Can you imagine that the Sahara desert in North Africa covers 9.4 million square kilometers? This is true, because the Sahara is the largest desert in the world.
What else is remarkable about the Sahara desert?
« Yes, scientists still find such peculiar “stone books” applied on rocks, each the size of a football field. For example, rock carvings (petroglyphs) on the White Sea (Zalavruga, Republic of Karelia, Russia), or the Swedish Nemforsen (in the Ongermanland province) and Tanuma (in Bohuslen), or in the foothills of the central Alps in the Val Camonica valley (Italy), or the inscriptions of the African Bushmen in the Dragon Mountains, or the drawings of the Tassilin-Ajjer mountain plateau in the Sahara, and so on.
Recently, scientists have been concerned about the changing size of the Sahara. Indeed, at the beginning of the 21st century, its area was just over 7 million square kilometers. Experts studied and analyzed historical records collected throughout Africa, as well as climate models over the past 100 years. Thanks to these historical data, the researchers concluded that between 1920 and 2013 the area of the Sahara grew by at least 10%. Why did the Sahara increase so much? Researchers at the University of Maryland have suggested that one factor could be a link to climate change. Scientists have been able to trace the link between reduced rainfall along the southern border of the Sahara and desertification of the grassland ecosystem in Nigeria, Chad and Sudan. The result of the research showed that the amount of precipitation in the Sahara has decreased by a third. This gave scientists the idea that the decrease in precipitation provoked an increase in the area of the desert. Also, when analyzing seasonal precipitation, it turned out that the number of summer rains decreased sharply, in contrast to precipitation during other seasons. Given that the border areas of the desert are temporarily expanding based on seasonal rainfall, in the summer, the borders of the Sahara desert are 16 percent larger. First of all, Chad, which is experiencing a real climate crisis, suffers from the increase in the area of the Sahara.
Scientists note that if no action is taken, the area of the Sahara desert will continue to grow. But the growth of the Sahara can dramatically affect wildlife and people living near its borders. The places where food is grown are getting drier, and droughts can lead to total loss of crops and famine.
“Only advance preparation and unity of the peoples of the world in the face of a threatening natural danger gives mankind great chances for survival and joint overcoming of difficulties in an era associated with global climate change on the planet,” -.
Why is climate change happening? And can you prepare for them?
One of the most serious environmental problems today is the global problem of desertification. Human agricultural activity is the main cause of desertification. When plowing fields, a huge amount of particles of the fertile soil layer rises into the air, disperses, is carried away from the fields by water flows and is deposited in other places in large quantities. The destruction of the upper fertile layer of soil under the action of wind and water is a natural process, however, it is accelerated and intensified many times over when large areas are plowed up and in cases where farmers do not leave the field "for fallow", that is, they do not allow the land to "rest".
In the surface layers of the soil, under the action of microorganisms, air and water, a fertile layer is gradually formed. One handful of good fertile soil contains millions of soil-friendly microorganisms. For the formation of a fertile layer one centimeter thick, nature needs at least 100 years, and it can be lost literally in one field season.
Geologists believe that before the start of intensive agricultural activities of people - plowing of land, active grazing by rivers, about 9 billion tons of soil were annually carried into the ocean, at the moment this amount is estimated at about 25 billion tons.
Soil erosion in our time has become universal. For example, in the United States, approximately 44% of cultivated agricultural land is subject to erosion. Due to erosion, fertile chernozems containing 14-16% of humus disappeared in Russia, and the areas of the most fertile lands with a humus content of 11-13% decreased by 5 times. Soil erosion is especially high in countries with a large area and high population density. The Yellow River, a river in China, annually carries approximately 2 billion tons of soil into the oceans. Soil erosion not only reduces fertility and productivity, but under the influence of soil erosion, artificial water channels and reservoirs are silted up much faster, and, consequently, the possibility of irrigating agricultural land is reduced. Particularly severe consequences occur when, following the fertile layer, the parent rock on which this layer develops is demolished. Then irreversible destruction occurs and an anthropogenic desert is formed.
The Shillong Plateau, located in the north-east of India in the Cherrapunji region, is the wettest place in the world, with more than 12 m of precipitation per year. However, during the dry season, when the monsoon rains stop (October to May), the area resembles a semi-desert. The soil on the slopes of the plateau is practically washed away, barren sandstones are exposed.
The expansion of desertification is one of the fastest growing global processes in our time, while there is a decrease, and sometimes complete destruction of the biological potential in the territories undergoing desertification, thus, these territories are turning into deserts and semi-deserts.
Natural deserts and semi-deserts occupy about one third of the entire surface of the earth. Up to 15% of the total population of the planet lives in these territories.
The deserts have an extremely arid continental climate, usually no more than 150-175 mm of precipitation falls there per year, and evaporation far exceeds natural moisture.
The most extensive deserts are located on both sides of the equator, as well as in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Deserts are natural formations that are of particular importance for the overall ecological balance of the planet. However, as a result of intensive anthropogenic activity in the last quarter of the 20th century, more than 9 million 2 km2 appeared. deserts, their territories covered about 43% of the total surface of the earth's land.
In the nineties of the last century, 3.6 million hectares of drylands were threatened with desertification, which is 70% of all potentially productive drylands.
Lands in different climatic zones are exposed to desertification, but the desertification process is especially intensive in hot and arid regions of the planet. A third of all arid regions of the world are located on the African continent, they are also widespread in Asia, Australia and Latin America.
On average, 6 million hectares of cultivated land are subject to desertification per year, until complete destruction, and more than 20 million hectares of agricultural land are subject to yield reduction under the influence of desertification.
According to UN experts, if the current rate of desertification continues, by the end of this century, humanity may lose 1/3 of all arable land. Together with the rapid growth of the population and with the constant increase in the need for food, the loss of so much agricultural land can be disastrous for humanity.
Desertification of territories leads to the degradation of the entire natural life support system. The people living in these territories need either external assistance or relocation to other more prosperous areas in order to survive. For this reason, the number of environmental refugees is increasing every year in the world.
The process of desertification is usually caused by the combined actions of man and nature. Desertification is especially detrimental in arid areas, because the ecosystem of these regions is already quite fragile and easily destroyed. Without that, scarce vegetation is being destroyed due to mass grazing, intensive felling of trees, shrubs, plowing of soils unsuitable for agriculture and other economic activities that violate the unsteady natural balance. All this enhances the effect of wind erosion. At the same time, the water balance is significantly disturbed, the level of groundwater decreases, and wells dry up. In the process of desertification, the structure of the soil is destroyed, and the saturation of the soil with mineral salts increases.
Desertification and land depletion can occur in any climatic zone as a result of the destruction of the natural system. In arid regions, drought becomes an additional cause of desertification.
Desertification, which occurs due to irrational and excessive human activities, more than once became the cause of the death of ancient civilizations. Can humanity learn from its past history? However, there are significant differences between the process of desertification taking place now and the process that took place in those distant times. In those ancient times, the scale and pace of desertification were completely different, that is, much smaller.
If in ancient times the negative consequences of excessive economic activity took shape over the centuries, then in the modern world the consequences of inept irrational human activity have already been felt during the current decade.
If in ancient times individual civilizations perished under the onslaught of sands, then the process of desertification in the modern world, originating in different places and manifesting itself in different regions, takes on a global scale in different ways.
An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, with an increase in its dustiness and smoke, accelerates the process of land auridization. Moreover, this phenomenon is not limited to arid regions.
The increase in the area of deserts contributes to the formation of dry climatic conditions favorable for the occurrence of perennial droughts. Thus, in the Sahel transition zone, 400 km wide, located between the Sahara desert and the savannahs of West Africa, an unprecedented long-term drought broke out in the late sixties, the climax of which came in 1973. As a result, more than 250,000 people died in the countries of the Sahel zone - Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania and others. There was a massive loss of livestock. Meanwhile, cattle breeding is the main activity and source of livelihood for the majority of the local population. Not only did most of the wells dry up, but also such large rivers as the Senegal and the Niger, and the water table of Lake Chad was reduced to one third of its former size.
In the 1980s, the ecological disaster in Africa, which was the result of drought and desertification, acquired continental proportions. The consequences of these phenomena are experienced by 35 African states and 150 million people. In 1985, more than one million people died in Africa, and 10 million became "environmental refugees." The expansion of the boundaries of deserts in Africa is happening at a rapid pace, in some places reaching 10 km per year.
The history of human civilization is closely connected with forests. For primitive people living by gathering and hunting, forests served as the main source of food. Much later, they became a source of fuel and material for the construction of dwellings. Forests have always been a refuge for man, as well as the basis of his economic activity.
Approximately 10 thousand years ago, even before the beginning of active human agricultural activity, forested areas occupied about 6 billion hectares of the earth's land. By the end of the 20th century, the area of forest territories decreased by 1/3; currently, forests cover just over 4 billion hectares. For example, in France, where forests initially covered up to 80% of the country's territory, by the end of the 20th century, no more than 14% remained. In the USA at the beginning of the 17th century there were about 400 million hectares of forests, and by 1920 the forest cover in this country had been destroyed by 2/3.
Forests are a deterrent to desertification, therefore their destruction leads to an acceleration of land auridization processes, so the conservation of forests is a priority in the fight against desertification. By preserving forests, we not only preserve the lungs of the planet and restrain the growth of deserts, we also ensure the well-being of our descendants.
E.N. Voevodova, biologist
THEORY OF WATER - FOREST PLANETARY EQUILIBRIUM
ANNOTATION.
The article presents the theory of the water-forest balance of the planet Earth, the formulation of the theory is given and its essence is considered. The concepts of aridity index as a balance of water and land areas and the desertification index as a balance of forest and desert areas are introduced. Theoretically considered balances of water and land before the Flood and after. The hypothesis of greenhouse gases is criticized. The phenomena of displacement of the center of gravity of the planet and the absence of a granite shell under the Pacific Ocean are considered. Proposed measures to control global warming.
KEYWORDS.
Theory of water-forest planetary balance. Aridity index as a balance of water and land areas. Desertification index as a balance of forest and desert areas. The balance of water and land before the Flood and after. Displacement of the Earth's center of gravity. Regulation of global warming. Criticism of the greenhouse gas hypothesis.
It has fallen to our time to see the destruction of nature and we have to solve the whole knot of problems associated with the salvation and conservation of nature. The destruction of nature or the ecological crisis today has reached the level of discussion of big politics, and has completely gone out of control of human civilization.
The threat of an ecological crisis is more than serious, it is the disappearance of a planet suitable for the climate for human habitation.
Next, we will discuss, from every standpoint available to us, global warming as the most important subject for discussion in the world today.
Global warming is the most acute problem in the general ecological crisis of our civilization.
The IPCC Third Assessment Report on climate change concluded that there was an increase in continental precipitation of 5-10% during the 20th century in the northern hemisphere, an increase in heavy precipitation in its middle and high latitudes, and a decrease in precipitation in North and West Africa and some areas of the Mediterranean. Also, there was a significant increase in global sea level during the 20th century on average 1-2 mm annually, thawing of permafrost and glaciers, a decrease in snow cover by 10%, an increase in the average annual global air temperature by 0.6 + 0.2 degrees Celsius. .
It is known that every year the area of deserts on Earth increases by one, average size, desert. Desertification is a worldwide global trend.
The rate of land desertification on planet Earth today is 6 million hectares per year.[ 2]
The territory of the Nogai steppe, with a total area of 1 million hectares, on which
located Dagestan, Chechnya, Stavropol, subject to rapid
desertification, the Caspian Institute of Biological Resources of the Russian Academy of Sciences
to the region of ecological disaster.
In Russia, the total area of land at risk of desertification is, according to various estimates, from 50 million hectares to 100 million hectares, and this figure continues to grow steadily.
There is also an assumption that a further increase in global warming will cause thawing of gas in the earth and its spontaneous explosions in permafrost zones.
Let us turn our attention to the analysis of the causes of global warming, with the hope of finding ways to solve the problem.
In our opinion, global warming has arisen due to anthropogenic impact. We present the proof of this assertion below.
Over the past millennium (X-XX centuries), 2/3 of all forests have been cut down and burned on Earth.
We believe that one of the causes of global warming was the (anthropogenic) decrease in the ratio of ocean surface to forest area.
It is known that only the forest on land is the main climate-forming, climate-stabilizing factor. The forest provides the optimal water, wind, temperature level in its biocenosis and in the biosphere.
The forest weakly reveals its climate-forming role at the global level only because it simply does not exist at the global level. The forest on planet Earth is simply destroyed, but it has not lost its main climate-forming role and will never lose it. The forest is the eternal main climate-former of the planet Earth. There is a forest, and there is a climate, but there is no forest, and there is no climate, such a functional dependence.
The second part of this statement, namely: there is no forest - and there is no climate, science registers absolutely reliably, but cannot explain.
In official science, the main climate-formers are:
1. heat exchange depending on the "norms" of incoming solar radiation
2. atmospheric circulation, depending on the difference in solar insolation, surface temperature, atmospheric pressure over land and oceans,
temperate, tropical, subpolar latitudes
3. moisture circulation
The forest is assigned the role of secondary causes influencing the emergence of the mesoclimate (local climate, but not global).
In recent years, the role of the world's boreal forests in global climate formation has been discussed ("Canadian Boreal Initiative") in connection with their function as a global consumer of carbon dioxide, the excess of which is responsible for the "greenhouse effect", but no excess "greenhouse" gas in the atmosphere, according to our hypothesis of planetary balance water-forest balance does not exist and cannot exist.
The advantage of any scientific hypothesis is the possibility of scientific
assumptions or scientific intuitions that are tested or confirmed
historically - ancient, geological time and possibility
forecasting future development.
Naturally, it can be assumed that if the forest in its modern modest volume creates a mesoclimate, then the forest in the global volume will create and created the most favorable global climate on planet Earth, which is confirmed by archaeological excavations.
The ratio of ocean-forest surfaces, due to anthropogenic influence, is changing all the time, and, steadily, towards a decrease in the share of forest.
We know that the surface of the ocean, seas today makes up 71% of the entire surface of the planet, and land - 29%.
(At Vernadsky V.I. In 1935-1943, the ratio of ocean-land surfaces was defined as 70.8% - 29.2%. Subsequently, the sea level rose, and the land area of the forest decreased. As a result, we consider it possible , take the ocean-to-land ratio as 71% - 29%)
The ratio of the surface of the ocean and the surface of the forest on Earth is also changing all the time. At different historical times it was different, it was
- 71% ocean - 20% forest plus 9% land (29% land)
-71% ocean - 15% forest plus 14% land (29% land)
- 71% ocean - 10% forest plus 19% land (29% land)
-71% ocean - 29% forest plus 0% land (100% land forest) (in the Mesozoic).
By its nature, the ratio of water and forest is a phenomenon of the balance of planetary water, mainly land, or it is a phenomenon of planetary water-forest balance of aridity.
The number of water-forest ratio of the planet Earth can be represented as follows: the area of the sea surface (water) divided by the area of the forest. The resulting index will be a short expression of the balance of ocean and forest areas, or will be a planetary aridity equilibrium index.
For example,
- if the planetary water-forest number is 71-20 (71% of the ocean surface and 20% of the forest surface), then its aridity index will be 3.55 (71:20 = 3.55);
-if the balance number is 71-15 (71% of the ocean surface and 15%
Forest surface), then its aridity index will be 4.73 (71: 15 = 4.73);
- if the balance number is 71-10, then its aridity index will be 7.1 (
71: 10= 7,1);
-if the balance number is 71-29, then its aridity index will be 2.44 (71: 29 = 2.44).
The scale of planetary indices of water-forest balance of aridity can be between 1 and 71.
The minimum aridity index 1 indicates the maximum moisture supply of the land and corresponds to 71% of the forest surface. (1 = 71% ocean surface divided by 71% forest surface)
The actual land area on Earth is currently expected to be 29%. Consequently, with the phenomena of maximum moisture supply of the forest, its area actually becomes equal to 71% and it (the forest) needs to be located on 29% of the land (more, the land area in the pre-Flood time was larger, perhaps the land was 71%). Due to the rigid, non-stretchable shape of the planet, the excess of the forest surface will gather into folds, this will manifest itself in the phenomena of mountain and gully formation, in the phenomena of seismological activity. It was under such conditions of maximum moisture supply to the forest that the world's mountain systems and world depressions were formed.
Also, seismological activity and gullying will be activated at high degrees of aridity, in order to increase the water supply of the forest. Maximum moisture supply increases the area of the earth's surface. The reverse phenomenon is also true: an increase in the surface of the Earth increases its% of land and 50% of water (ocean) moisture supply. Consequently, the increased seismological activity of the Earth, the high rate of formation of ravines increase the moisture supply of the Earth, which is important in cases of severe dryness (aridity). In addition, with a high aridity index, the planet, as a self-regulating system, will intensify land rains.
The maximum planetary aridity index 71 indicates the minimum degree of moisture supply to the land, (71 = 71% of the ocean surface
divided by 1% of the forest surface). At the maximum degree of dryness (aridity), the surface of the Earth will be extremely small (swelled by the wind, flooded by the ocean, dried up) and it will constantly rain.
We assume that in historically - ancient times before the 1st Flood, the land and water of the planet Earth were in a harmonious balance: 50% land and 50% water (ocean). Then, due to the destruction of vegetation on land, the amount of water in the ocean began to increase and it flooded the land, leaving 29% of the modern land area.
If we represent the ratio (division) of the area of the planetary forest cover to the area of deserts, then we will get the planetary desertification index and the balance coefficient of desertification.
It is known that the area of the Earth's forests in 1980 was 4000 million hectares, the area of the deserts of the world in the same year was 500 million hectares, therefore, the desertification index will be 8 (4000: 500 = .
It is also known that 2/3 of the destroyed forests over the past millennium, therefore, 8,000 ml. ha. (4000 million ha. divided by 3 and multiplied by 2)
It can be seen that the destruction of 8000 ml hectares of forests generates 500 thousand hectares
deserts, therefore the balance coefficient of desertification will be
equals 16,000 hectares of forest to 1,000 hectares of desert. (8000 million : 500 thousand = 16000). that is, the destruction of 16,000 hectares. forest gives rise to 1,000 ha of desert and vice versa, planting 16,000 ha of forest reduces the area of the desert by 1,000 ha or 16 ha. forests reduces 1 hectare. desert or desertification coefficient will be 16.
If today in Russia there are 100 million hectares on the verge of desertification, then in Russia it is necessary to plant forests (100 million times 16) = 16,000 million hectares in order to prevent the desertification of 100 million hectares of Russian lands.
The number 16 is the coefficient of the relationship between forest and desert, or it is the coefficient of desertification. This means that people, destroying 16,000 thousand hectares (16 hectares) of forest, give birth to 1 thousand hectares (1 ha) of desert, and vice versa, planting 16,000 thousand hectares (16 hectares) of forest, people reduce the area of deserts by 1 thousand .ha (1 ha).
The balance indices and coefficients of aridity and desertification proposed by us, calculated by the ratio of forest area to the area of the region and the area of deserts, show the true state of the land water balance or the state of the region's water supply, in contrast to the aridity indices adopted in world science, showing only the amount of water per conventional area and at a conventional time, or they only state a fact without revealing its causes, and without knowing the cause, it is impossible to eliminate the problem.
Desertification rate: 6 million ha per year
coefficient 16
area of deforested on Earth per year: 6 million ha x 16 = 96 million ha per year
Given:
deforested per year: 96 million ha
the volume of water that arrived in the ocean per year: 1-2 ml times 71% of the Earth's area in km. = conditional number (c.h.) 71,000 million tons of water
the number of "forest water" that entered the ocean from the deforestation of 1 hectare of forest: 71,000 million tons divided by 96 million hectares = 793.583 tons of water or approximately 800 thousand tons of water per year (acc. e)
In all likelihood, in order to fundamentally reverse the shortage of internal water supply in the region (to transfer the arid territory to the zone of normal moisture), it is necessary to cover with forest plantations at least 50% of the geographical area of the region. The regional aridity index will then be close to
planetary aridity index calculated from the ideal balance
climate number 71% - 29%. The regional aridity index with 50% forest is 2 (40 million hectares divided by 20 million hectares of forest in this territory = 2), and the ideal planetary aridity index is 2.40 (71: 29 = 2.40).
It must be admitted that the Earth's biosphere was created as a forest planet, and it is impossible to turn it into a planet of agrocenoses.
This statement is consistent with the widely accepted in botany views of a tree as a life form that a plant takes on when it grows in very favorable conditions.
“Statistical calculations show that the highest percentage of trees is in the flora of tropical rainforests (up to 88% in the Amazon region of Brazil), and in the tundra and highlands there is not a single true upright tree. In the area of taiga forests, although trees dominate the landscape, they make up only 1-2% or a few of the total number of species, .. In the flora of the temperate forest zone of Europe, trees make up no more than 10-12% of the total number of species "
We believe that the converse will also be true: an increase in the number of trees will improve the climate on planet Earth.
In general, the forest should stop being used in the national economy. The economic use of the forest is the same relic as cannibalism.
You can use secondary forests, fast-growing, short-lived (up to 100 years), such as birch, aspen, alder, willow. Indigenous forests, long-lived (350 years or more), the main forest-forming species that form the Earth's climate, with the longest root system, from spruce, pine, cedar, larch, linden, oak, in principle, it is impossible to cut.
Regarding the dispute about the nature of the primary source of origin of the desert, the steppes, that these climatic zones have always been like this and this is their natural, natural state, we propose to discuss the possibility of growing trees in deserts and steppes. That this is possible is proved by the facts of growing trees in deserts, and therefore, nature needs to be helped, not conquered, and helped to turn arid zones into
wooded, with a favorable climate. Fundamental in this dispute is the choice of tree species.
Probably, if the land is covered with forest, then the root system of trees raises water with minerals from the depths of the earth, which goes to moisten and mineralize the soil under the crown of the tree, to grow the roots of the tree, its branches, leaves, flowering, fruiting. Wet leaves humidify the air, the water from the stomata on the leaves evaporates, clouds form, from which it rains over this land. The forest raises water from the depths of the earth for rain over this piece of land, rain for all life on Earth. The increase in the amount of precipitation in forested areas compared to non-forested areas reaches 6%.
In addition, the air humidity in the immediate vicinity of forest areas is always increased and the wind subsides by 90%.
In addition, when a mass of air moves from the Atlantic Ocean to the east,
it, passing over the Gulf Stream, is enriched with moisture. Moving over the mainland
air loses moisture in the form of precipitation, but it can again be enriched with water vapor
by evaporation from the earth's surface.
The most powerful evaporator on land are forests, due to the constant supply of water by the root system to the leaves and the higher location of forest crowns, which ensures that the leaves of the forest are located closer to the sun, which significantly increases the rate of water evaporation compared, for example, with evaporation from lakes, ponds and land rivers.
It is the forests that become the supplier of atmospheric precipitation for the areas located to the east and southeast along the path of movement of oceanic air that came from the west.
How wise nature is! But only a person makes his own adjustments to it. He cut down the forests of Europe and the European part of Russia and precipitation from the Atlantic Ocean will not fall on the southern and southeastern territories of Eurasia, on our unfortunate arid zones, where only one “sun is to blame for everything”!
. If the land is without forest, then the water in the depths of the earth will flow through the underground and fall into the ocean. In the ocean, water will evaporate and rain down over the ocean, coastal areas, over areas of temperate latitudes.
Land without a forest does not get seaside rain for the above reasons. This is how deserts are formed. No ways of moistening the arid zones (river diversion, artificially induced rainfall) will correct the arid region, except for the planting of primary forest. An adult, ripe forest constantly raises water and minerals from the depths of the earth, constantly moistens and mineralizes the soil, leaves constantly evaporate water, and a person is able to water from time to time, and, inevitably, this dispute with nature will lose, like many others.
In the ocean, when the land is without forest, a lot of water appears and we assume that this multimillion-dollar mass of water, rushing to the south of the planet Earth, shifts the center of gravity of the Earth, and the planet changes its vertical position, and tilts so that the northern hemisphere approaches the Sun a little .
As a result, an increased air temperature is formed, which gives rise to all the phenomena of global warming and, in particular, increased
evaporation of water in the ocean, which generates high cloud cover over the planet, which shields (greenhouse) the Earth from the Sun, which reduces insolation in summer, and in winter the sun's rays heat the upper surface of the clouds, which causes rain instead of snow and a thaw or this is called the "greenhouse effect".
The main reason for global warming, in our opinion, is year-round cloudiness due to excess water that the forest did not absorb, and according to official science, industrial and natural gas emissions.
The main reason for arid territories, in our opinion, is deforestation and, as a result, the loss of natural sources of water supply, and according to official science, geographical zoning.
With regard to the concepts discussed today about greenhouse gases, about
helioclimatic relationships, it should be noted that these concepts lack
planetary - biospheric level.
In the biosphere, all processes are interconnected (circulation of substances) at a cause-and-effect, fundamental level: “The cycle of life is associated with the cycle of chemical elements that create the earth's atmosphere (troposphere), continuously regularly releasing gases into it by life processes - oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, etc.” V. I. Vernadsky
The biospheric, global, true concept covers the passage of matter through all biospheric shells (layers), and it corresponds to the real state of the biosphere planet in all historical, geological times.
It is obvious that the currently discussed concepts of "greenhouse gases" describe processes that take place only in the atmosphere, which is not a reliable correspondence to global concepts. Global phenomena in climate are not only a phenomenon of atmospheric, stratospheric forces, but a phenomenon of the biosphere as a whole.
Against the "concept of greenhouse gases", adopted today by the official science of Russia, the following facts speak:
1. Data on industrial emissions in the Russian Federation indicate thousand-ton emissions of gases by factories, and data on the content of industrial gases in precipitation and aerosols indicate their content in the atmosphere in microdoses, in tenths of a gram.
From this follows the conclusion: tons of industrial gases quickly enter the soil near the source of the emission and enter into the general geochemical cycle of substances on the planet, and do not enter the stratosphere according to the concept of greenhouse gases. Here, radioactive particles enter the stratosphere by the force of an explosion, and simple chemicals from industrial emissions do not have the energy of an explosion and follow the path: water vapor - cloud - rain - earth, like all simple chemicals on Earth.
2. Spiridonova Yu. V. (1985) proved the role of industrial emissions
9
large industrial urban agglomerations of Western Europe and the European part of the USSR in a 20% increase in precipitation in Western Europe and a 10% increase in precipitation in the European part of the USSR. The territorial increase in precipitation was confined to industrial centers. The conclusions were made as a result of the study of meteorological archives for 80 years, which made it possible to study the increase in precipitation in the pre-industrial level and in the industrial period.
Industrial emissions contain carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, phenol, water vapor and other substances. It will not be a mistake to assert that it is water vapor that causes cloud formation and it is these precipitations that return industrial emissions to the earth.
Oil, coal, gas, organic matter of the planet and
inorganic matter of the planet are natural, natural
substances of the biosphere.
The global geochemical system of carbon and its compounds in the earth's crust, forming oil (possibly with the participation of microorganisms), coal, gas, swamp gas is an integral part of the global carbon cycle in nature. Natural organic and inorganic sources of energy, all having a sunbeam as the root cause, are fully compatible with the biospheric planetary cycles.
For the biosphere, all energy sources are natural, natural, except for atomic ones, which were not born from a sunbeam, a green plant and carbon dioxide.
The natural emission of gas, oil, coal, energy industries cannot be attributed to the anthropogenic causes of global warming, which is caused by processes of exclusively anthropogenic origin. Of course, in principle, industrial emissions serve as a serious burden (intervention) on a weakened nature, but they are not the cause of global warming.
Here, in the phenomena of gassed cities, global atmospheric pollution, for example, by radioactive substances, "greenhouse" man-made and all other gases acquire the role of the main harmful, dangerous, toxic substances for humans, since only oxygen is suitable for breathing for a person, occasionally with traces of ozone (after a thunderstorm ). In the discussion of these issues, gases are referred to as anthropogenic or industrial gases, and they constitute the scope of the ecology of industry, the ecology of cities, and not the problems of global warming.
In the wild, carbon dioxide, all available nitrogen oxides are the main, very scarce nutrients of the green world, so there is no excess, harmful, "greenhouse" gas in nature and cannot be.
On Earth, there is a certain mechanism similar to a yoke, a balance between the amount of water in the ocean and the area of forest on land. Les plays the main
role in this mechanism. Only the green sea can drink the blue sea, and no one else on planet Earth. Man, destroying the forest, causes global shifts in the Earth's climate. Destruction of the forest by man refers to anthropogenic environmental factors, so we argued at the beginning of this article that global warming is caused by anthropogenic causes.
As a result of understanding the presence in the Earth's biosphere of the phenomenon of water-forest balance of aridity, it can be argued that it is the forest that creates the climate, the distribution of precipitation, air temperature, regulates the strength and humidity of the wind, moistens and mineralizes the soil. Climatic zonality depends on the amount of forest on Earth: the more forests, the less pronounced zonality, the smaller forests, the more pronounced zonality.
By cutting down forests, a person shifts the center of gravity of the Earth to a state incompatible with human life on the planet, and by planting a forest, a person will improve
climate throughout the Earth up to subtropical, as it was on Earth in
Mesozoic time (all over the Earth - subtropics).
We believe that it was the destruction of the rich, continuous cover enveloping the Earth, arboreal, subtropical vegetation, for example, by a giant meteorite that left a mark on the place where the Pacific Ocean is now, that led to climate deterioration up to the Quaternary glaciations.
We assume that the massive destruction of woody vegetation over a colossal area resulted in a large underground runoff into the ocean, since the evaporation of water from forests ceased.
The first ancient united continent of Pangea was probably split by these drains into Godwana, lying south of Pangea. Godwana, in turn, was split into 3 parts. On the left, it was dissected by a water stream of underground drains, which later became the Atlantic Ocean, and on the right, Godwanu was dissected by a stream that became the Indian Ocean.
It is widely known that the Pacific Ocean does not have a granite shell at its base, while the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean have a granite shell at their base, the same as the continents.
For many years, science cannot explain the absence of a granite shell in the Pacific Ocean. The great scientist V. I. Vernadsky attributed the granite shell to the biosphere shells created by living matter on Earth, or the granite shell is the area of the former biospheres.
We believe that the Atlantic, Indian, Arctic Oceans originated (flow) on the territory of the continents of Godwana and Pangea, therefore they have a granite shell of the continents, and the Pacific Ocean does not have a granite shell due to the fact that it is not located on the territory of the continents.
The land area before the Flood can be calculated in the following way: the area of the first continent of Pangea (antediluvian land) is the sum of the areas of the granite shells of the Arctic, Indian, Atlantic oceans and the area of all continents.
There are assumptions in science that the granite shell of the Pacific Ocean was spent on the creation of the Moon, and they also discuss the hypothesis of the transformation ((metamorphosis) of the granite shell into other substances.
In our opinion, the causes of this phenomenon cannot be described by events only by the phenomena of the hydrosphere (inside the Pacific Ocean), they lie in the same row of the following events of the biosphere: the destruction of vegetation, the flood, the split of the continents, glaciation, global warming and the displacement of the Earth's Center of Gravity. The reasons for these events are the same and this is the destruction of vegetation.
In recent years, global warming and the shift of the Earth's Center of Gravity towards the Pacific Ocean have become threatening.
In 1829, the Center of Gravity was shifted relative to the axis of rotation by 252 km, and by 1965 the shift had increased to 451 km. If the offset is
continue, then the Earth will simply somersault in space, like a spinning top with
shifted center of gravity.
Hypotheses explaining the displacement of the Center of Gravity suggest that this is a normal process, not dangerous, cyclical, after 200 million years everything will return back.
We readily believe that in 200 million years everything will be fine: there will be no sinful people on the planet, an eternal forest will grow, no one will cut it down, and everything in nature will return to normal.
To the question that scientists around the world ask themselves: “Is there some kind of force inside the Earth or on its surface that moves the Center of Gravity of the planet?” we answer positively: - Yes, we believe that there is such a force and it is water. The results of ultra-deep drilling (more than 12,000 m) showed that the planet Earth inside is empty and very hot. This means, in our opinion, that there is no Center of Gravity inside the planet. Where then, in this case, is the center of gravity of the planet? In our opinion, the planet's Center of Gravity is surface and this is the water level in the Pacific Ocean. The water level will rise In the Pacific Ocean - the Earth will tilt, the level will drop - the Earth will straighten up. Here is such a ballet, it is also a rocker, it is also the scales of the planet Earth.
Using the numbers of the area of the antediluvian land (Pangaea), modern volumes of runoff into the ocean, the "forest" number of runoff from the reduction of 1 hectare of forest, we can calculate the area of \u200b\u200bforest on Pangea, the volume of water that entered the ocean during the Flood.
The natural consequence of the above statement is that we can calculate the area of land and water (ocean) before and after the I Flood, or it will be the balance of land and water before the Flood and after. This task is easy from the point of view of theory and extremely difficult technically. In modern times, it seems to us that only the Institute for Space Research (Moscow) is capable of performing calculations of this Balance, since the Institute has archives of satellite images of the Earth's surface from the first days of satellites.
It is obvious that water has not gone anywhere from the planet Earth, has not evaporated, not a single gram of water has disappeared.
The earth is like a hermetically sealed aquarium of the Lord God.
Water on Earth is like a hermetic eternal hydrosphere.
We can formulate our planetary water-forest equilibrium hypothesis as follows:
All the water of the planet Earth is in equilibrium dependence (direct function) with the forest of the land of the planet Earth in a historically long-term unchanged time (forever).
The primary factors that create the Earth are water and forest, and the land appears later, as a result of the life of the forest, and the atmosphere also appears later, as a result of the life of the forest. All together makes up the biosphere (according to Vernadsky).
If all the water on the planet is one from the moment of its creation, then the problem with its sterilization is solved with the help of salt, therefore the sea is salty, since it is a reservoir of water, water is also purified during evaporation, while passing through the soil (filtration).
Is it possible on Earth only land and forest without the sea? In our opinion, no. The forest evaporates water, it returns as rain, streams of rainwater form
reservoir (ocean).
The principle of "eternal preservation, eternal existence" of soulless nature (biosphere) is solved, at least, through the preservation of an unchanged amount of water. All water is like a constant constant in the evolution of planet Earth.
Water is the first main fundamental factor that creates the biosphere.
The forest is the second main fundamental, biosphere-creating factor.
Land is the third main fundamental factor that preserves the biosphere.
The atmosphere is the fourth main fundamental factor that preserves the biosphere.
Of these four factors, the forest is the most alive, that is, more endowed with living functional organic matter. The forest is a real, living, very highly organized systemic organism, while water, land and atmosphere are not organisms at all, the definition applies to them: not wildlife, but to the forest: wildlife. The forest in this reasoning implies the concept: biota, in general, all life on Earth (algae, bacteria, etc.) Biota, in principle, is inseparable from water. Therefore, when we say forest, we mean water. And when people destroy the forest, they destroy the water.
The forest is not only the main climate-forming factor, but it is also
the main fundamental, biosphere-creating factor on Earth
Not all trees equally have a climate-forming function.
As a rule, it is possessed by indigenous main forest-forming species. These are oak, pine, spruce, linden, cedar, larch.
Spruce, which does not tolerate waterlogging, retains up to 30% of precipitation on its crowns, preventing rain from reaching the soil, which is a positive phenomenon in the fight against waterlogging.
In the arid regions of the world, only oak is able to raise water to the surface from great depths and in large quantities. The root system of the oak in the black earth zone is able to penetrate the soil up to 5 meters deep, in addition, the oak is the longest-lived tree, it lives up to 2000 years.
The destruction of oak forests in the black earth regions has given rise to modern problems with the soil. In the chernozem regions, chernozem volatilizes from the fields on average up to 3 tons of humus per hectare annually. “It has been established that over the past century, chernozems have lost one third of their humus reserves. We can say that on a global scale ... the destruction of the planet's humus sphere is underway, which may ultimately affect the functioning and stability of the biosphere as a whole. Oak forests should occupy at least 50-60% of the total area in the black earth regions.
The widespread use of plane trees (plane trees) in landscaping in Asia cannot be considered correct. Plane tree (plane tree) is very similar to oak: it lives up to 2000 years,
a very large tree, but it is not an oak: its wood easily rots,
its roots are short. In the arid zone, an adult plane tree grows only next to a ditch, for example, in the city of Fergana (this is a fact). Oak in the arid zone requires a ditch only while young, then it will get water itself and change the climate of the entire area to a more humid one.
It will not be an exaggeration to assert that everywhere in the world on chernozem soils there are no more than 25% of forests (and by no means oak!!!).
“Dense evergreen oak forest is useless for humans. game in it
small, so hunting is of little value. The forest is suitable only for firewood, but 20-year-old stump shoots are more convenient for this purpose than old trees that are difficult to chop. In addition, the growth of wood decreases rapidly with age. All this was the reason that already in ancient times the primary oak forest was cut down.
The destruction of oak forests was caused by the high fertility of black earth soils, the forest was cut down for the cultivation of wheat, grapes, cotton, watermelons, melons, sunflowers.
But today the resource of the black earth zone without forests has practically dried up, these lands have become a region of ecological disaster, they are turning into a desert and can no longer be used for large-scale agrocenoses.
Oak should be planted on these lands, and cultivation should be left on the smallest area with a mandatory crop rotation with alfalfa. Such a sharp reduction in arable land in the black earth regions is possible if crops for cultivation and climatic zones are reconsidered.
Sugar beet crops can be reduced by a large production of honey and maple sugar, the main "sweet" products of human civilization until the 20th century.
A blossoming adult linden tree gives as much honey as a flowering field of buckwheat. 1 hectare of continuous linden stand produces 1500 kg of nectar of the highest quality. A valuable fact is that the linden is the only broad-leaved tree of “cold”, moisture-provided latitudes, very frost-resistant, penetrating up to 60-62 degrees north latitude. The most frost-resistant species are heart-shaped linden, Siberian linden, Amur linden.
The sugar maple, a native tree of North America, was the most important source of sugar for the Aborigines and later for the early white settlers. In IXX
century, the production of maple sugar almost completely died out, remaining a typical tourist industry in Canada.
The most important valuable qualities of agricultural plantations of linden, maple, nuts, olives, sea buckthorn is that these are tree plantations. Any tree never depletes the earth, it always creates and improves the soil. The tree ideally meets the tasks of the Earth's ecology.
Sunflower crops can be reduced by higher production of almond, apricot, peach, walnut, linseed, sea buckthorn, olive oils. Flax cultivation is confined to the lands of the Non-Black Earth Region, which will reduce the load on the black earth zone.
The current coverage of planet Earth with forests ranges from 30% to 20% and continues to decrease.
This is the main cause of the impending ecological catastrophe: the desertification of the entire planet and the second Flood.
Conclusions:
– The concept of "greenhouse gases" is not scientific.
– Forest is the main climate-forming factor
– The forest is the main fundamental, biosphere-creating factor.
– Forest (oak) is the only way to prevent global warming catastrophe
In legal terms, the following legal provisions should, in our opinion
opinion, really change the negative trend of global warming:
1. A ban on the production of wooden log houses from pine, oak, larch, cedar, spruce.
2. A ban on the production of furniture and joinery (doors, windows, architraves, skirting boards, stairs, boards, beams, logs, etc.) from pine, cedar, spruce, oak, larch.
3. Ban on the import and export of coniferous wood (logs, boards, carpentry), a ban on the sale of standing coniferous wood to domestic and foreign firms.
4. A ban on the production of firewood from pine, cedar, spruce, oak, larch.
5. Preferential taxation and interest-free investments for manufacturers of alternative ecological joinery products (plastic windows, doors, skirting boards, pencils, paper, etc.), manufacturers of low-rise concrete, brick houses, etc.
6. Preferential taxation and interest-free investments for manufacturers of alternative ecological building materials: brick, concrete, marble panels, ceramic tiles, synthetic wallpaper.
7. A ban on felling pine, spruce, oak, cedar, larch forests for state and private producers.
8. Creation of an ecological militia protecting small rivers from pollution, forests from dumps, clearings from garbage, forests from logging.
9. Creation in the southern regions of powerful state structures for afforestation and reforestation of oak forests, in the northern regions - larch forests.
Bibliography.
1. IPPCC, 2001: Climate Change 2001: Synthesis report. A Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Third Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [ Watson, R. T. and the Core Writing Team (eds.)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY , USA, pp. 398
2. Earth and humanity. Global problems. (Countries and peoples. V.20-ti vol.) // M.: Thought. 1985, p. 429
3. Annual state (national) report "On the state and use of lands of the Russian Federation" by the State Committee for Land Resources of Russia and the State Committee for Ecology of Russia.
4.Vernadsky V.I. Chemical structure of the Earth's biosphere and its environment // M.: Nauka. 1987, p. 74.
5. Makarova A. M. Gorshkov V. G. Li B. L. Preservation of the water cycle on land through the restoration of natural forests with a closed canopy: ideas for regional landscape planning. // Ecological Research, 2006. No. 21. C 897-906 Copyright 2006 the Ecological Society of Japan. Further reproduction or electronic distribution is not allowed
6. Plant life. In 6 vols. // Vol. 1. Protection of pyrodes. Al. A. Fedorov. A.A. Yatsenko-Khmelevsky // M.: Enlightenment. 1980. P.174
15
7..Varsanofieva V.A. Quaternary deposits of the Upper Pechora basin in connection with general issues of the Quaternary geology of the Pechora Territory // Uchenye zapiski Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo in-ta, 1939. Issue 1. P. 45-115.
8. Liverovskii, Yu. A., Geomorphology and Quaternary deposits of the northern parts of the Pechora basin, Tr. Geomorphol. In-ta. L.: From the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 1939. Issue No. 7. From 5-74.
9. Plant life. In 6 volumes.// V.1. Life forms of plants. T. A. Serebryakova// M.: Enlightenment. 1980, p. 93
10. Plant life. In 6 vols. // Vol. 1. Plants and environment. Uranov A. A. // M.: Enlightenment. 1980. S. 81
11. Gorshkov V.G. Makarova A. M. Biotic pump of atmospheric moisture, its connection with global circulation and significance for the water cycle on land. // Preprint No. 2655 St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics, Gatchina, 2006. P 49
12...Vernadsky V.I. Chemical structure of the Earth's biosphere and its environment // M.: Nauka. 1987, p. 46
13. E.Yu. Bezuglaya, G.P. Rastorgueva, I.V. Smirnova What the industrial city breathes with // L .: Gidrometeoizdat. 1991, p. 180
14. Review of environmental pollution in the Russian Federation for 2006 // M.: Rosgidromet. 2007. P.8 - 150
15. Study of the impact of anthropogenic emissions of tropospheric aerosol on the processes of cloud and precipitation formation: Research report (conclusion) / IPG; hands topics Vulfson N. I., responsible. performer Spiridonova Yu. V. - M., 1985. P. 182
16. Plant life. In 6 vols. // Vol. 1. Plants and environment. Uranov A. A. // M.: Enlightenment. 1980. S. 71
17. Plant life. In 6 vols. // Vol. 5. Part 1. Beech family (Fagaceae), Yu. M. Menitsky // M.: Enlightenment. 1980. p. 307
18. Soil science. Part 1 Soil and soil formation. Proc. For un-s. (under the editorship of V. A. Kovda) - M .: Higher. School 1988. Pg. 265
19. Soil science. P 1 Soil and soil formation. Proc. For un-s. (under the editorship of V. A. Kovda) - M .: Higher School. 1988 Page 336
20. G. Walter. Vegetation of the globe. T.2// M.: Progress. 1974. p.38
21. Plant life. In 6 vols. // Vol. 5. Part 2. Linden family (Tiliaceae), I. V. Vasiliev // M .: Education. 1980, p. 119
22. Life of plants. In 6 volumes // T. 5. Part 2 Maple family (Aceraceae), S. G. Zhilin // M .: Education. 1980. P.266
Deserts and semi-deserts occupy at least 22-23% of the land area, g.u. at least 31.5 million sq. km. According to some estimates, the area of deserts and semi-deserts exceeds a third of the earth's surface. As a result of ecologically illiterate farming, the area of deserts on the planet is constantly increasing, capturing an average of 50-70 thousand square meters. km of productive land annually (UN Conference on Desertification..., 1978). Only in the last quarter of the XX century. more than 9 million sq. km of deserts, and another 30 million sq. km is under the threat of desertification (more than 15% of the world's population lives in these territories).
Generally The territory is defined as arid (drought) in the event that the evaporation of moisture from it exceeds the amount of precipitation (humidification). There are various variants of arid biota - tropical and extratropical deserts, semi-deserts and steppes, arid savannahs. Each of them is characterized by a specific amount of precipitation, the ratio of dry and wet seasons, biomass, etc.
Of the main climatic and environmental factors affecting humans in the arid zone of tropical latitudes, first of all, we should mention high temperatures. In deserts, average summer temperatures in the shade exceed +25 °C. Due to low cloudiness and high air transparency, insolation is very high: the annual amount of solar radiation in the deserts of North Africa reaches 200-220 kcal/sq. cm, which is 2.5 times higher than in the middle lane.
In physiological terms, the problem of adaptation to an arid climate is complicated by the fact that at air temperatures above +33 °C, heat transfer through the skin (convection) is sharply reduced and is provided almost exclusively by evaporation. The vital activity of the human body when the body temperature rises above 44 ° C is impossible (upper legal temperature).
Morphological adaptation to reduced heat transfer in representatives of semi-desert and desert populations is provided either due to general gracilization (reduction in body size, like the Kalahari Bushmen), or due to a combination of high growth and low weight (Tuareg of the Sahara, Gurkana and south of the East African arid savannah). ). Both options lead to an increase in the ratio of body area (heat transfer) to muscle mass (heat production), g.u. reduce the risk of overheating.
Daily temperature fluctuations in the deserts are very significant. Although the average daily temperature in the tropical desert is only 8°C higher than in the rainforest, the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures in the desert is almost twice that of the rainforest. In the region of Gurkan (Kenya, semi-desert savannah), the average pre-dawn temperature is +24 °С, while the average daily temperature is +37 °С. In the early morning hours, the air temperature in the Central Asian deserts drops to 18-23 ° C, and in the Kalahari and the deserts of southern Australia, night temperatures are even lower.
Seasonal temperature fluctuations insignificant in the tropical deserts, but very large in the transtropical deserts (Karakum, Kyzylkum, Gobi). Winter in the Gobi lasts about 6 months, without thaws, with frosts down to -40 °C. The absolute maximums of the summer daytime temperature reach +50 °C in the shade. The temperate steppes are also characterized by long hot summers and rather cold winters. Thus, the environmental pressure of continental climate factors is added to the influence of the factors of the arid zone in the extra-tropical regions.
characteristic of the desert dry air leads to rapid dehydration. The average relative humidity in deserts is about 30% (in the tropical rainforest it reaches 80-100%). The impact on the body of dry air is exacerbated by constant winds. At the same time, desert winds are often combined with a significant increase in air temperature and therefore lead not only to an additional loss of moisture, but also to overheating of the body (the well-known expression is “the wind in the desert does not bring coolness”).
Chapter 11
Deserts on the planet occupy vast territories. They cover the largest areas in Africa (75% of the total area of deserts), Asia and Australia.
There are also many deserts in North and South America. In total, deserts on earth occupy 20 million km2. But in Europe there are no deserts.
There are temperate, subtropical and tropical deserts. In the temperate zone, they spread over the plains of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to Central China in the east. In North America, some areas of intermontane depressions in the western part of the mainland are also deserts.
Deserts of subtropical and tropical zones are located in the north-west of India, in Iran, Pakistan and Asia Minor, on the Arabian Peninsula, in the northern part of the African continent, on the western coast of South America and in the very heart of Australia.
Most deserts have a sharply continental climate. In summer, it is hot and dry there, during the day the air temperature in the shade in temperate and subtropical deserts exceeds 40 ° C, and in tropical deserts it sometimes reaches 58 ° C. It gets cold at night, the temperature often drops to 0 ° C. In winter, deserts are very it is cold, and even in the unusually hot Sahara, frosts are not uncommon at this time.
There is very little precipitation in deserts, on average - no more than 180-200 mm per year, and in some places even less, such as, for example, in the Atacama Desert in Chile (about 10 mm). In tropical deserts, not a single, even the smallest, rain may fall for several years.
In the spring, vegetation appears in the deserts, but in the summer it almost completely burns out. That is why the soil of deserts acquires a light yellow, light gray or almost white color.
In many deserts, stony and clay areas pass into spaces occupied by sand alone. Here you can see huge waves - dunes, the height of which sometimes exceeds 10-12 m. They have a crescent shape. Sometimes the ends of the dunes converge, and long chains appear. Under the influence of the wind, the dunes move. Some travel only 10 cm in a year, others several hundred meters.
There are no forests in the deserts and there are very few mountain ranges, so the wind has room to roam. Encountering no obstacles in its path, it gains tremendous strength, lifts up the sand and sometimes turns into a dusty sandstorm.
Clay deserts are devoid of even the most meager vegetation. Usually they occupy lowlands, which fill with water during rain. Moisture does not penetrate the clay and evaporates under the influence of sunlight. Soon the dry soil is covered with cracks. Such areas of the desert are called takyrs.
Often various salts come to the surface and salt marshes are formed. Not a single blade of grass grows on them.
Clay deserts are completely unsuitable for animal life, but living creatures live in the sands. Here you can find plants that have adapted to an anhydrous environment. Sand allows moisture to pass through, and in summer it accumulates in its lower layers.
The representative of the desert flora is saxaul. Some of its species are able to grow up to 5 meters in height. Saxaul has tiny leaves, which allows it to conserve moisture, and therefore from a distance it seems completely naked. By winter, its leaves fall off. Despite this, black saxaul is able to create a shadow in which animals and people can hide from the sizzling sun.
In the desert, many plants change their large spring leaves with the onset of summer to smaller ones. In some desert flora, the leaves are covered with a shiny waxy layer, and the sun's rays reflect off them.
Prickly sand locust and black wormwood grow in the deserts, which have no leaves at all for most of the year. Only in early spring it is covered with tender leaves, but very soon they fly around, giving the plant the opportunity to survive in the difficult conditions of the arid desert.
In the deserts of the Western Hemisphere, you can find a variety of types of cacti. They are able to collect huge reserves of moisture in their stems and leaves, and often water accounts for more than 90% of the weight of the entire plant. Almost 3 thousand liters of water is stored in a huge North American cactus carnegia giant, growing up to 15 meters in height. Most desert plants have a well-developed root system, which makes it possible to obtain water from the depths of the soil.
For many centuries of living in the desert, animals have also perfectly adapted to life in difficult conditions. Most of them have a yellowish-gray color, which allows them to hide from enemies or sneak up on their prey.
From the heat, representatives of the desert fauna hide in a variety of places. Sparrows, pigeons, owls rest in the pits on the walls of the wells. They also make their nests there. Feathered predators, such as eagles, crows, falcons, find the remains of buildings or mounds for nesting, choosing a shady side on them.
cacti
Many animals hide from the heat in cool burrows. At night, this shelter saves them from the cold. Some desert dwellers can do without water at all. So, the thin-toed ground squirrel uses the moisture obtained from the plants it eats. A number of desert animals have the ability to run fast, overcoming long distances in search of food and water. For example, kulans (wild donkeys) run at a speed of 70 km per hour. One of the most amazing inhabitants of the sands, the camel drinks very little and can quench its thirst with water from salt lakes. And he eats those plants that other animals will never eat. Huge reserves of fat (up to 100 kg) are collected in its humps, so the camel goes without food for a long time. In addition, he is able to lie on hot sand, calluses on his body and legs protect him from heat.
One of the inhabitants of the deserts and semi-deserts of North Africa, resembling a fox fox, moves very quickly and deftly across the sands. Its huge ears easily pick up the slightest rustle of the night desert, thanks to which the fennec fox successfully hunts lizards, small rodents and beetles.
A variety of amphibians live in the deserts: snakes, lizards, turtles. From the heat, as well as in danger, they hide in the sand. The horned viper, which lives in the deserts of North Africa, has many sawtooth scales on its body, allowing it to instantly burrow into the ground.
If most reptiles take refuge from the heat in the soil, then the agama lizard, on the contrary, climbs bushes and trees, where the hot sand no longer frightens it.
Jerboas, found in the Central Asian deserts, spend the whole day in small burrows, from which they emerge only at nightfall to feast on seeds and underground parts of plants. Having small front and unusually long hind legs, they are able to make 3-meter jumps, while balancing with a long tail with a tassel. A typical inhabitant of the desert is a scorpion, sleeping at night in an underground shelter, and in the evening getting out to hunt. It feeds on spiders and other insects, as well as small lizards. At night, a predatory spider tarantula is also looking for a victim.
Often, scientists and travelers find the ruins of ancient cities and irrigation canals in the sands of the deserts. Many of these settlements were destroyed during the wars. People left their inhabited places forever, and soon the once flourishing city was at the mercy of the sands.
The desert continues to advance on neighboring territories at the present time. This happens most often where people ruthlessly cut down trees, destroy shrubs and do not change the place of grazing for a long time. Plants whose roots held the sands are disappearing, and the desert is capturing more and more new lands. Scientists have calculated that every year the area of deserts increases by 60,000 km2, which corresponds to half the area of Belgium.
This text is an introductory piece.
