The main temperate cold deserts are found in the middle latitudes Desert landscapes range from bare rock to boulders to sand Such arid areas receive scanty precipitation and vegetation is meager Yet little of the desert is entirely desolate Desert dwelling plants and ani mals are expressly adapted to the severe conditions of this biome Following a good rain plants and flow ers bloom with vibrant colors Most deserts sport grasses North America's Sonoran Desert is spot ted with the distinctive saguaro cactus Carnegiea