People think of the Sahara Desert as a hopeless wasteland with slim prospects for living things. While it is something of a barren wasteland, there are enough Sahara Desert plants that it can also be described as teaming with life. Conditions such as little water or hot temperatures aren’t as important as the way that plants adapt to survive in this harsh environment.
Following the last Ice Age the Sahara desert was quite different than it is at present. Sahara Desert plants were far more abundant, and of the type that thrived on much more water. Today many of the plant species there not only can make it with little water, they do better when the water is scarce as it is in a desert. It’s like people who live in cold climates. The cold may look difficult, but they would die in a warmer environment.
Typical Sahara Desert plants include shrubs and grasses. Since grass grows over such a large area and has an easier time of finding water. These desert grasses aren’t like the lush green lawns found in suburban yards, but they survive in an environment where not much can make it. The same can be said of the trees that don’t grow wide leaves.
Sahara desert plants don’t often have wide leaves because there’s too much surface area there. Hot, dry conditions of a desert cause rapid evaporation. Plants can’t afford to lose too much moisture. Evaporation goals wild over the wide expanse of a leaf. But thin needles don’t promote evaporation. The same reason applies to why cacti have thick trunks, so evaporation is less rapid. It’s all a matter of holding onto moisture during the long dry periods.
Sahara desert plants also have to survive in soil that’s full of salt. Halphytes thrive in the desert, that is plants that are fine with a lot of salt.
The Sahara desert can be rough. But Sahara desert plants do their best because where there’s a will there’s a way.
Mail this postPopularity: unranked [?]
1 Comment Already
Pingback & Trackback
Sorry the comment area are closed