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.
Shrub-steppe is a type of low-rainfall natural grassland. While arid, shrub-steppes have sufficient moisture to support a cover of perennial grasses or shrubs, a feature which distinguishes them from deserts.
Shirvan National Park — is a national park of Azerbaijan. It was established on July 5, 2003 within the territory of Salyan Rayon administrative districts. Its surface area is 54,373.5 hectares (543.735 km2).
The Elburz Range forest steppe ecoregion is an arid, mountainous 1,000-kilometer arc south of the Caspian Sea, stretching across northern Iran from the Azerbaijan border to near the Turkmenistan border. It covers 63,300 square kilometres (24,400 sq mi) and encompasses the southern and eastern slopes of the Alborz Mountains as well as their summits. The Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion's lush green mountainsides and plains receive moisture from the Caspian Sea from this ecoregion's northern border. The vast Central Persian desert basins ecoregion forms its southern border.
The Hyrcanian forests are a zone of lush lowland and montane forests covering about 55,000 square kilometres (21,000 sq mi) near the shores of the Caspian Sea in Iran and Azerbaijan. The forest is named after the ancient region of Hyrcania. The World Wide Fund for Nature refers to the ecoregion as the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests. Since 5 July 2019, the Hyrcanian Forests have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In September 2023, the heritage site expanded to incorporate portions of the forest located in Azerbaijan.
The Kazakh semi-desert is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in Kazakhstan. The climate is semi-arid and continental, with a total annual precipitation of 160 millimetres (6.3 in), and mean temperatures in January averaging −15 °C (5 °F) and in July 23 °C (73 °F). It is a transitional area between the steppes and the deserts of Central Asia and supports flora found in both biomes, predominantly grasses, particularly Stipa species, and shrubs such as Artemisia species. A number of mammals and birds are found in this ecoregion but the habitat is threatened by overgrazing and fragmentation from human encroachment. However, a recent reduction in livestock numbers in Kazakhstan is allowing the native plants a greater opportunity to regenerate.
The Central Asian northern desert is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The annual precipitation ranges from 100 to 150 mm, the winters are cold at −10 to −15 °C and the summers hot at around 25 °C (77 °F). There are a range of habitat types including salt flats, clay desert, rocky desert and some sand desert. The vegetation consists of scanty xeric shrubs including Artemisia and Salsola. The fauna is varied, as well as mammals and birds, there are a large number of reptiles and many species of invertebrate. Some protected areas are included in this ecoregion but other parts are being degraded by conversion to farmland, overgrazing and poaching.
The Central Anatolian steppe is a Palearctic ecoregion in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. It covers an area of 24,934 km2.
The Eastern Anatolian montane steppe is a temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion. It is located in the Armenian Highlands, covering parts of eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, southern Georgia, and northwestern Iran.
The total forest area of Azerbaijan is 1,021,880 ha or 11.8% of the country's area. The forest biomes consist of temperate deciduous forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests and riparian forests. Specialists estimate that in the 8th-9th centuries the forest cover was around 30-35%, most of it situated in mountainous areas.
The wildlife of Turkmenistan is the flora and fauna of Turkmenistan, and the natural habitats in which they live. Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia to the east of the Caspian Sea. Two thirds of the country is hot dry plains and desert, and the rest is more mountainous. Very little rain falls in summer and the chief precipitation occurs in the southern part of the country in the winter and spring. The Caspian coast has milder winters.
Dagestan Nature Reserve is a Russian 'zapovednik' that protects an area of sand dunes and ridges on the northwest coast of the Caspian Sea in the southeast of European Russia. The reserve, a wintering place for migratory birds, is the richest nature reserve in Russia in terms of the number of species - over 300 species have been recorded in the reserve, its buffer zones and subordinate reserves. The reserve is part of several "Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas" (IBAs). The Sarykum sand dune is the highest sand dune in Europe, at 262 m (860 ft). The reserve is situated in the Tarumovsky District of Dagestan.
The Caspian lowland desert ecoregion covers the north and southeast coasts of the Caspian Sea, including the deltas of the Volga River and Ural River in the northern region. While the region gets relatively low amounts of precipitation, wildlife is supported by the river estuaries and the sea itself. The wetlands are an internationally important area for bird nesting and migratory resting. The ecoregion is in the Palearctic realm, and the deserts and xeric shrublands biome. It has an area of 267,300 square kilometres (103,200 sq mi).
The Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It lies southwestern coastal Spain, along the Mediterranean Sea.
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 Middle East steppe ecoregion stretches in an arc from southern Jordan across Syria and Iraq to the western border of Iran. The upper plains of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers dominate most of the ecoregion. The terrain is mostly open shrub steppe. The climate is arid. Evidence is that this region was once more of a forest-steppe, but centuries of overgrazing and gathering firewood have reduced tree and grass cover to small areas and along the riverine corridors. Despite the degraded condition of the steppe environment, the ecoregion is important for water birds as the rivers and reservoirs provide habitat in the arid region.
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.
The Mesopotamian shrub desert is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in Western Asia. It extends across portions of Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
The Saharan halophytics ecoregion covers a series of low-lying evaporite depressions and wetlands spread across North Africa. The depressions are characteristically saline, variously chotts or sabkhas. The plants of the areas are highly specialized to survive in the harsh environment, with many being xerophytes (drought-tolerant) and halophytes (salt-tolerant). The biodiversity of the areas has been relatively protected by their isolation, and unsuitability of alkaline soil for farming.
