Desert ecosystems are some of the most richly diverse in the world and yet they are one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. Deserts, which account for one-third of the earth’s land mass, ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has ...

Desert ecosystems are defined by extreme water scarcity, highly irregular precipitation and intense solar radiation, creating a hydrological regime that is both spatially heterogeneous and temporally ...

A new paper published in Biological Reviews has revealed the potential of desert ecosystems in the global fight against climate change. The review, led by Prof. Zeng Fanjiang from the Xinjiang ...

Researchers have discovered a unique lagoon ecosystem in Argentina’s high Puna de Atacama Desert, they announced at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union last week. The ecosystem, which features ...

The tortoises are what ecologists call "ecosystem engineers." ...

Deserts constitute over thirty per cent of the Earth’s land surface and harbour a wealth of specialised flora and fauna adapted to extreme scarcity of water, high temperatures and nutrient-poor soils.

A wildfire burning near the California-Nevada border has ravaged parts of the Mojave National Preserve’s famed Joshua tree forests, and experts worry that the massive blaze will forever change the ...

Botswana's fertile Okavango Delta is one of the last remaining high-biodiversity ecosystems in the world, home to cheetahs, African wild dogs, baobab trees, crocodiles, termites and owls that catch ...

PHOENIX – On a warm Wednesday afternoon, one burro with tan fur and large ears wandered the streets and desert surrounding Lake Pleasant with its herd. Many of the wild donkeys roam near the lake ...

Increasingly frequent and severe heat waves in the Southwest are damaging some desert plants known for thriving in harsh conditions. Saguaro cacti and agave have both suffered in sweltering weather ...

Desert ecosystems are terrestrial biomes characterized by chronically low precipitation, high evapotranspiration, and large diurnal temperature fluctuations, resulting in water-limited primary ...