Planet Earth is rich both in flora and fauna, as well as in climates. There are several scenarios that share similar characteristics in terms of these three elements, which are called “biomes”. The ecosystem is the determinant of a biome; According to this, it can be classified as: tropical jungle, savanna, forest, prairie, among others. Among these, the desert stands out, an environment in which rainfall does not occur as frequently, which forces the living beings established there to adapt to the harsh living conditions. Of the earth's surface, they occupy about 50 million square kilometers.
Generally, people, imagining a desert evoke a place devoid of life: no plants, no animals and soil dry and sandy; however, this could not be further from the truth. In response to their survival needs, a new group of plants was developed, which, collectively, are called " xerophilous scrub ", made up mostly of plants from the cactus family. The same happens with its animal population, which includes reptiles, camels or dromedaries and insects; Although they are not varied, they are known to hide during the day to keep moisture in their bodies.
According to the erosion caused by the winds and solar radiation, the characteristics of the desert soil will be defined. Peveril Meigs, in 1953, classified deserts into three large groups, based on the amount of rain they receive per year, being: extremely arid, when remaining without water for at least 12 months, arid, when on average they have 250 mm of rain per year and semi-arid when they achieve 500 mm of liquid per year.
