scuola energia e ambiente
Desert
Deserts occupy one third of the surfaces above the water level, and are present in all the continents. In these environments rain is very scarce: at times for a few drops of water to fall from the sky it may even take years.
The temperature at day time reaches very high values, while at night it drops greatly because a large amount of heat present on the surface disperses in the atmosphere. However life does not stop even in the desert, and even though there are thousands of difficulties, it successfully can resist a climate that is so unfavourable, by resorting to very effective expedients.
subjects dealt with in Desert
Desert biome
The desert (from the Latin deserere, to abandon) is a habitat with poor rainfalls. In many deserts, the annual rainfall…
Man and desert
Despite the desert being so inhospitable, there are ethnic groups living in these places; they are groups of people that…
Desertification
According to the figures reported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 25% of the earth's land is threatened by…
special reports
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10 February 2014 / Ecosystems
Coral turns pale!
The delicate balance of the coral reef “When looking at a coral reef, we are fascinated by the enormous variety…
29 April 2013 / Ecosystems
Intruders in the Mediterranean
Mare Nostrum The Mediterranean Sea (Mare Nostrum, Latin for “Our Sea”) has always been considered of fundamental importance for the…
1 August 2012 / Ecosystems
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
Sustainable holidays Lately we have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when…
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8 July 2011 / Ecosystems
Who's coming to dinner
A shark in my hamburger Summer is finally here! As usual, we have waited for it all year long and…
8 April 2011 / Ecosystems
Protected areas
Taking a look at the past Protecting nature, at least as a general concept, has rather old origins; in fact…
15 March 2008 / Ecosystems
Biodiversity
Defining biodiversity Much is said about biodiversity and of the need to protect it. But what is biodiversity? And why…
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1 November 2007 / Ecosystems
The environment and health
Two faces of the same coin The topic of the relationship between the environment and health is very transversal, i.e.…
13 October 2007 / Ecosystems
Environmental risk in Nepal
Institutional management The government institution in charge of management of natural resources in Nepal, is the Ministry of Population and…
1 June 2007 / Ecosystems
Nepal’s natural resources
The country Morphological characteristics Nepal is a relatively small country with a total area of little less than 150,000 square…
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10 February 2014 / Ecosystems
Coral turns pale!
The delicate balance of the coral reef “When looking at a coral reef, we are fascinated by the enormous variety…
29 April 2013 / Ecosystems
Intruders in the Mediterranean
Mare Nostrum The Mediterranean Sea (Mare Nostrum, Latin for “Our Sea”) has always been considered of fundamental importance for the…
-
1 August 2012 / Ecosystems
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
Sustainable holidays Lately we have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when…
8 July 2011 / Ecosystems
Who's coming to dinner
A shark in my hamburger Summer is finally here! As usual, we have waited for it all year long and…
-
8 April 2011 / Ecosystems
Protected areas
Taking a look at the past Protecting nature, at least as a general concept, has rather old origins; in fact…
15 March 2008 / Ecosystems
Biodiversity
Defining biodiversity Much is said about biodiversity and of the need to protect it. But what is biodiversity? And why…
10 February 2014 / Ecosystems
Coral turns pale!
The delicate balance of the coral reef “When looking at a coral reef, we are fascinated by the enormous variety…
29 April 2013 / Ecosystems
Intruders in the Mediterranean
Mare Nostrum The Mediterranean Sea (Mare Nostrum, Latin for “Our Sea”) has always been considered of fundamental importance for the…
1 August 2012 / Ecosystems
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
Sustainable holidays Lately we have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when…
from the Multimedia section
curiosities
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The loess
A peculiar trait of these soils is that they are easily moved by the wind: the vegetation has shallow roots,that…
Myths and legends of the forest
The dark and mysterious shadows of the forest are populated by fabulous creatures that have existed in men’s dreams for…
A frozen mammoth
During the Pleistocene (approximately 1.5 million years ago), the tundra covered all central Europe and was inhabited by spectacular animals,…
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Treatment with lime trees
Some parts of the plants have healing properties: lime trees are among the most common ones. Lime trees (Tilia cordata)…
Peat-bogs
Peat is a material of vegetal origin, that forms in different types and sizes of water fields or in very…
A meteorite explodes in the tundra
The Siberian tundra is also known for a spectacular astronomic event. On June 30th, 1908, in a remote region of…
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A witness of the ancient times
Baltic amber is largely used to make jewels. Amber is a resin that took origin thousands of years ago from…
Flour and forest perfumes
Forest produce is also quite valuable and can be picked in any season: berries in summer, mushrooms in autumn and…
An environmental quality indicator
The tundra, which is extremely rich in lichens, proved very useful to study the world’s distribution of pollutants: the wind…
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The loess
A peculiar trait of these soils is that they are easily moved by the wind: the vegetation has shallow roots,that…
Myths and legends of the forest
The dark and mysterious shadows of the forest are populated by fabulous creatures that have existed in men’s dreams for…
-
A frozen mammoth
During the Pleistocene (approximately 1.5 million years ago), the tundra covered all central Europe and was inhabited by spectacular animals,…
Treatment with lime trees
Some parts of the plants have healing properties: lime trees are among the most common ones. Lime trees (Tilia cordata)…
-
Peat-bogs
Peat is a material of vegetal origin, that forms in different types and sizes of water fields or in very…
A meteorite explodes in the tundra
The Siberian tundra is also known for a spectacular astronomic event. On June 30th, 1908, in a remote region of…
The loess
A peculiar trait of these soils is that they are easily moved by the wind: the vegetation has shallow roots,that…
Myths and legends of the forest
The dark and mysterious shadows of the forest are populated by fabulous creatures that have existed in men’s dreams for…
A frozen mammoth
During the Pleistocene (approximately 1.5 million years ago), the tundra covered all central Europe and was inhabited by spectacular animals,…