The food web in the hot desert biome is a simple one. Life in this hot, dry environment is challenging, requiring adaptations from both animals and plants. The soil is often dry, and desert winds carry fine dust particles away, leaving a stony landscape. Plants that live in the desert year round have evolved special adaptations for capturing and storing water. Adaptations include secreting a waxy substance to protect their leaves from drying out, thorns and spines to keep hungry animals at bay, and body shapes that can expand rapidly when water becomes available.
Plants have large networks of roots that lie near the surface and can capture rain when it falls.
One bush, the creosote bush, actually secretes a substance in its roots that keep other roots out of its feeding area. Many desert plants no longer have leaves, or grow only very small ones. They have chlorphyll in their stems. Many cacti do not have leaves at all. Their rounded bodies have a low surface to volume ratio , and the spines that protect them also cast a little precious shade on their green bodies.