Daily Question, Agenda, and Opener

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Daily Question, Agenda, and Opener

• April 15 DQ How do living things survive in the
  desert?
• Opener
• Observation of FAST PLANTS
• In your geography spiral, draw a picture of the
  desert environment. What would you see there?
• Agenda
• Defining a desert
• Desert Survival Game

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Adaptations to Life in the Desert

• How do living things survive in the desert?

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When I say desert, you probably think of
something like this
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But what about these
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What is a desert?

• Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's
  surface and occur where rainfall is less than 50
  cm/year.

Based on this definition, is Denver a desert with
15.40 cm of precipitation a year?
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Types of Deserts

• Hot and Dry
• Sahel
• Semi-Arid
• Colorado
• Cold
• Antarctica
• Coastal
• Chile

• From left Red Rock Canyon National Conservation
  Area, southern Nevada
• sagebrush near Bridger, Montana Castle Valley,
  Utah, east of Arches National Park.

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I. Define Adaptation

• Change in the way of life to suite new
  conditions.
• Wearing shorts when its hot outside
• Growing thick fur

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II. Adaptations to Life in the Desert

• A. Long, loose fitting clothes
• B. Staying on the move
• 1. Nomads
• C. Camels

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II. Human Adaptations to Life in the Desert

• D. Technology
• 1. Lightweight metal and plastic. Satellite
  phones

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Take a moment with your group

• What do the plants look like in the desert?
• Are they vascular, nonvascular, seed producing?
• What adaptations do they have to allow them to
  survive in the desert? Think beyond roots, stems,
  and leaves- what other structures may they have
  to help them survive?

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III. Plant Adaptations
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III. Food in the Desert

• Grow crops that like dry climates
• 1. Millet and sorghum
• B. Shifting agriculture
• 1. Practicing of moving one area for farming for
  a few years and then moving on to another area
  when the first has lost its fertility (ability to
  grow).
• a. crop rotation

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IV. Problems with Life in the Desert

• Desertification
• 1. Process of land becoming more and more dry
  until it turns into a desert.
• 2. Happens through deforestation (cutting down
  of trees) for heat leads to erosion.
• a. Cut down trees --gt Erosion--gt Land to loss
  its fertility/soil cant hold moisture--gt
  desertification

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Human Caused Desertification in Africa
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