The Eastern Gobi desert steppe is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in Mongolia and northern China. It is the easternmost of the ecoregions that make up the larger Gobi Desert. It lies between the more humid Mongolian–Manchurian grassland on the north, east, and southeast, and the drier Alashan Plateau semi-desert to the west.
Bayan-Ovoo is a sum (district) of Ömnögovi Province in the Gobi Desert of southern Mongolia. The seat lies at Erdenetsogt.
The Gobi Desert is a large, cold desert and grassland region in northern China and southern Mongolia and is the sixth largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word Gobi, used to refer to all of the waterless regions in the Mongolian Plateau, while in Chinese Gobi is used to refer to rocky, semi-deserts such as the Gobi itself rather than sandy deserts.
Altun Shan National Nature Reserve is a large, arid area in the southeast of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, on the northern edge of the Tibetan plateau and the southern edge of the Tarim Basin in northwest China. It surrounds the Kumkol Basin, an endorheic basin in the western third of the Altyn-Tagh mountains. The reserve is sometimes referred to as the "Arjin Mountains Nature Reserve", or "Aerjinshan". The reserve covers the southern portions of Qiemo County and Ruoqiang County of Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang.
The Southeast Tibet shrub and meadows are a montane grassland ecoregion that cover the southeast and eastern parts of the Tibetan Plateau in China. The meadows in this region of Tibet are in the path of the monsoon rains and are wetter than the other upland areas of the Tibetan Plateau. The "high cold" alpine terrain is one of high species diversity, due to the relatively high levels of precipitation for the region. Precipitation is lower in the northwest, and hence the vegetation thins from shrub to meadow or even desert.
The Great Lakes Basin desert steppe ecoregion covers the enclosed basin centered on Uvs Lake, a saline, endorheic basin in northwestern Mongolia. A portion of the ecoregion stretches across the region into Russia. The lake district is important for migrating birds, waterfowl, and seabirds. The ecoregion is in the Palearctic realm and the deserts and xeric shrublands biome. It has an area of 157,212 square kilometres (60,700 sq mi).
The Qilian Mountains Conifer Forests ecoregion is an ecoregion that consists of a series of isolated conifer forests on the northern slopes of the Qilian Mountain Range, on the northeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai and Gansu provinces of north-central China.
The Helanshan montane conifer forests ecoregion covers an isolated, forested mountain range surrounded by desert and semi-arid basins. As such, it has been called a "mountain island in the sky", and supports endemic species of plants and animals. The region supports the endangered Helan Shan pika.
The Tian Shan foothill arid steppe ecoregion covers the northern and western approaches to the Tian Shan mountains, centered on Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. This region receives more moisture from Central Asia, thereby supporting more vegetation and diversity of plant and animal species than the deserts to the south.
The Central Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion covers the high alpine plateau that stretches over 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) across the Tibetan Plateau to Qinghai Lake in China. Because of the high altitude—much it over 5,000 metres (16,000 ft)—the region is a cold, arid desert that is only 20% covered with steppe and meadow vegetation. The area has been relatively free from human development due to the hostile climate and unsuitability for agriculture. The ecosystem is relatively intact, and supports herds of wild antelope, sheep, deer, and gazelles.
The Qilian Mountains subalpine meadows ecoregion covers the high meadows and shrubland of the Qilian Mountains, on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in central China. These mountains form a divide between the dry regions of the Gobi Desert to the north, and the Qaidam Basin and the Tibetan Plateau to the south. While the habitat supports populations of marmots, grouse and some rare mammal species, the grasslands of the region are under pressure from over-grazing by domestic livestock.
The North Tibetan Plateau-Kunlun Mountains alpine desert ecoregion covers a long stretch of mostly treeless alpine terrain across the northern edge of the Tibet Plateau. A variety of cold, dry habitats are found, including alpine meadows, steppe, desert, and cushion plant floral areas.
The Tibetan Plateau alpine shrublands and meadows ecoregion covers the middle transition zone between the northern and southern regions of the Tibetan Plateau. The region supports both cold alpine steppe and meadows across a broad expanse of the plateau. Wild deer, antelope, and sheep roam the grasslands, but the habitat is increasingly being used to graze domestic livestock.
The Yarlung Tsangpo arid steppe ecoregion covers the river valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River on the southern edge of Tibet. The river runs parallel to the northern borders of Nepal, Bhutan and India, between the Himalayas to the south and the Tibet Plateau to the north. The river valleys are the most populated areas of Tibet, putting pressure on wildlife. The area ranges from cold desert in the west to steppe shrub land in the east; the few trees are in the lowest river valleys to the east.
The Khangai Mountains alpine meadows ecoregion runs along the central ridge of the Khangai Mountains in central Mongolia. The slopes to the north are conifer forests, the lowlands to the south are semi-arid steppe. The Khangai are an "island" mountain range surrounded by lower forest steppe and semi-arid regions of central Mongolia. Most of the region is now protected by Tarvagatai Nuruu National Park and Khangai Nuruu National Park.
The Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe ecoregion covers the narrow, flat valley in southwestern Mongolia that lies between the Khangai Mountains, and the Gobi-Altai Mountains. The region is known as the "Valley of the Lakes" because runoff from the mountains collect in lakes that have no outlet to the sea. Although the valley is a semi-arid desert steppe, it has areas of wetlands near the lakes that are important habit for water birds.
Ikh Bogd Uul National Park is centered on Ikh Bogd, the highest mountain in the Altai-Gobi Mountains, a southeastern spur range of the Altai. The middle and high elevations feature alpine meadows and montane steppe. The range, with semi-arid deserts to the north and south, supports rare species, such as the near-threatened argali and Pallas's cat.
The Central Asian southern desert ecoregion is an arid but ecologically active region between the east coast of the Caspian Sea and steppes at the base of the mountains of central Asia. Most of Turkmenistan and eastern Uzbekistan is in this ecoregion. The winters are milder than in the cold desert to the north, and a large number of endemic species have adapted to living in the particular climate and soil of the region. As with sandy deserts in general, the region is notable for high numbers of endemic species of reptiles and insects.
The Central Persian desert basins ecoregion covers the arid steppe and desert basins of central Iran, stretching into northwestern Afghanistan. The ecoregion extends over the Central Iranian Plateau, which is surrounded by mountain ranges and has no outlets to the sea. Much of the terrain is hot sand-and-gravel desert and large salt flats. The vegetation includes many specialized species of halophytes (salt-tolerant), xerophytes (drought-tolerant), and psammophile (sand-loving) plants.
