Desert ecosystems are terrestrial biomes characterized by chronically low precipitation, high evapotranspiration, and large diurnal temperature fluctuations, resulting in water-limited primary productivity and sparse, highly specialized biota. Vegetation often exhibits xerophytic adaptations such as CAM or C4 photosynthesis, deep or extensive root systems, reduced leaf area, and osmotic adjustment, while fauna display behavioral and physiological strategies for water conservation and thermal regulation. Biogeochemical cycles are strongly pulsed, with episodic rainfall events driving rapid nutrient mineralization and biological activity. Desert ecosystems are structured by resource heterogeneity (e.g., “resource islands”), soil crust communities, and disturbance regimes including wind erosion and episodic flooding.
Though superbloom is not a scientific term, that doesn't stop legions from hoping for a giant display of wildflowers come springtime. UC Riverside plant ecologist Loralee Larios weighs in here on the outlook for such a show ...
Ecology
20 hours ago
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Mexican long-nosed bats have a taste for agave, their tongues designed to lap up the famous desert plant's nectar during nightly flights. It's not just a means of satisfying taste buds. It's a matter of fueling up for an ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2026
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Desertification is accelerating under climate change, threatening biodiversity, food security, and human well-being across the Mediterranean Basin, southern Europe, and the Middle East. Water scarcity and land degradation ...
Ecology
Jan 31, 2026
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A new global study shows that increasing soil salinity is systematically reshaping the storage and distribution of soil inorganic carbon (SIC), a key but often-overlooked part of terrestrial ecosystems. The findings, published ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 22, 2026
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Although sunlight is one of the cleanest forms of renewable energy available, clearing large swathes of desert habitat to build solar arrays has consequences for the plants and animals it displaces. Researchers are trying ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 15, 2026
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A new study shows that resilient and remarkably diverse populations of organisms can persist in the soil despite harsh and extremely dry conditions. An international team led by researchers from the University of Cologne, ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 13, 2026
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For decades, researchers have focused on the problem of overgrazing, in which expanding herds of cattle and other livestock degrade grasslands, steppes and desert plains. But a new global study reveals that in large regions ...
Ecology
Jan 12, 2026
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The Namib desert of south-western Africa can be extremely hot—the surface temperature can be over 50°C. But a surprising number of around 200 beetle species live on its bare, inhospitable-looking sand dunes.
Plants & Animals
Jan 7, 2026
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35
Sulfur butterflies glide across Zorrillo Canyon, hundreds of them, moving back and forth against the cerulean sky. It's nothing short of a fairy wonderland for the scientists below.
Plants & Animals
Jan 5, 2026
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You might think of Australia's arid center as a dry desert landscape devoid of aquatic life. But it's actually dotted with thousands of rock holes—natural rainwater reservoirs that act as little oases for tiny freshwater ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 5, 2025
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