Question

Dominant plants of the cold desert are
A. Shrub and small trees
B. Low stature shrub and perennial grass
C. Tall trees and herbaceous plants
D. Low stature shrub and herbaceous plants

Answer 1

Hint: Cold deserts are areas that receive very less rainfall and these places mostly contain plants which are rooted very deeply. These places have very long and cold winter seasons. In India deserts such as the Gobi are the examples of a cold desert.

Complete step by step answer: The major types of vegetation present in cold desert regions are herbaceous plants and low stature shrubs. They have brightly coloured leaves that absorb more heat from the sunlight. Since the sunlight available to this area is really less, they are adapted to absorb most of the available sunlight. Another type of vegetation covering the region is the grass growing in bunches known as bunchgrass. Trees exist in the terrain but are very few in number. The most common trees growing in the deserts are Acacia and Pistachio trees. Plants such as Cacti are not common in cold deserts, since they are adapted to survive in hot regions. Cold deserts can be found in the Antarctic (South Pole), Greenland and parts of North America. Cold deserts have two seasons, i.e. they have extremely hot summers and cold winters.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Note: Like plants, animals have also adapted to suit the extreme climate of the terrain. Smaller mammals are more in number when compared to a larger one, so as to minimize the amount of heat loss. Some of the animals present are armadillos, moles and hedgehogs.