The document describes ecosystems and characteristics of desert environments. It discusses how desert plants and animals have adapted to the hot, dry conditions by being drought and salt tolerant. Solar energy fuels life in deserts. Common desert plants include cacti, yucca, and bushes. Animals found in deserts include lizards, tortoises, frogs, camels, rats, coyotes and toads. The document classifies deserts into cold, hot and dry, semiarid, and coastal types based on temperature and rainfall patterns.