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Student editing "desert ecology" article.

In ecology, desert ecology is the sum of the interactions between both biotic and abiotic processes in arid regions. It includes the interactions of plant, animal, and bacterial populations in a desert habitat, ecosystem, and community. Some of the abiotic factors also include latitude and longitude, soil, and climate. This region is constantly affected by these factors and forces the environment to adapt. The biotic processes include animals and plants and the way they interact. Although deserts have severe climates, some plants still manage to grow. In arid deserts plants are called xerophytic, meaning they are able to survive long dry periods. They may close their pores in daytime and store water in their stems and leaves. Some of these plants include popcorn flower, barrel cactus and Saguaro cactus.

Many desert ecosystems are regulated by available water levels, rather than rates of radiation or temperature. Water flow in these ecosystems can be thought of as similar to energy flow; in fact, it is often useful to look at water and energy flow together when studying desert ecosystems and ecology.

Deserts are most notable for their dry climates resulting from rain-blocking mountain ranges and remoteness from oceanic moisture. Deserts occupy one-fifth of the Earth's land surface and occur in two belts: between 15° and 35° latitude in both the southern and northern hemispheres. These bands are associated with the high solar intensities that all areas in the tropics receive, and being too far from the equator to receive rain from the Intertropical Convergence Zone.

Deserts support diverse communities of plant and animals that have evolved resistance to and methods of circumventing the extreme temperatures and arid conditions. For example, desert grasslands are more humid and slightly cooler than its surrounding ecosystems. Many animals get their energy by eating plants, but desert plants give up the fruit of their production very reluctantly. Desert ecology is characterized by dry, alkaline soils, low net production and opportunistic feeding patterns by herbivores and carnivores.

Deserts generally occur because of global wind patterns or rain shadows. Dry winds blowing from the poles to the equator not only hold little moisture for these areas, but also tend to evaporate any water present. Rain shadows do not occur because of general wind patterns but rather, due to the wind passing over a mountain range. As air is pushed up into colder altitudes, it tends to shed all or some of the precipitation it carries, leaving little or nothing to fall on the other side of the range