<p>After looking at the OP's definition of the biomes that are semi-arid and temperate, I decided to compare them to the biomes in WWF's <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/science/wildfinder/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wildfinder</a> and sum the area total. The WWF biomes don't really match up with the biomes defined by the OP (and originally by LC King, apparently, though I haven't read anything of his), but they at least give an alternative estimate.</p>

<p>For the Semi-Arid Biomes, I have:</p>

<ul>
<li>'Tropical grasslands' = '<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/tropical-and-subtropical-grasslands-savannas-and-shrublands" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tropical and subtropical grasslands,
savannas, and shrublands</a>' with 18.3 million km$^2$.</li>
<li>'Warm Temperate Western Margin' = '<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/mediterranean-forests-woodlands-and-scrubs" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Mediterranean Forest, woodlands
and scrubs</a>' with 2.9 million km$^2$.</li>
<li>'Warm Temperate Continental' = '<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-grasslands-savannas-and-shrublands" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Temperate grasslands, savannas, and
shrublands</a>' at 9.9 million km$^2$.</li>
</ul>

<p>For a total of 31.1 million km$^2$ or 6.1% of the earth's surface.</p>

<p>For Temperate, there are two listed above plus:</p>

<ul>
<li>'Warm Temperate Eastern Margin' + 'Cool Temperate Eastern Margin' +
'Cool Temperate Western Margin' = '<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-broadleaf-and-mixed-forests" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Temperate broadleaf and mixed
forests</a>' + '<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-coniferous-forest" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Temperate coniferous forests</a>' at 12.2 million
for broadleaf and 3.9 million km$^2$ for conifer.</li>
<li>'Cool Temperate Continental' = '<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/boreal-forests-taiga" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Boreal Forest / Taiga</a>' at 14.9 million km$^2$</li>
</ul>

<p>For a grand total of 43.8 million km$^2$ or 8.6% of the Earth's surface.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-18T16:02:17.813Z
Thanks @kingledion! Looking at your estimates along with those of Santiago, I am now pretty confident that under no circumstances can Semi-Arid conditions be prevalent over more than 15-16% of Earth's Land Area. And also, that both Davis and King were grossly incorrect in suggesting a "Normal Cycle" of erosion..
EarthLearner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-18T14:07:47.340Z
2016-11-18T14:07:47.340Z
kingledion
<p>According to this <a href="http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7v.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">link</a> is 14% for Köppen classification.</p>

<p>The precise cite is:</p>

<p>"BS - dry semiarid (steppe). Is a grassland climate that covers 14% of the Earth's land surface."</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-09T22:36:18.293Z
A semi-arid climate can be defined in any of several ways, such as <20 inches (<500mm) of rain, or a given threshold of precipitation/evapotranspiration, or vegetation type. Also the global area of 'semi-arid' fluctuates in response to climatic excursions and climate change.
Gordon Stanger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-10T15:17:21.330Z
14% of the Earth's **land** surface would make around 4% of the Earth total surface.
gerrit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-18T16:02:46.413Z
Thanks @Santiago! Looking at your estimates along with those of kingledion, I am now pretty confident that under no circumstances can Semi-Arid conditions be prevalent over more than 15-16% of Earth's Land Area. And also, that both Davis and King were grossly incorrect in suggesting a "Normal Cycle" of erosion..
EarthLearner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-09T16:45:49.477Z
2016-11-09T16:45:49.477Z
Santiago
<p>I am studying the L.C. King's "Normal Cycle of Erosion". </p>

<p>Apparently, he suggests that Davis was incorrect to have assumed Temperate Humid conditions as "normal conditions" of the world when suggesting his (Davisain) Normal Cycle of Erosion. </p>

<p>King goes on to suggest that it should be "semi-arid" conditions instead which should be assumed to be "normal conditions" (representative of the world's climate) and hence, suggested his (King's) "Normal Cycle of Erosion".</p>

<p>So <strong>my questions</strong> are:</p>

<ol>
<li>How did L.C. King define SemiArid climate?</li>
<li>How much area in the world is under SemiArid climate as defined by L.C. King?</li>
<li>How much area in the world is under Temperate climate?</li>
</ol>

<hr>

<hr>

<p>P.S.: I suppose if a figure isn't available for Temperate/SemiArid climate, a figure for the 6 Temperate Biomes and the 3 SemiArid Biomes would also do the trick...</p>

<ul>
<li>6 Temperate Biomes: Warm Temperate Eastern Margin (China/Gulf Type), Warm Temperate Continental (Steppe Grasslands Type), Warm Temperate Western Margin (Mediterranean type), Cool Temperate Eastern Margin (Laurentian type), Cool Temperate Continental (Taiga type), Cool Temperate Western Margin (British type).</li>
<li>3 Semi Arid Biomes: Warm Temperate Continental (Steppe Grasslands Type), Warm Temperate Western Margin (Mediterranean type), Tropical Grasslands (Savanna type)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-09T18:07:37.083Z
Please, could you provide more details about what exactly you are asking?
arkaia
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-13T01:47:08.687Z
@aretxabaleta: Right. I've updated the question with the context of my study.
EarthLearner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-16T22:18:41.250Z
What is your definition of a semi-arid climate here? Without that, I'm not sure this question is answerable, as it would depend upon the definition.
hichris123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-18T05:06:40.380Z
@hichris123: Would this criteria do as a definition.."(1) areas where annual evapotranspiration exceeding annual precipitation; (2) should be marked by either grassland or park-landscape vegetation; and (3) should be areas in either temperate or tropical latitudes."..??
EarthLearner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-18T05:08:33.320Z
@hichris123: Just for curiosity sake...how did L. C. King define a semi-arid region when propounding his "Normal Cycle" of erosion?
EarthLearner
<climate><geomorphology><climatology>
How much area in the world is under SemiArid climate?
EarthLearner
# How much area in the world is under SemiArid climate?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-11-09)

I am studying the L.C. King's "Normal Cycle of Erosion".

Apparently, he suggests that Davis was incorrect to have assumed Temperate Humid conditions as "normal conditions" of the world when suggesting his (Davisain) Normal Cycle of Erosion.

King goes on to suggest that it should be "semi-arid" conditions instead which should be assumed to be "normal conditions" (representative of the world's climate) and hence, suggested his (King's) "Normal Cycle of Erosion".

So **my questions** are:

1. How did L.C. King define SemiArid climate?
2. How much area in the world is under SemiArid climate as defined by L.C. King?
3. How much area in the world is under Temperate climate?

---

---

P.S.: I suppose if a figure isn't available for Temperate/SemiArid climate, a figure for the 6 Temperate Biomes and the 3 SemiArid Biomes would also do the trick...

* 6 Temperate Biomes: Warm Temperate Eastern Margin (China/Gulf Type), Warm Temperate Continental (Steppe Grasslands Type), Warm Temperate Western Margin (Mediterranean type), Cool Temperate Eastern Margin (Laurentian type), Cool Temperate Continental (Taiga type), Cool Temperate Western Margin (British type).
* 3 Semi Arid Biomes: Warm Temperate Continental (Steppe Grasslands Type), Warm Temperate Western Margin (Mediterranean type), Tropical Grasslands (Savanna type)

**Tags:** climate, geomorphology, climatology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Please, could you provide more details about what exactly you are asking?  
> **username_0**: @aretxabaleta: Right. I've updated the question with the context of my study.  
> **username_2**: What is your definition of a semi-arid climate here? Without that, I'm not sure this question is answerable, as it would depend upon the definition.  
> **username_0**: @username_2: Would this criteria do as a definition.."(1) areas where annual evapotranspiration exceeding annual precipitation; (2) should be marked by either grassland or park-landscape vegetation; and (3) should be areas in either temperate or tropical latitudes."..??  
> **username_0**: @username_2: Just for curiosity sake...how did L. C. King define a semi-arid region when propounding his "Normal Cycle" of erosion?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-11-18. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

After looking at the OP's definition of the biomes that are semi-arid and temperate, I decided to compare them to the biomes in WWF's [Wildfinder](https://www.worldwildlife.org/science/wildfinder/) and sum the area total. The WWF biomes don't really match up with the biomes defined by the OP (and originally by LC King, apparently, though I haven't read anything of his), but they at least give an alternative estimate.

For the Semi-Arid Biomes, I have:

* 'Tropical grasslands' = '[Tropical and subtropical grasslands,
  savannas, and shrublands](http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/tropical-and-subtropical-grasslands-savannas-and-shrublands)' with 18.3 million km$^2$.
* 'Warm Temperate Western Margin' = '[Mediterranean Forest, woodlands
  and scrubs](http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/mediterranean-forests-woodlands-and-scrubs)' with 2.9 million km$^2$.
* 'Warm Temperate Continental' = '[Temperate grasslands, savannas, and
  shrublands](http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-grasslands-savannas-and-shrublands)' at 9.9 million km$^2$.

For a total of 31.1 million km$^2$ or 6.1% of the earth's surface.

For Temperate, there are two listed above plus:

* 'Warm Temperate Eastern Margin' + 'Cool Temperate Eastern Margin' +
  'Cool Temperate Western Margin' = '[Temperate broadleaf and mixed
  forests](http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-broadleaf-and-mixed-forests)' + '[Temperate coniferous forests](http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-coniferous-forest)' at 12.2 million
  for broadleaf and 3.9 million km$^2$ for conifer.
* 'Cool Temperate Continental' = '[Boreal Forest / Taiga](http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/boreal-forests-taiga)' at 14.9 million km$^2$

For a grand total of 43.8 million km$^2$ or 8.6% of the Earth's surface.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks @username_3! Looking at your estimates along with those of username_4, I am now pretty confident that under no circumstances can Semi-Arid conditions be prevalent over more than 15-16% of Earth's Land Area. And also, that both Davis and King were grossly incorrect in suggesting a "Normal Cycle" of erosion..  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-11-09. Score: 3

According to this [link](http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7v.html) is 14% for Köppen classification.

The precise cite is:

"BS - dry semiarid (steppe). Is a grassland climate that covers 14% of the Earth's land surface."

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: A semi-arid climate can be defined in any of several ways, such as <20 inches (<500mm) of rain, or a given threshold of precipitation/evapotranspiration, or vegetation type. Also the global area of 'semi-arid' fluctuates in response to climatic excursions and climate change.  
> **username_6**: 14% of the Earth's **land** surface would make around 4% of the Earth total surface.  
> **username_0**: Thanks @username_4! Looking at your estimates along with those of username_3, I am now pretty confident that under no circumstances can Semi-Arid conditions be prevalent over more than 15-16% of Earth's Land Area. And also, that both Davis and King were grossly incorrect in suggesting a "Normal Cycle" of erosion..  

---

