Hot Deserts

Question 1

Appropriate Technology

Answer 1

(Also called Intermediate Technology) Technology that is suited to the needs, skills, knowledge and wealth of local people in the environment in which they live. It usually combines simple ideas with cheap and readily available materials, especially for use in poorer countries, and is environmentally friendly.

Question 2

Biodiversity

Answer 2

The variety of life in the world or a particular habitat.

Question 3

Desertification

Answer 3

The process by which land becomes drier and degraded, as a result of climate change or human activities or both.

Question 4

Hot Desert Climate

Answer 4

Parts of the world that have high average day time temperatures (45 degrees) and very low precipitation (less than 250mm per annum, sometimes once every three years).

Question 5

Mineral Extraction

Answer 5

The removal of solid mineral resources from the earth. These resources include ores, which contain commercially valuable amounts of metals, such as iron and aluminium; precious stones, such as diamonds; building stones, such as granite; and solid fuels, such as coal and oil shale.

Question 6

Over-Cultivation

Answer 6

Exhausting the soil by over-cropping the land

Question 7

Overgrazing

Answer 7

Grazing too many livestock for too long on the land, so it is unable to recover its vegetation.

Question 8

Characteristic of Desert Soil

Answer 8

Shallow, coarse, gravelly texture, not fertile, dry.