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Biodiversity
Flora and fauna in deserts and grasslands are adapted to living in conditions that have low to very low humidity. Just as wildflowers and prairie grasses survive in grasslands by forming dense layers to survive dryness, succulent plants -- like cacti -- have also been able to obtain and store what little precipitation they get in the desert. Roots of short grass in grasslands and desert cacti do not penetrate too deeply into the soil to absorb whatever amount of rainfall comes. Both biomes do not allow much vegetation to grow. Small animals in both biomes burrow themselves into the soil to protect themselves from the weather. Both biomes support avian species and often serve as their breeding grounds.
Location
Grasslands and deserts are often found where mountains block sufficient precipitation from reaching them. Precipitation-bearing clouds are thus hindered from entering both biomes to induce rainfall. The prairies east of the Rocky Mountains in North America and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona clearly display this kind of geographical phenomenon.
Extreme Temperatures
Just as there are hot and cold deserts -- the Sahara and the Gobi in China, respectively -- with temperatures that can vary from extremely hot to very cold, grassland climate also varies dramatically. Summers in grasslands can be sizzling, and cold seasons are prolonged.
Formation
The formation of deserts is accelerated by soil erosion due to water and wind. Numerous grasslands also formed when fires and strong winds cut off forest precipitation and swept the land to induce grasses to proliferate. Both biomes can provide high productivity if they receive sufficient moisture or irrigation, but at present, rainfall does not seep deep enough into the plant roots and is instead merely deposited in the soil's superficial layers.