| Mesopotamian shrub desert | |
|---|---|
 Iraq-Jordan border area | |
 Map of the ecoregion | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Palearctic |
| Biome | deserts and xeric shrublands |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 211,445 km2 (81,639 sq mi) |
| Countries | |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable [1] |
| Protected | 0.75% [2] |
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 Mesopotamian shrub desert is a transitional region between the semi-arid steppes of the northern Mesopotamia and Levant to the north, and the Arabian Desert to the south.
The western portion of the ecoregion consists of rocky or sandy plateaus, including the Syrian Desert in southern Syria and northern Jordan, and a portion of the Harrat al-Sham black basalt desert in eastern Jordan. The eastern portion of the ecoregion includes central Mesopotamia, and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run through it. [3]
The ecoregion has an arid subtropical climate. Rainfall averages 120 mm per year, concentrated in the winter months. Daytime temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in the summer months. Winters are cooler, and temperatures can fall below freezing on winter nights. [3]
Typical vegetation is dry shrubland. Shrubs include species of Artemisia, Anabasis , and Haloxylon . Perennial herbaceous plants include Achillea fragrantissima and Astragalus spp., and the grass Stipagrostis plumosa . Fast-growing ephemeral herbs sprout after rains, and quickly set seed before the succumbing to the summer drought. [3]
Poplar trees ( Populus euphratica , Populus tremula , Populus alba , and Populus nigra ), reeds, bulrushes, Olea europaea , Balanites aegyptiaca , Cupressus sempervirens , Vachellia tortilis , Cupressus sempervirens , Salix alba , Juglans regia , Quercus coccifera , Quercus ilex , Quercus pubescens , Pistacia terebinthus , Pinus nigra , Ceratonia siliqua , Arbutus unedo , Erica arborea , Phoenix canariensis , Phoenix dactylifera , Juglans regia , Laurus nobilis , Vachellia flava , Ziziphus spina-christi , Sclerocarya birrea , Ficus salicifolia , Adansonia digitata , Senegalia senegal , Prosopis cineraria , Pinus halepensis , Aerva javanica , Prunus amygdalus , Borassus aethiopum , Vitellaria paradoxa , Afzelia africana , Kigelia africana , Faidherbia albida , Pistacia atlantica , Quercus brantii , Juniperus communis , Prunus padus , Quercus robur , Quercus petraea , Picea abies , Abies alba , Alnus glutinosa , Fagus sylvatica , Taxus baccata , Acer pseudoplatanus , Malus sylvestris , Viburnum lantana , Fraxinus excelsior , Tilia cordata , Aesculus hippocastanum , Rhamnus cathartica , Ulmus glabra , Ulmus minor , Pinus sylvestris , Betula pendula , and Corylus avellana are found in the seasonal and permanent wetlands along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Native mammals include golden jackal (Canis aureus), Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii), and striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena). Small populations of sand cat (Felis margarita), Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) and Arabian sand gazelle (Gazella marica) are found in a few areas. [3]
The Syrian wild ass (Equus hemionus hemippus) once ranged across the ecoregion, but was hunted to extinction by the early 20th century.
Native birds include the mourning wheatear (Oenanthe lugens), and the Mesopotamian hooded crow (Corvus cornix capellanus) in Mesopotamia. The area around Lake Tharthar, a reservoir between the Tigris and Euphrates, is a wintering ground for several threatened birds, including the Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) and Houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata). [3]
Less than 1% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. [2] Protected areas include Azraq Wetland Reserve and Burqu Nature Reserve in Jordan, and Al-Talila Reserve in Syria. [3]
The Caucasus mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the Caucasus Mountains, as well as the adjacent Lesser Caucasus range and the eastern end of the Pontic Mountains.
The Crimean Submediterranean forest complex is an ecoregion on the Black Sea coast of Russia and Ukraine. It is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome.
The Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-forests, also known as the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-forests, is an ecoregion in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. It covers portions of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The Mediterranean Acacia–Argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in North Africa centered mainly on Morocco but also including northwestern Western Sahara and the eastern Canary Islands.
The North Saharan steppe and woodlands is a desert ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, that forms the northern edge of the Sahara. It extends east and west across Northern Africa, south of the Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe ecoregion of the Maghreb and Cyrenaica, which is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. Winter rains sustain shrublands and dry woodlands that form an ecotone between the Mediterranean climate regions to the north and the hyper-arid Sahara Desert ecoregion to the south.
The Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion of North Africa. It occupies interior plateaus and mountain ranges of the Maghreb region, lying generally between the coastal Mediterranean woodlands and forests to the north and the Sahara to the south.
The Illyrian deciduous forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in southern Europe, which extends along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm.
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 Italian sclerophyllous and deciduous forests ecoregion, part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is in Italy. The ecoregion covers most of the Italian Peninsula and includes both evergreen and deciduous forests.
The Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests is an ecoregion in southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia, and Malta.
The Po Basin mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in the basin of the Po River in northern Italy and Switzerland's Ticino canton.
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 Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the interior valleys and plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula. The ecoregion lies mostly in Spain, and includes some portions of eastern Portugal.
The Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the Mediterranean coastal region of northeastern Spain, Southern France, the Balearic Islands and a small part of Italy.
The Gissaro-Alai open woodlands ecoregion covers the western foothills winding around two western offshoots of the Tian Shan Mountains in western Tajikistan, and parts of eastern Uzbekistan and western Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia. The woodlands are typically of Juniper trees and shrubs, fitting the altitude zone situated between the desert valley floor, and the tree line, above which the mountain ridges are glaciated and barren.
The Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in western Asia. It lies in the lowlands west of the Caspian Sea, and covers portions of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Iran.
The Central Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands ecoregion covers the xeric (dry) eastern and southern slopes of the central mountain range of Afghanistan, between the sandy desert to the south and the alpine meadows in the higher, wetter region to the north. Despite the 'woodlands' in the ecoregion name, very little of the territory is forested – less than 1% – but is instead sparse vegetation or herbaceous cover.
The South Iran Nubo–Sindian desert and semi-desert ecoregion covers the northern coastal plain of the Persian Gulf and the inland desert hills south of the Zagros Mountains of Iran. The region also has extensions reaching into southeastern Iraq, and eastward into southwestern Pakistan. The region is one of hot sand deserts, shrubland, and open thorn woodlands inland. Mangrove forests and swamps are found along the coast.
The Paropamisus xeric woodlands ecoregion covers the portion of northeastern Afghanistan north of the central mountain range and the Hindu Kush Mountains. The name is derived from the Old Persian name for the region, Parupraesanna. While there are low canopy woodlands in the northeast of the ecorgegion, most of the territory is desert or xeric (dry) scrubland.
The Nile Delta flooded savanna, ecoregion covers both the Nile Delta proper, where the Nile River enters the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the river floodplains of the Nile 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) up-river to the Aswan Dam. Since the Aswan Dam was completed in the 1970s, the Nile on this stretch has not been subject to annual flooding, leading the loss of much of the papyrus sedge swamps and other marshes along the river.
Media related to Mesopotamian shrub desert at Wikimedia Commons