Blog #3: Why Do Plants Differ From One Another? – Habitat Differences

“Why Do Plants Differ From One Another? – Habitat Differences

What Is a Desert?

A desert is an area of land that is large, extremely dry and has sparse vegetation [2]. Deserts are commonly characterized by their lack of rainfall [4]. Deserts can get less than ten inches of precipitation per year, and evaporation is usually greater than rainfall [4]. This causes deserts to have dryer climates than other areas of the world. Deserts usually have high temperatures in the summer, but they can also have extremely cold temperatures in the winter [4]. This can happen, especially differing from day and night, because they lack insulation in the night, which is usually provided by clouds and humidity [4]. Deserts are one of Earth’s major ecosystems, and they support large communities of plants and animals, which especially adapt to the desert’s harsh environment [2]. Specific desert plants, however, are short-lived and spring up only when the rain comes [4]. Plants like cacti have special abilities that allow them to adapt to the desert [4]. Cacti can absorb and store water, which helps them continue to thrive through long periods of droughts and water shortages [4]. Other animals have different ways to store food and water and often come out only at night as a way to avoid high temperatures throughout the day [4].

What Is a Tropical Forest?

A tropical rainforest is a luxuriant forest that is found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands around the equator [3]. Tropical rainforests make up one of the Earth’s largest biomes, which are life zones, and are dominated by broad-leaved trees that form a dense upper canopy and contain an array of vegetation and other species of life [3]. Approximately 80% of the world’s animals can be found in tropical rainforests, even though tropical rainforests only cover around 6% of the Earth’s land surface [1]. Tropical rainforests used to cover 12% of the Earth’s land surface some time ago [1]. On the contrary to deserts, tropical forests are very wet places and receive more than 200cm of rainfall per year, occurring either seasonally or throughout the year [1].

How Are They Different?

In summary, deserts are very dry and cover a large area, while tropical rainforests are often wet and humid. Deserts are opposites to tropical rainforests in this way. Moreover, deserts are commonly known as having very little to no rainfall. This can be detrimental to plants that live there, which is why they have developed techniques to thrive easier. Cacti grow spikes to ward off predators and disable their predators’ ability to steal water from them. This is different from tropical forestry plants since their priority is to maintain an appropriate amount of water without becoming waterlogged. Therefore, tropical forestry plants must attempt to block water as much as possible.

Citations:

[1] Discover tropical rainforests. WWF. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/importance_forests/tropical_rainforest/

[2] Smith, J. M. B. (n.d.). Desert. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/science/desert

[3] Smith, J. M. B. (n.d.). Tropical rainforest. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/science/tropical-rainforest

[4] World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). Deserts. WWF. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats/deserts#:~:text=Some%20desert%20habitats%20are%20short,survive%20long%20periods%20of%20drought.