Classification of Arid & Semi-Arid Areas: A Case Study in Western Australia

Abstract

Arid and semi-arid environments present challenges for ecosystems and the human activities within them. Climate classifications are one method of understanding the climate of these regions, giving regionalscale insight into parameters such as temperature and precipitation. This essay qualitatively compares the application of four different climate classification schemes (Köppen-Trewartha, Guetter-Kutzbach, De Martonne and Erinç) to a transect across Western Australia. The classification schemes show a distinct climatic gradient from the wet coast to the dry continental interior, with the most pronounced gradient located near the coast. Strong agreement is found between weather stations and classifications for wet and dry years, indicating that the weather systems on the coast also govern weather inland. Historically wet and dry periods, as well as long-term drying trends were also identified for the coastal regions, which could affect the livelihoods of many people. A long-term drying trend is also evident at Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the most arid, inland town. These results show that climate classifications can identify major trends and shifts in climate on a decadal or yearly basis, and it is hoped that they will become more widely used for this form of analysis.

The living dead: Demography of Australian sandalwood in Australia's western rangelands

“…All of the sites experience semi-arid or arid climates (Leech, 2013), with annual average rainfall between 200 mm and 310 mm (BoM, 2022). There is considerable variation in sites' rainfall and temperature records due to the wide geographic span of the study area, from near-coastal sites in the west to the interior and continental desert climatic zones in the east.…”

Seed germination dynamics of some woody legumes: implication for restoration of arid zones ecosystems

“…Arid lands are characterized by extreme climatic variability, including high temperatures and erratic seasonal rainfall, in terms of onset, amount, distribution, and duration of the season (Leech, 2013 ; Marigi et al, 2016 ). Precipitation in these regions is markedly low relative to the demand required for the proper functioning of the ecosystem (McHugh et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Precipitation in these regions is markedly low relative to the demand required for the proper functioning of the ecosystem (McHugh et al, 2015 ). The limited moisture availability and extremely high temperatures serve as the most pivotal factors that control bio-logical processes and, therefore, determine productivity in dry lands (Leech, 2013 ; McHugh et al, 2015 ). Biotic factors, such as species richness, diversity, abundance, and interactions, are also believed to play key functions in productivity, nutrient cycling, and modulating the effects of other abiotic factors on ecosystem functioning (Colemana and Whitman, 2005).…”

“…The ecosystem, therefore, possesses a reduced ability to buffer the effects of climatic extremes and human overexploitation with its scant resources (Malagnoux et al, 2007 ; Marigi et al, 2016 ). Both anthropogenic and climatic changes generally result in a negative impact on the ecosystem and the livelihoods of millions of people inhabiting the arid lands; and these problems are expected to exacerbate due to global climatic changes (Leech, 2013 ; Maestre, 2016 ).…”