Expert: Walter Hintz - 12/8/2009

Question
Why would plant life adapt to grow in such inhabitable environments such as deserts? Is there any evolutionary advantage to life in a desert?

How do C4 plants "pump" CO2 into the Calvin Cycle in concentrations higher than the surrounding atmosphere? What advantage does this give the plant?

Answer
Life is opportunistic. Wherever an ecological niche occurs it is filled. Deserts offer conditions for life to appear. In other words life will appear in any place where extreme conditions do not prevent it.  There are bacteria in hot springs and sea life near deep ocean smokers where lava erupts. Evolutionary advantage is not an issue. Evolutionary deals with natural selection.

I am afraid that I cannot answer the second question