Desert Ecosystem

Plants grow more spread out in the desert allowing bare ground between them. This adaptations allows the plants to collect more water from seasonal rain.

NPS/ Kenneth Ingham

Hot, dry, and unpredictable the climate of Parashant can be difficult to survive. Alkaline soils and little water and shade have contributed to the evolutionary changes of the plants and animals that call this place home.

Desert plant life differs greatly from that of tropical forests. While the forests compete for light and grow vertically, desert plants compete for water. It is because of this that plants growing in the desert grow lower to the ground and more spread out.

Desert plants have adapted to control water and light intake in a number of ways. Leaf orientation on some plants minimizes light exposure. Leaves with light colors maximize reflection. Deep taproots extract water supplies from below the ground and tiny hairs or spines create a barrier between the surface of the plant and the harsh environment.

Animals have also adapted an array of strategies to survive in the southwest desert. These include changes in their behavior, morphology, and physiology to balance body temperature and hydration.Animals may be nocturnal or burrow below the ground when temperatures are high. They may forage during the cooler parts of the day, like morning and early evening. Their morphology may be a small body with long arms or legs to radiated heat, or they may have light colored fur to reflect incoming radiation. Some animals are able to minimize water loss with efficient kidneys that concentrate urine allowing them to excrete uric acid (salts) but retain the water in their bodies.