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Desert and Rivers

Deserts are areas of land the receive a scarce amount of rain. Although there are some deserts are very hot, with temperatures rising as high as 54°C (130°F) during the day. There are also other types of deserts that have cold winters or year round cold weather. Deserts are home to an abundant amount of plants, animals, and other organisms that are able to withstand these harsh conditions. A common denominator between all deserts are how dry they are, most experts would say that a desert are areas of land that gets no more than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation a year. In a desert the amount of evaporation often exceed the annual rainfall that the land would get. When it comes to humidity it nears to about zero. With humidity being so low in deserts there is hardly enough vapor to allow clouds to form, with that being said it allows the sun to beat down on the cloudless skies scorching the land.

Deserts are found on every continent and cover more than one-fifth of Earth's land area. You can find deserts around the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.You can find the world's hottest deserts located 15° and 30° north or south of the equator, where the air is subsiding or sinking air.Deserts are often found towards the west of continents. Some deserts are found on the western edges of continents.

Deserts are extremely dry environments that are home to well-adapted flora and fauna. There are a variety of plants that thrive in the desert flora, a few examples being cacti such as the prickly pear, barrel cactus, or organ pipe cactus. Popular flowering desert plants and shrubs are the desert lily, California poppy, and aloe vera plants. For shade in a Southwest desert landscape, there are desert willows,and species of acacia trees. In general the plants that grow best in this environment are;
 * Full-sun plants that don’t need any shade.
 * Drought tolerant plants, shrubs, and trees that survive without water.
 * Plants that grow well in sandy, arid soil.
 * Cacti, succulents, shrubs, and trees that tolerate hot temperatures during the day and cold at night.

A few examples of desert fauna are;
 * African Wild Dog
 * Armadillo
 * Big Horn Sheep
 * Cottontails
 * Jaguar
 * Camels
 * Gazelles
 * Scorpions
 * Gophers

Issues that are threatening the desert environments are global warming any change even small when it comes to temperature and precipitation can heavily impact plants and animals that live in the desert. Irrigation is also another issue that the desert is facing with agriculture it can lead to salt levels in the soil to become too high for plants to survive. Oil and gas production may disrupt sensitive habitat. And nuclear waste may be dumped in deserts, which have also been used as nuclear testing grounds.

Strategies that are being put in place to protect deserts are planting leguminous plants which extract nitrogen from the air and fix it in the ground, can help restore soil fertility. We can more efficiently use existing water resources and better control salinization to improve arid lands, find new ways to rotate crops to protect the fragile soil, and plant sand-fixing bushes and trees.

The desert has a wide range of potential and urge for ecotourism planning, development and management. In the desert biome, ecotourism should be developed in ways based on effective management tools and responsible practices leading to sustainable governance and natural cultural heritage resources of deserts.

References: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/desert/ https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/where-are-deserts-located/ https://leafyplace.com/desert-plants/ https://www.desertusa.com/animals.html https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/desert-threats https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=oXbLDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA272&lpg=RA1-PA272&dq=Recommendations+for+the+proper+management+of+desert+biomes&source=bl&ots=R4jrFHWHcW&sig=ACfU3U16erkzwlDM94dW66QLma7zsAU32g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwithNK3q8j2AhUZxIsBHX_aDfUQ6AF6B

` Rivers are ribbon-like body of water that flows in a descending manner of from the force of gravity. A river can be wide and deep or shallow. Some rivers will flow year-round, while others will only flow at certain times of the year, or when a lot of precipitation has occurred. Rivers have a starting and ending point, the starting point of which it flows calling headwater and the ending point which is called the mouth which is where it'll open into a bigger body of water. The waters that flow through rivers are fresh, that means that it contains less than one percent of salt.

Rivers can be found everywhere around the world, some major rivers and their locations are
 * The Nile River is the longest world and can be found in North East Africa
 * The Amazon River can be found in South Africa
 * Chang Jiang River can be found in China
 * Mississippi River can be found in the USA
 * Yenisei River can be found in Russia, Mongolia

Flora of the river that live in freshwater provide habitat and food to a wide variety of river animals. Some typical ones that you would find are;
 * Hydrilla
 * Cattail
 * Bladderwort
 * Dwarf Spikerush

Fauna of the river
 * Red-Eared Slider Turtle
 * American Alligator
 * Blue Crabs
 * Freshwater Eel
 * Belted Crayfish
 * Blue Catfish

The environmental issues that rivers face are many, when you look throughout history humans have harnessed power from the rivers. Building dams, leaves for shipping, building cities and towns along banks which causes wastes downstream. Habitat loss and polluted runoff These uses take a toll on river's health.

Strategies that are being carried out to protect rivers are;
 * Know where your water comes from. Learn about your watershed and how well your water is protected. Support your local watershed organization and join in river cleanup days.
 * Reduce polluted runoff. Disconnect downspouts from sewer systems, install rain barrels, and plant rain gardens. Permeable pavers, gravel beds, and green roofs also reduce runoff.
 * Practice smart lawn care. Only apply fertilizer if necessary, use a mulching mower, mow less often, and water more deeply. In dry climates, forget the lawn and create a desert garden with native plants, rocks, and stones.
 * Dispose of non-biodegradable products properly. Don’t pour them down toilets or drains.

Recommended strategies for proper management of Rivers are
 * Monitoring thousands of river gauges nationwide to make the United States a weather-ready nation. These devices provide flood forecasts and warnings that protect life and property.
 * Collecting pre- and post-restoration data on water quality, fish populations and migration, water levels, and more.
 * Coordinating with volunteer stream monitors who record data and watch for significant changes.
 * Providing data, including aerial surveys, temperature, nutrient levels, instream flow, and more.
 * Developing publications and programs for communities to learn about habitat health.

References: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/river/ https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/list-of-top-10-longest-rivers-1394107769-1 https://sciencing.com/water-pollinated-plants-13428273.html https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/river-habitat