From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Xeric” redirects here. For the comic book grant foundation, see Xeric Foundation.
In isolation, Hawai'i's
Silverswords have adapted to xeric microclimates within volcanic craters, trapping and channeling dew and protecting leaves with reflective hairs.
Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by a dry climate. Deserts and xeric shrublands receive an annual average rainfall of ten inches or less, and have an arid or hyperarid climate, characterized by a strong moisture deficit, where annual potential loss of moisture from evapotranspiration well exceeds the moisture received as rainfall. Deserts and xeric shrublands occur in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climate regions.
Desert soils tend to be sandy or rocky, and low in organic materials. Saline or alkaline soils are common.
Plants and animals in deserts and xeric shrublands are adapted to low moisture conditions. Hyperarid regions are mostly devoid of vegetation and animal life, and include rocky deserts and sand dunes. Vegetation in arid climate regions can include sparse grasslands, shrublands, and woodlands. Plants adapted to arid climates are called xerophytes, and include succulent plants, geophytes, sclerophyll, and annual plants. Animals, including insects, reptiles, arachnids, birds and mammals, are frequently nocturnal to avoid moisture loss.
[edit] See also
[edit] Desert and xeric shrublands ecoregions
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Afrotropic Deserts and xeric shrublands edit
|
| Aldabra Island xeric scrub |
Seychelles |
| Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert |
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen |
| East Saharan montane xeric woodlands |
Chad, Sudan |
| Eritrean coastal desert |
Djibouti, Eritrea |
| Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands |
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan |
| Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert |
Oman, United Arab Emirates |
| Hobyo grasslands and shrublands |
Somalia |
| Ile Europa and Bassas da India xeric scrub |
Bassas da India, Europa |
| Kalahari xeric savanna |
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa |
| Kaokoveld desert |
Angola, Namibia |
| Madagascar spiny thickets |
Madagascar |
| Madagascar succulent woodlands |
Madagascar |
| Masai xeric grasslands and shrublands |
Ethiopia, Kenya |
| Nama Karoo |
Namibia, South Africa |
| Namib desert |
Namibia |
| Namibian savanna woodlands |
Namibia |
| Red Sea coastal desert |
Egypt, Sudan |
| Socotra Island xeric shrublands |
Yemen |
| Somali montane xeric woodlands |
Somalia |
| Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna |
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen |
| Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands |
Saudi Arabia, Yemen |
| Succulent Karoo |
South Africa |
| Neotropic Deserts and xeric shrublands edit |
| Araya and Paria xeric scrub |
Venezuela |
| Aruba-Curaçao-Bonaire cactus scrub |
Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao |
| Atacama desert |
Chile, Peru |
| Caatinga |
Brazil |
| Cayman Islands xeric scrub |
Cayman Islands |
| Cuban cactus scrub |
Cuba |
| Galápagos Islands xeric scrub |
Ecuador |
| Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub |
Colombia, Venezuela |
| La Costa xeric shrublands |
Venezuela |
| Leeward Islands xeric scrub |
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, Saba, US Virgin Islands |
| Malpelo Island xeric scrub |
Colombia |
| Motagua Valley thornscrub |
Guatemala |
| Paraguana xeric scrub |
Venezuela |
| San Lucan xeric scrub |
Mexico |
| Sechura desert |
Peru |
| Tehuacán Valley matorral |
Mexico |
| Windward Islands xeric scrub |
Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Saint Peter and Saint Paul rocks |
Brazil |
| Palearctic Deserts and xeric shrublands edit |
| Afghan Mountains semi-desert |
Afghanistan |
| Alashan Plateau semi-desert |
China, Mongolia |
| Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrublands |
Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen |
| Atlantic coastal desert |
Mauritania, Western Sahara |
| Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe |
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran |
| Badkhiz-Karabil semi-desert |
Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| Baluchistan xeric woodlands |
Afghanistan, Pakistan |
| Caspian lowland desert |
Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan |
| Central Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands |
Afghanistan |
| Central Asian northern desert |
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan |
| Central Asian riparian woodlands |
Kazakhstan |
| Central Asian southern desert |
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| Central Persian desert basins |
Afghanistan, Iran |
| Eastern Gobi desert steppe |
China, Mongolia |
| Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe |
Mongolia |
| Great Lakes Basin desert steppe |
Mongolia, Russia |
| Junggar Basin semi-desert |
China, Mongolia |
| Kazakh semi-desert |
Kazakhstan |
| Kopet Dag semi-desert |
Iran, Turkmenistan |
| Mesopotamian shrub desert |
Iraq, Jordan, Syria |
| North Saharan steppe and woodlands |
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco Tunisia, Western Sahara |
| Paropamisus xeric woodlands |
Afghanistan |
| Persian Gulf desert and semi-desert |
Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates |
| Qaidam Basin semi-desert |
China |
| Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert |
Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen |
| Rigestan-North Pakistan sandy desert |
Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan |
| Sahara desert |
Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia |
| South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert |
Iran, Iraq, Pakistan |
| South Saharan steppe and woodlands |
Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan |
| Taklimakan desert |
China |
| Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands |
Chad, Egypt, Libya, Sudan |
| West Saharan montane xeric woodlands |
Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger |
[edit] External links
