In Australia our deserts do get rain although usually only for a few days at a time. Whenever it rains plants grow and bloom quickly. Then die off and scatter their seed ready for the next rains to do it all again. Some of our deserts have low growing bushes or grasses with the occasional tree. Most have spinifex which is a grass that starts off a a clump of grass and then grows into a ring as the grass in the centre dies down between rainfall events but the roots remain ready to give life at the next rains. Not every desert is super sandy but all have poor soils. Some are full of small pebbles which are hardened by the sun. Some have low growing saltbush. Others have grasses and small plants scattered in the areas where water pools or in sheltered spots. And sometimes there is a surprising large tree such as I encountered in the middle of the Simpson Desert! Sometimes there are trees which grow super slowly and are scraggly. Deserts are fascinating places!
Maybe we could turn the deluge into something beneficial. Imagine rock dams in gullies to counteract flash floods and prevent erosion; contour trenches, swales and strategically placed reservoirs to capture and store water in the ground. The idea is not to let any of this precious water runoff into the ocean and be wasted. If the stored water can find its way into aquifers so much the better for long term sustainability of a greener environment. Yes, at first the wildlife will be traumatized, but I think the hardier of the species will adapt accordingly and thrive in the long run. Just tooting my horn for what it's worth.
In Australia our deserts do get rain although usually only for a few days at a time. Whenever it rains plants grow and bloom quickly. Then die off and scatter their seed ready for the next rains to do it all again.
Some of our deserts have low growing bushes or grasses with the occasional tree. Most have spinifex which is a grass that starts off a a clump of grass and then grows into a ring as the grass in the centre dies down between rainfall events but the roots remain ready to give life at the next rains.
Not every desert is super sandy but all have poor soils. Some are full of small pebbles which are hardened by the sun. Some have low growing saltbush. Others have grasses and small plants scattered in the areas where water pools or in sheltered spots. And sometimes there is a surprising large tree such as I encountered in the middle of the Simpson Desert! Sometimes there are trees which grow super slowly and are scraggly.
Deserts are fascinating places!
Maybe we could turn the deluge into something beneficial. Imagine rock dams in gullies to counteract flash floods and prevent erosion; contour trenches, swales and strategically placed reservoirs to capture and store water in the ground. The idea is not to let any of this precious water runoff into the ocean and be wasted.
If the stored water can find its way into aquifers so much the better for long term sustainability of a greener environment. Yes, at first the wildlife will be traumatized, but I think the hardier of the species will adapt accordingly and thrive in the long run.
Just tooting my horn for what it's worth.
This is literally what is being done in some parts of the middle east, as well as in the sahel.
Deserts can be upgraded to savannah or steppic environment in some places especially around rivers and be beneficial