In a game i work on, there is a faction of fanatic "green" monks, traversing the desert. They plant glass trees, intricate structures, which use Silica-Gel to c

In a game i work on, there is a faction of fanatic "green" monks, traversing the desert. They plant glass trees, intricate structures, which use Silica-Gel to collect moisture during over the day and night, collected heat to turn the collected water into steam again, that is condensed near the root of the structure into a glass cavern. There it waits for a capillar effect system which pumps the liquids up at night. Those glass trees would slowly terraform lifeless desserts back into green pastures, while withstanding sandstorms and goats.