Deserts are defined in a classic paper by Noy-Meir (1973) as “water-controlled ecosystems with infrequent, discrete, and largely unpredictable water inputs.” They are found to a greater or lesser extent on all six continents (including Antarctica). Based on the moisture index system of Thornthwaite (1948), Meigs (1953) divided deserts into three categories: extremely arid (less than 60–100 mm mean annual precipitation), arid (60–100 to 150–250 mm mean annual precipitation), and semiarid (150–250 to 250–500 mm mean annual precipitation). Using this criterion, most of the deserts of North America would be considered semiarid or arid environments.
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Flechtner, V.R. (2007). North American Desert Microbiotic Soil Crust Communities. In: Seckbach, J. (eds) Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6112-7_29
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