Desert nutrients need only rain to become productive.
According to Kennesaw State University, aridisols are types of soils that form in dry regions where there is scarcely any rainfall for most of the year. These soils contain large amounts of calcium carbonate, as well as layers of clay, silica, salt and gypsum in the subsurface regions. They make up about 8% of the land in the United States, found mainly in the dry southwest region. There are four types of deserts: hot and dry, semiarid, coastal and cold, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology.
Hot and Dry Desert Soil Characteristics
The Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin areas are the major North American deserts in the hot and dry category, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology. The soil composition in these deserts is coarse, shallow, rocky or gravely, has adequate drainage and retains no subsurface water. The coarseness is due to less weathering of the soil, of which the finer particles are blown away, leaving larger pieces behind.
Semiarid Desert Soil Characteristics
Semiarid deserts occur in the sage country of Utah, Montana and the Great Basin, and arctic areas of North America, Newfoundland, Greenland, Russia, Europe and Asia. Semiarid desert soil can be sandy and fine to gravely. It contains small amounts of salt, due to low rainfall, and on sloping ground, such as on mountainsides, the soil is shallower and drains well. On lower slopes, the sand is coarse and well-drained. Bottomland soil is sandy and fine and often forms a hard crust just under the surface where water is never found.
Coastal and Cold Desert Soil Characteristics
The University of California Museum of Paleontology states that coastal deserts are described as moderately cool to warm areas such as the Nearctic and Neotropical realm. An example is the Atacama of Chile. The soil composition of coastal deserts is fine, well-drained and moderately salty. Cold desert soils are heavy, fine and also salty. Alluvial fans, described by the University of Oregon as "fan-shaped deposits of water-transported material," create a porous texture that drains well, releasing most of the salt from the cold desert soil.
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