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Understanding the climate and availability of water can help us understand the
behavior of desert ecosystems. Herbivory or seed predation may also
play an important role in plant distribution. Although rare, hard
freezes and fire may also have profound effects on desert
ecosystems. Locally intense storms and pulse events are critical,
but extremely hard to study or predict. Soil chemistry, soil
microorganisms, and root development are important, and should be
studied more intensively. Undisturbed desert ecosystems are rare and
valuable, because they give us a look at how the desert should look.
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