Deserts Quotes

“The origins of domestication have been traced to diverse parts of the world using archaeological evidence which clearly shows that several important wild species from deserts and semi-deserts were among the first to undergo this process. Some of the earliest food crops to be cultivated were wheat and barley, two desert annuals, in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago. Natural adaptations of these species for life in drylands made them particularly suitable for agriculture. They thrive on ephemeral supplies of water and respond by growing rapidly and producing an abundance of seeds, constituting the grain we eat.”
― Nick Middleton, Deserts: A Very Short Introduction

“Some of the most clear-cut examples of desertification are those that have occurred on farmland because the resulting declines in crop yield are relatively straightforward to monitor. Fields on which just a single crop is grown year after year, so-called ‘monocultures’, will slowly become degraded, as studies on cropland in the semi-arid Pampas of Argentina have shown. The long-term cultivation of millet has affected both the chemical and physical properties of soils. The depletion of nutrients means that larger amounts of fertilizers have to be applied to maintain crop yields, while declines in organic matter and soil stability have meant a greater susceptibility to erosion.”
― Nick Middleton, Deserts: A Very Short Introduction

“Consequently, desert interiors can experience air temperatures in excess of 40°C for many consecutive days. These conditions can be unpleasant for people and present a challenge to desert plants and animals. The title of ‘hottest place on Earth’ has been claimed by several locations, all of them in deserts. Death Valley, in California, USA, held the record for the highest recorded air temperature of 56.7°C from 1913 to 1922, but lost the world record in September 1922 when an air temperature of 58.0°C was recorded at El Azizia in northern Libya. Another place that often appears in compilations of meteorological records is Dallol in the Danakil desert of Ethiopia. Dallol holds the record for the highest average annual air temperature, of 34.5°C.”
― Nick Middleton, Deserts: A Very Short Introduction

“Lichens are widespread in many deserts. They have no root system, absorbing water vapour from the atmosphere, and are therefore particularly extensive in the world’s coastal foggy deserts. Lichens are a unique group of life forms that consist of two closely related parts, a fungus and a partner that can produce food from sunlight. This partner is usually either an alga, or occasionally a blue-green bacterium known as ‘cyanobacteria’. Algal cells are protected by surrounding fungus which takes nutrition from the algae. When cyanobacteria are involved, nitrogen fixation is an additional benefit.”
― Nick Middleton, Deserts: A Very Short Introduction

“Everybody has a notion of what a desert should look like. Effective definitions of deserts vary according to the background of those doing the defining and the purpose of their enquiry. An artist’s approach to deserts may be different from the stance taken by a scientist although, broadly, the two usually overlap geographically. It may, or may not, be surprising to learn that no universally accepted definition of the term ‘desert’ exists.”
― Nick Middleton, Deserts: A Very Short Introduction