Batallia Downs - Desert?

[Xaoko]

Ok, so me and a friend of mine got into a long argument over whether or not Batallia Downs... is a desert. He took the side of no, it is not a desert, with me taking the side of yes, it is a desert. Here is a quick overview of the points he brought up and the points I brought up.

Not a desert:
-Has grass and trees
-Too mountainous
-Too much life (aside from plantation)

Is a desert:
-While Batallia Downs has grass and trees, due to the close location of the ocean, grass can easily be supported by ocean spray and fog. The grass would simply need to be resistant against high saline levels in the soil, and beable to hold moisture. Furthermore, the grass is not everywhere in the zone. While there are some areas with grass, they tend to be few. Also, when it comes to the trees, they are very dry, and look dead. Could be a sign of desertification, which could be the case with Batallia Downs.
-Batallia Downs looks to have the desert soil type, aridisol. It fits the requirements: not much leeching (looks like it <_<), can support plant life, but there will not be lush vegetaion.
-Large fauna is also present in other desert-like zones, such as Sauro Camp., and Altepa. The presence of treants in the form of sapling and... treant only support the idea that desertification took place in batallia.

What was not brought up in the argument, that can help prove that batallia is a desert/desertfication is taking root:
-Snow can be present in deserts, as long as the area remains arid still. If one notices, batallia rarely snows also. Notice I said rarely. Much like how it does rain in a hotter desert rarely, it can snow in batallia, rarely.
-Deserts do not need to be hot. There are some rather cold deserts. Polar deserts for one.

So yeah... Batallia: Not a desert, desert, or went under desertification?

[Jei]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

it snows in batallia during winter. So I don't suppose it's a desert.

didn't know you can have snow in desert.

If anything I think the bits and pieces of crystals around Batallia kinda suggest that the life forms around there have been affected by the leaked crystals energy (or something like that that also affects life forms around Qufim). So the reason trees and soils look so strange may not be direct effect from the desert-type weather afterall.

[mikejones]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

... why argue about this

btu i say no

[Xaoko]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

it snows in batallia during winter. So I don't suppose it's a desert.

Though, it can snow in a desert ._. Look at Siberia, for example <_<

[Taskmage]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

Main Entry: down
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English doun hill, from Old English dun
1 : an undulating usually treeless upland with sparse soil -- usually used in plural
2 often capitalized : a sheep of any breed originating in the downs of southern England

Main Entry: des·ert
Pronunciation: 'de-z&rt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin desertum, from Latin, neuter of desertus, past participle of deserere to desert, from de- + serere to join together -- more at SERIES
1 a : arid land with usually sparse vegetation; especially : such land having a very warm climate and receiving less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of sporadic rainfall annually b : an area of water apparently devoid of life
2 archaic : a wild uninhabited and uncultivated tract
3 : a desolate or forbidding area <lost in a desert of doubt>

So going by the first definition of desert, the most geographically related one, Batallia couldn't be a desert because of its cold climate. By the third, broader definition, I would say it is.

Double Post Edited:
Moved to Off Topics, btw.

[mikejones]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

well go check the definition of a desert biome (coastal desert):

The cool winters of coastal deserts are followed by moderately long, warm summers. The average summer temperature ranges from 13-24° C; winter temperatures are 5° C or below. The maximum annual temperature is about 35° C and the minimum is about -4° C. The average rainfall measures 8-13 cm in many areas. The maximum annual precipitation over a long period of years has been 37 cm with a minimum of 5 cm. The soil is fine-textured with a moderate salt content. It is fairly porous with good drainage. Some plants have extensive root systems close to the surface where they can take advantage of any rain showers. All of the plants with thick and fleshy leaves or stems can take in large quantities of water when it is available and store it for future use. In some plants, the surfaces are corrugated with longitudinal ridges and grooves. When water is available, the stem swells so that the grooves are shallow and the ridges far apart. As the water is used, the stem shrinks so that the grooves are deep and ridges close together. The plants living in this type of desert include the salt bush, buckwheat bush, black bush, rice grass, little leaf horsebrush, black sage, and chrysothamnus. Some animals have specialized adaptations for dealing with the desert heat and lack of water. Some toads seal themselves in burrows with gelatinous secretions and remain inactive for eight or nine months until a heavy rain occurs. Amphibians that pass through larval stages have accelerated life cycles, which improves their chances of reaching maturity before the waters evaporate. Some insects lay eggs that remain dormant until the environmental conditions are suitable for hatching. The fairy shrimps also lay dormant eggs. Other animals include: insects, mammals (coyote and badger), amphibians (toads), birds (great horned owl, golden eagle and the bald eagle), and reptiles (lizards and snakes).

blah blah blah.... so MAYBE it can be a desert. but i still say no. valkurm = coastal desert in my opinion

[Feba]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

I'd have to go with "Downs".

[Balfree]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

Deserts can have lush vegetation, and habitants. A desert is much like a plains, but usually much more extended.. a desert can be located near a coastal border, and it can snow in a desert.

Deserts can have mountains and land elevations, which is probably why some plains are deserts, but not all deserts are plains, take grand kenya for example.

Deserts can be covered in snow too.

But.. Battallia downs is more of a Downs than anything else, it honestly looks more like some barren chunk of land.. i'd say sauromunge and it's zone, tahrongi, are much more like deserts.

From a savannah, to barren lands, to plain, prairie and desert, battalia is probably inbetween some of those.

[Draco Dagon]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

Ok, so me and a friend of mine got into a long argument over whether or not Batallia Downs... is a desert. He took the side of no, it is not a desert, with me taking the side of yes, it is a desert. Here is a quick overview of the points he brought up and the points I brought up.

Not a desert:
-Has grass and trees
-Too mountainous
-Too much life (aside from plantation)

Is a desert:
-While Batallia Downs has grass and trees, due to the close location of the ocean, grass can easily be supported by ocean spray and fog. The grass would simply need to be resistant against high saline levels in the soil, and beable to hold moisture. Furthermore, the grass is not everywhere in the zone. While there are some areas with grass, they tend to be few. Also, when it comes to the trees, they are very dry, and look dead. Could be a sign of desertification, which could be the case with Batallia Downs.
-Batallia Downs looks to have the desert soil type, aridisol. It fits the requirements: not much leeching (looks like it <_<), can support plant life, but there will not be lush vegetaion.
-Large fauna is also present in other desert-like zones, such as Sauro Camp., and Altepa. The presence of treants in the form of sapling and... treant only support the idea that desertification took place in batallia.

What was not brought up in the argument, that can help prove that batallia is a desert/desertfication is taking root:
-Snow can be present in deserts, as long as the area remains arid still. If one notices, batallia rarely snows also. Notice I said rarely. Much like how it does rain in a hotter desert rarely, it can snow in batallia, rarely.
-Deserts do not need to be hot. There are some rather cold deserts. Polar deserts for one.

So yeah... Batallia: Not a desert, desert, or went under desertification?

While much of that is true, it is false to assume Batallia downs is a desert still, even on all the above when you compare a desert to a down.

Batallia is a down region, as SE made it that way to begin with. Sauromugue Champaigne is the closest of the 4 areas around Jueno to being a desert, and Rolanberry Fields is a plain, while Qufim Island is a mountainous region.

[Haggai]

Re: Batallia Downs - Desert?

I don't know about Batallia, but I know what are deserts: Eastern Altepa Desert and Western Altepa Desert.

Lame, I know.