The Mojave Desert is often portrayed as empty space waiting to be filled with solar panels, but the ground beneath those arrays can be as biologically rich as any national park. New research on a ...

Although sunlight is one of the cleanest forms of renewable energy available, clearing large swathes of desert habitat to build solar arrays has consequences for the plants and animals it displaces.

In a recent study, scientists have unlocked the genetic secrets of Cissus quadrangularis, a plant that flourishes in the harshest of desert climates. The discovery of its adaptive traits and the ...

Made to withstand the harsh climate of the desert and thrive in it, the dead and decaying desert plants throughout the Sonoran landscape may be perplexing to those who see it. But even the toughest ...

Life in places like California’s Death Valley pushes everything to its limit. Temperatures rise past 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The light is harsh, the soil is dry, and most plants wilt fast. Yet one low ...

Every April for the past decade, systems biologist Rodrigo Gutiérrez has driven 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to reach one of the driest places on Earth: Chile’s Atacama Desert, parts of which ...

High Desert summers require specific gardening techniques due to extreme heat. Mulching, weeding and providing shade are crucial for plant survival. Tomatoes, peppers, basil, melons, pumpkins, ...