Investigating Earth's Desert, Grassland, and Rainforest Biomes

Investigating Earth's Desert, Grassland, and Rainforest Biomes — page 5
CHAPTER 1 THE DESERT ENVIRONMENT A biome is a large region of Earth that has a certain climate and certain types of living things Occupying some 20 percent of the Earth's surface des erts are one of the planet's major types of biomes Any barren region that supports very little life may be called a desert More com monly however the term desert is reserved for regions that are barren because they are arid or dry Arid deserts receive little precipitation and are characterized by specialized plants that tolerate drought conditions and salty soils Deserts may or may not be hot Land features range from windswept expanses of loose sand to rugged mountains bare rock and plateaus strewn with gravel and boulders CLIMATE Deserts are areas in which there is a shortage of moisture available for plants There is no precise measure of how dry such an area must be to be called a desert Characteristically