Biome Proposal

David
Per 6

The definition of a desert some scientists say is the amount of moisture lost every year by evaporation. Others say it depends on the type of soil and plant life that the desert would have. My proposal is that we create an educational biome where children can come to learn about the desert.
Some of the characteristics of a desert include specific plants, animals and soil. Deserts have a wide variety of plants such as cacti like saguaro, barrel, old man, prickly pear, fish hook, desert spoon and aloe plants. There are also bushes, short grasses and trees. Some of these plants have a variety of ways to adapt to the desert, some can store water, reflect the sun, have deep roots to reach the ground water or have horizontal roots to reach a water source.
The animals of a desert are often nocturnal to take advantage of the cooler night temperatures. They have ways to survive the hot temperatures like digging holes or finding shade to get cooler. Generally the animals are small so they would need a smaller amount of water and escape the heat. They can get their fluids from the plants they eat. A few of the wildlife include armadillos, bats, bandicoots and spiders.
The soil of the desert is very unique in how it is full of nutrients and can grow many things with very small amounts of water. The soil is usually coarse and rocky and is light brown, gray or yellowish.
The main aspect of the climate is the dryness and heat. There may be no rain for years and the temperatures are generally hot. The rain in deserts may evaporate before it hits the ground or it might just be fog. When it does rain it might flood. There is very low humidity in deserts that make it even hotter. The average high temperatures 44-47 degrees C and the lows can get down to –18 degrees C. The following graph shows how the temperature and rainfall vary over the course of a year.

To create this climate artificially it would require a large closed in area so that moisture, humidity and temperature could be controlled. A heater would be needed to keep the temperatures high year round. The air would have to have the humidity taken out. Moisture would have to be generated by a fog or mist machine. The drainage would have to be controlled so that it could be flooded on occasion. You would also have to have special soil with the right nutrients for desert plants.
The plants and animals would have to be carefully planned to have the right amounts and kinds. You would need animals that are carnivores, herbivores and you need insects. This wild life would survive on desert plants, hot temperatures and very little water. The plants will be a variety that can survive the temperatures and lack of water by the various adaptations mentioned above.
To create and maintain the ecological interactions you would have to have the right balance in numbers of animals. They have to be able to survive on each other and also the plant life so that they can continue to breed and have young so that their species can survive. There has to be a variety of plants that survive in different ways in the desert climate.
In order for the biome to survive you would have to have the right balance of plants and animals as mentioned above. And also need computer generated weather to keep the rainfall and temperature correct. It would take some trained specialists to observe and handle any problems that happen.
Starting up the biome would be expensive. Since you would have to get all of the plants, animals and different types of soil. Then you would need money to pay for heating, controlling moisture, to pay the workers and have someone to promote it for educational purposes. You would have to find somewhere that you would be able to build it without disrupting other environments. Not much water would be needed and not much waste would be generated or produced.
In Conclusion we can learn for ourselves how desert plant life, animals and climate work together in the desert and we can educate many generations for years to come.