Describe in detail the climate graph for the hot desert Fig 9'2 on page 70 of your textbook'

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HOT DESERTS
Describe in detail the climate graph for the hot
desert (Fig 9.2 on page 70 of your textbook). If
you need to, look back at the note in your jotter
about how to do this! Can you get the seven
points?
DID YOU KNOW? It is not that the deserts are HOT
that makes them a desert it is their DRYNESS!
Three temperature points
Three precipitation points
One general statement
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Need an Atlas?
Describe the location of the hot deserts (Name
the continents and some countries in the
continents.)
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Why are the hot deserts where they are?
Remember how hot the Equatorial area was? The
rising hot air loses its moisture at the Equator
where it rains so much. Empty clouds move
towards the 30 degree latitudes. There, the
clouds return to ground level, but do not bring
rain!
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Write the following labels in the correct boxes
on the map on the handout. You will need to use
one of the labels twice.
Cooler air over the tropics sinks. It then
becomes warm and is less likely to cause rain
Warm wet air rises at the equator. As it rises,
it cools down and is likely to form cloud and
cause rain.
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Read 9C and 9D on pages 70-71 in the text
book. Then answer questions 2,3 and 4 from the
core questions on page 73.
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Hot Desert Vegetation
The climate does not favour plant growth, yet
most desert regions have some vegetation. How do
they survive?
I have waxy stems that keep in any water I get
I have long roots that go down to the water
table
I have spines- not leaves- to stop water loss
from leaf pores
I have seeds that stay in the sandy soil until
there is enough rain to germinate
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What is so great about a CACTUS? It has
A fleshy succulent stem which stores water
A thick waxy skin to reduce water loss by
evaporation and transpiration
Spikes to protect plant from animals eating it.
Deep roots to tap underground water
Extensive roots to tap water over a wide area and
to fix the plant in the sandy soil
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What is a OASIS? (No- not the band!)
An oasis is where the groundwater lies near to
the surface and can be used by plants, animals
and man.
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Date palm trees are often found in oases. They
are a useful plant as the dates can be eaten, the
leaves are used to make things (roof thatch,
baskets) and the trunk is a source of
timber. Water at oases can also be used to
irrigate crops
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The people of the hot deserts
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The Bedouin of Arabia and the Tuareg of the
Sahara are nomadic pastoralists who wander the
desert with herd of camels, sheep and goats.
Nomads are groups who move around all the time
Pastoralists keep animals that eat grass.
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The nomadic groups wander all year round in
search of fresh water and pasture. They move in
family groups and follow regular routes. Since
they move about so much they travel light.
Put the heading Traditional Lifestyles and make
your own note about the Bedouin and Tuareg
nomadic pastoralists.
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CHANGING LIFESTYLE

• Oil discovery (e.g. in Kuwait)
• provide opportunities for employment, encouraging
  nomads to settle in one area.
• Creating irrigation schemes and new wells promote
  sedentary farming (fixed in one place) and so the
  nomads settle in one area.

good
good
Wait a minute- can these changes not cause
problems?
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Yup- its called DESERTIFICATION !

• Little vegetation
• Few trees
• Bare soil
• Gullies starting to form
• No food for animals or people

This causes
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• Desertification is when severe land overuse
  causes the good land on the edge of a desert to
  turn into desert.

Stick in the following handout which shows the
main causes of desertification.
More People
Overgrazing
More Animals
Deforestation
More Firewood
DESERTIFICATION The land provides less food
BARE SOILS
More Crops
Overcultivation
More Water
Wells Dry up
Add the labels
Insects Eat crops
Natural Hazards
Drought
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Are there any solutions to the desertification
problem?

• In the short term, when famines begin in areas
  (e.g Ethiopia, Darfur or Niger), international
  communities send help in the form of money, food
  and shelter.

But does this actually solve the problem?
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Live as if you will die tomorrow, but farm as if
you will live forever.
old desert saying
What does it mean?

• In the long term, it really can only be sorted
  if people live carefully, within the means of
  their environment.
• Not being greedy or careless with the resources
  around them is all that can really be done!

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Here are some practical tips!
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Dune fixation
Making shelter belts
Building fences to stop overgrazing
Planting trees to provide firewood.
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Planting Marram Grass
Planting suitable trees
Discuss these points then use this information
and the methods on the handout to design a poster
that promotes good farming practises and revents
desertification.
Making trickle irrigation
Making windbreaks
Practicing crop rotation
Controlling grazing areas
End of hot deserts