Having moved from the city of Los Angeles to the city of Hesperia, there were many changes I needed to get use to. One of those major changes was the change of scenery from green front lawns to bare dirt. Hesperia is only an hour and a half northeast of Los Angeles, yet the environment in Hesperia made it seem like I moved to another state. I could not understand why in Hesperia people did not grass in their properties, or fruit trees. I soon found out in school that Hesperia had arid soils, which are actually the most prevalent soils in the world. Arid soils also known as desert soils have very important characteristics that distinguish them from other soils. These characteristics are influenced by the climate that most arid soils find themselves in.
Deserts, where arid soils are found in, cover roughly 1/5-1/3 of the worlds
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Because of this diversity, no practical definition of arid environments can be derived. For this reason, there are three arid zones that arid soils can fall under. The hyper-arid zone comprises of dryland areas without vegetation, with the exception of a few scattered shrubs. The annual rainfall for this zone is low, rarely exceeding 100 millimeters. The rainfall that does occur is usually infrequent and irregular and sometimes it does not rain for long periods over a stretch several years. The second zone is known as the arid zone where vegetation is sparse, and is usually shrubs and small trees. The rainfall in this zone varies annually between 100 and 300 millimeters (The Arid Environments). The last zone is the semi-arid zone, where the vegetation is compromised of grasses, shrubs and trees. The annual precipitation in this zone varies sees 300-800 millimeters of rain in the summer, and 200-500 millimeters of rain in the winter (The Arid
These conditions did not come swiftly and technically started during the 1800’s, when pioneers first started to settle there. Their “cattle overgrazed the land, stripping it of the shrubby grasses that had held the soil in place for centuries” and they “used growing methods common to the more humid eastern United States” because that’s all the pioneers knew about farming (Gale,
How does the vegetation surface type affect the amount of runoff? Speculate why this happens.
The Sahara desert is known as the largest dessert in the world, it covers a third of the continent of Africa. The thing about the desert is that it is always changing, new vegetation is sprouting and animals are dying and being born. During the day the desert is very hot, about 50 degrees Celsius, but at night time temperatures can drop very low. In the night is when the desert rains, for temperatures are too hot during the day for clouds to accumulate above them, and water is limited so there isn’t much precipitation.
In North China, there is high temperature and low rainfall. High summer temperature is due to continental climate. Also, hot dry winds occasionally blow towards Loess Plateau from Gobi Desert in the north. Summer temperature of Less Plateau is high, e.g. Xian ever reached 42.5℃. High summer temperature causes the high evaporation and lead to dryness. The precipitation reduces. Finally, it causes the expansion of dry areas and drought. Water scarcity becomes worse.
The European settlers who first arrived at the Great Plains found hardy grasslands that held the fine-grained soil in place in spite of the long recurrent droughts and occasional torrential rains. A large number of the travelers settled down in this area and built farms and ranches. These land uses led to soil exposure and great erosion. The cattle ranches were very profitable for the settlers; unfortunately, this led to overgrazing and degradation of the soil. In addition, farmers began to plow the natural grass cover and plant their own crops. Without the original root systems of the grass to anchor the soil, much of it blew away. The wide row crops were very disastrous because between the crops, the land was kept bare; as a result, this area was exposed to the elements. Also, the nutrients in the soil were used up by the plants faster than they could be replaced. The soil had become exhausted.
The rich dark soil of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado—an area also known as the Great Plains—formed from thousands of years of soil forming factors in action (Surviving the Dust Bowl). From the beginning of human populations living in the area, the soils, for the most part, remained untouched and unscathed by the plow. Thick prairie grasses covered the area and held the soils in the ground even during the periodic times of drought. This area of land was suitable for grazing practices and it was in this area that the large cattle ranches flourished. Little did the newly arrived farmers realize that this seemingly plentiful land followed a pattern of several years of rain followed by several years of drought and high winds.
Africa has a regular coastline characterized by few indentations. Because of the smooth coastline, natural harbors were non-existent. Today, however, there are important coastal cities, such as Lagos and Dakar. With the exception of the Mediterranean coast, most of the coastline is low-lying , generally narrow and rising sharply to high elevations. The African climate and topography varies greatly. Although temperatures are usually high, due to being so close to the equator, rainfall, soil quality and elevations are of various degrees. Because most of the African continent has not been covered by water for millions of years, soils have developed according to their weathering e...
The biome I have chosen is the temperate rain forest. These types of forest are homes to a few and very amazing species . The temperate rain forest are mainly made of conifer trees. They also receive high rainfall every year. The average amount of rainfall it gets is 140 centimeters, or 55 inches a year. That is a total amount of 4.58333… feet in year-round rainfall.
Due to the moderating effect, this ecozone has long, mild summers (18 to 22°C) and cool, short winters (-3 to -12°C), with around 720 to 1000mm of precipitation, and 180 to 260 growing days annually. The Westerlies can also alter the weather quickly in this ecozone.
most evident in arid and semi-arid areas. [2] At least 1 million people are permanently
The whole region consists of vast deserts and semi-arid lands (See Attachment 2. Geographical ... ... middle of paper ... ... /aralsea/ asa_dis.htm Operational Research http://www.msf.org/aralsea/op_res.htm
Agriculture also leads to soil erosion, both through rainfall and wind. This soil can damage the aquatic ecosystems it ends up in, an...
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good
The Sahara’s climate is very hot and dry. Although it is very hot during the day, it does become cold at night. On average, it only has 8 inches of rainfall per year. The Sahara's climate consists of b...
Drought is a difficult thing to measure, mainly because of all the different factors that are involved when determining the kind of drought, its intensity, and the length of the drought. Because drought can be defined in many different ways by many people, these are the three most frequently used: Meteorological, Agricultural, and Hydrological drought (What is Drought, n.d.). A Meteorological drought is typically defined by the degree of dryness and the span of the dry period. Agricultural drought focuses on the precipitation shortages, soil water deficits, and reduced ground water or reservoir levels needed for irrigation. The Hydrological drought occurs after periods of continuous lack of precipitation that reduces the water supply, impacting the community (What is Drought, n.d.). When determining whether the drought is short...