HUMANS AND THE DESERT

HUMANS AND THE DESERT

When I think of where I'd like to live a desert isn't really the first place that springs to mind, so I was surprised to learn that around the world more than 300 million people live within deserts. but then as one third of the worlds surface is covered by deserts its going to be inevitable as the population grows.

It must be remembered that all of the desert environments are different, not just boiling sun and sand dunes. However all the desert communities face one big issue, the search for water. 


Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is one of the glitziest cities in the USA, a popular holiday destination for many around the world looking to visit the gambling capital of the USA. Located in the Mojave Desert and with a population of just over half a million residents Las Vegas should not work, a desert water supply would not be able to maintain such a large developed area with an average rainfall of 20cm per year. The introduction of the Hoover Dam . has regulated water supplies which supply Las Vegas and the surrounding areas. The Hoover Dam looks as if it could supply the area with water for years to come, but in actual fact the dam only contains enough water to supply the 29 million homes of the south west for a year.

The Mojave desert also has other uses.

• Tourism: The introduction of adventure tourism is perfect within the landscape. The desert environment can be used for off-roading, extreme biking, rock climbing, hiking and rock climbing. 
• The location is often used with films 
• The military often use desert areas to test out new air crafts.

 

Las Vegas 'The Desert City'

THE DESERT

THE DESERT

The desert to me (even thought I've been there) is a vast landscape where not a lot really happens, this blog will explore how wrong I am.

This is the image which immediately comes to mind when I think desert, high sand dunes, little water and camels.

So what is a desert? A desert is any place which receives less than 10 inches of rainfall a year. Due to the very low rainfall desert regions often lose more moisture through evaporation than they receive through rainfall, this is known as a moisture deficit.

Deserts cover more than a fifth of the worlds total land surface and can be found on every continent.

Are all deserts hot?

This is a popular misconception that many people have, the largest hot desert in the world is the African Sahara which can reach temperature up to 50C. There are cold deserts, the Gobi desert in Asia and also Antarctica.

Physical Features

Water Shortage: Water shortage in the desert is not limited to low rainfall. Humidity and consequently cloud cover are also in short supply. This in turn means that the surface, and any living things on it, are continually exposed to direct sunlight, causing intense evaporation of any water faster than the rain can replenish it.

Soil: Typically the soil the desert is course, light coloured with a high mineral content. Most desert sand is made of tiny particles of the mineral quartz. Placed under pressure for long periods, grains of sand may stick together, forming a type of rock called sandstone.

Groundwater: As the desert only receives a very small amount of annual rainfall there is often a small supply of groundwater. This groundwater is often held in layers of porous rocks which are known as aquifers. Groundwater which is held close to the surface may create an oasis, an area of fertile land where grass, trees and plants thrive.

Minerals: The desert is a valuable resource in the hunt for oil and gold. In Australia's Great Sandy Desert miners look for black gold (oil). Countries such as Saudi Arabia have used the deserts store of oil to generate wealth for their countries.

Animal Adaptations

Desert animals are specially adapted to their environments, the obvious animal being the camel which can go for days with no food or water. Animals are also more likely to be nocturnal as the cooler temperatures of the night are more favourable than the scorching daytime desert heat, with many choosing to live underground such as the desert tortoise in the desert of south western USA.

Which is a desert?

As a small starter activity in to the subject for younger years the pictures below could be used to see what the students understand to be a desert and will identify the popular misconceptions. All of the landscapes below are classified as deserts but asking the students to identify features and characteristics could help identify areas which may need to be addressed. 

 
  
  

MANAGING THE RAINFOREST

Conserving the Rainforest

A suggestion to conserve rainforests has been to designate areas national parks or reserves, by 1990 there were 550 tropical national park, however this only accounts for 4% of the worlds total tropical forests.

A big problem in the conservation of the rainforest is money, countries such as Brazil know that it is not financially feasiable to keep the entire rainforest, especially when private contractors can offer so much money for the areas of land, but the issue of controlling the clearing of small areas is too hard. A scheme was introduced to offset debts to developed countries in an attempt to stop the destruction of tropical forests.

The consumer also plays a part in helping to preserve the rainforest. Since the introduction of sustainable forestry in Amazonia many more retailers are requesting that the tropical hardwoods come from a certified forest management scheme. This allows the customer to know they are not contributing to the deforestation of the rainforest. 

http://www.economist.com/node/616834 A very useful article on the Amazon rainforest, however parts of it may be a little too in depth. 

Class Tasks 

Task: A GCSE class could spit in to group of 6 or 8 and have a debate about the deforestation of the Amazon. On one side we have Brazil who need deforestation to occur in order to develop and on the other side the rest of the world who are against deforestation.

Point for;

• Land will provide money
• Land can be used for agriculture to feed an increasing population
• It is hard to regulate the contractors from central government

Points against;

• We only get it once!
• It destroys the natural habitats of hundreads of thousands of species
• The local, regional and global consequences would be terrible.

Sustainable development of the Rainforest 

Sustainable development means that the needs of the current population can be met without the needs of future generations being compromised. There are several different ways in which governments have attempted to intitate sustainable rainforest development. 

1.  The process of agro forestry where farmers grow trees and crops at the same time, this is beneficial as the canopy provided by the trees provides shelter and prevents soil erosion. The trees above provide dead organic matter which feed in to the soil providing the crops with nutrients. 

2. Using satellite technology rainforests can be monitored to ensure that the guidelines and processes being set out are being followed. 

3. Logging can be managed by the process of selective logging, trees are only logged once they reach a certain height meaning that they all have roughly the same life expectancy. 

4. Replacing trees which which have been cut down to maintain the canopy. This process is know as afforestation. 

5. The education of those who are involved in the deforestation process is equally as important as the above processes. If they understand the consequences of their actions this may affect whether they carry on causing deforestation. 

This video explains the consequences of deforestation: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/rainforest-destruction-kalimantan-indonesia-and-costa-rica/3096.html

Introduction of Eco Tourism

As people are looking to go further a field and to more exotic places on their travels locations such as the Amazon have become increasingly popular. Tourism obviously has an impact on the environment but by taking small steps it can be minimalised.

Year Eight : Design a eco tourist lodge within the rainforest. Keep in mind the points which are highlighted on http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/geography/ecosystems/revise-it/managing-the-tropical-rainforest.