South Arabian coastal fog woodlands, shrublands, and dune | |
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![]() Fog woodlands in the Dhofar Mountains near Salalah, Oman. | |
Ecology | |
Realm | Afrotropical |
Biome | Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 19,913 km2 (7,688 sq mi) |
Countries | |
Elevation | sea level to 2,100 m |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | critical/endangered |
Protected | 685 km2 (3%) [1] |
The South Arabian fog woodlands, shrublands, and dune is an ecoregion in Oman and Yemen. The fog woodlands lie on mountainsides which slope southeastwards towards the Arabian Sea. The mountains intercept moisture-bearing winds from the Arabian Sea, creating orographic precipitation and frequent fogs that sustain unique woodlands and shrublands in a desert region.
The ecoregion occupies an area of 19,913 km2 (7,688 sq mi) in eastern Yemen and southern Oman's Dhofar Governorate. The ecoregion covers four separate areas.
The westernmost is the Ureys (or Areys) range, a coastal mountain range that rises east of the town of Shuqrah, 150 kilometres northeast of Aden. The range is made up of dark igneous rock, extending about 65 kilometres east and west parallel to the coast. It is named for its tallest peak, Jabal Ureys (1,735 metres), which lies at the western end of the range close to the coast. The rest of the range is an east–west ridge 1,500 to 1,600 metres high, dropping to a dissected plateau 1,200–1,350 metres elevation and 2–3 kilometres wide on the seaward (southern) side. There is a steep escarpment between the plateau and the coast. [2]
The largest area is in the Hadhramaut mountains of Yemen, on the mountainsides above Mukalla. The Hadhramaut mountains rise up to 2,100 metres elevation. The eastern area is in the Dhofar Mountains, extending from easternmost Yemen to Ras ash Sharbatat in Oman. In between the Dhofar and Hahramaut is a small enclave on Jabal Fartak in Yemen, above the headland of Ras Fartak.
The ecoregion is bounded inland by the Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna ecoregion, which includes the drier foothill and mountain forests of southwest Arabia. The ecoregion is bounded on the ocean side by the Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert, which occupies the coastal strip along the Arabian Sea. [3]
The predominant plant communities include deciduous woodland with trees Terminalia (formerly Anogeissus), Vachellia and Commiphora , shrubland of Olea europaea, Dodonaea viscosa, Carissa spinarum and Searsia somalensis , succulent scrubland including Aloe, Caralluma, Euphorbia, Adenium and Cissus , as well as semi-desert grassland. [4]
Terminalia dhofarica is endemic to the ecoregion and is the characteristic tree of the woodlands. A. dhofarica is a tall tree which can grow up to twelve metres in height. It is dry-season deciduous, losing its leaves in November or December at the start of the winter dry season and re-leafing when the khareef (southwest monsoon) brings summer rains. [5] Terminalia bentii is endemic to the Hadhramaut and Ras Fartak areas. [6]
In the Ureys range, semi-evergreen forests grow on the seaward plateau and escarpment between 800 and 1,200 metres elevation, dominated by Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata and Tarchonanthus camphoratus , with Acokanthera schimperi, Cordia monoica , Euclea racemosa subsp. schimperi, Searsia flexicaulis , and Searsia glutinosa subsp. abyssinica. Escarpment gorges with more year-round water shelter evergreen trees Rotheca myricoides , Ficus ingens , Nuxia oppositifolia and Mimusops laurifolia , which are generally found in the forests of eastern Africa. [7]
The ecoregion is home to 850 species of plants, of which 90 are endemic. [8] Endemic species include Capparis macleishii , Aloe dhufarensis, A. mahraensis, and Blepharis dhofarensis . Endemics in the Ureys range include Cystostemon kissenioides, Salvia areysiana, and Kleinia deflersii. [9]
The ecoregion is home to Boswellia sacra , the shrub from which aromatic frankincense is harvested.
In the 2001 Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World (TEOW) system, "a biogeographic regionalization of the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity", the region was divided between the Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert and Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna ecoregions. [10] [11] [12] [13]
In 2017, some of the authors of the 2001 system proposed a revised ecoregion system for the Arabian Peninsula, which designated the South Arabian fog woodlands, shrublands, and dune as a separate ecoregion. [14]
Oman is a country on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, situated in West Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The coast of Oman was an important part in the Omani empire and sultanate.
The Malabar Coast moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India.
The Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion of central India. The ecoregion lies mostly in Madhya Pradesh state, but extends into portions of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh states.
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 Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands is a xeric woodland ecoregion in the southwestern Arabian Peninsula.
Terminalia dhofarica is a species of plant in the Combretaceae family. It is found in Oman and Yemen, where it is endemic to the South Arabian fog woodlands, shrublands, and dune ecoregion. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert, also known as the Southwestern Arabian coastal xeric scrub, is desert ecoregion on the southern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, which experiences thick fogs where visibility may be reduced to 10 metres (33 ft). It is classed as an Afrotropical fog desert
The Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Ethiopia. It occupies the middle elevations of the Ethiopian Highlands, between the high-elevation Ethiopian montane moorlands and lowland woodlands, savannas, shrublands, and thickets.
The Djibouti xeric shrublands is an ecoregion defined by One Earth, consisting of a semi-desert strip on or near the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden coasts in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. This ecoregion lies mainly between sea level and 800 meters (m) elevation. There are, however, many hills and massifs, which range up to 1300 m as well as outstanding fault-induced depressions, such as the Danakil, lying as low as 155 m below sea level. This region is extremely active tectonically, experiencing many earthquakes and intermittently active volcanoes. Rainfall is very low and yearly averages range from 100 to 200 millimeters (mm), with less rain falling closer to the coast. There are many species of interest, including the endemic Archer's lark, a species of dragon tree, and a large suite of desert ungulates, including the last viable population of African wild ass.
The Arnhem Land tropical savanna is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in Australia's Northern Territory.
The Kimberley tropical savanna is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northwestern Australia, covering portions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory south of the Timor Sea.
The Naracoorte woodlands is an ecoregion in southern Australia. It covers the Naracoorte coastal plain in southeastern South Australia and southwestern Victoria. It is coterminous with the Naracoorte Coastal Plain IBRA region. Only 10% of the ecoregion's area still has its original vegetation; most has been converted to agriculture and pasture.
The Dhofar Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. In a broad sense, they extend from Dhofar Governorate in Oman to Hadhramaut Governorate in Yemen, and are located between the Hajar in the northern part of Oman, and the Sarawat in the western part of Yemen. Otherwise, the range in the eastern part of Yemen, particularly near Mukalla, is referred to as the Hadhramaut or "Mahrat".
The Somali montane xeric shrublands is a desert and xeric scrubland ecoregion in Somalia. The ecoregion lies in the rugged Karkaar Mountains, which run parallel and close to Somalia's northern coast on the Gulf of Aden, and follows coast from Cape Guardafui south to Eyl on the Arabian Sea.
The Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna, also known as the Southwestern Arabian Escarpment shrublands and woodlands, is a desert and xeric shrubland ecoregion of the southern Arabian Peninsula, covering portions of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman.
Al Hajar montane woodlands is a temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands ecoregion in the Hajar Mountains of the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, which extends across portions of Oman and the U.A.E.
Euphorbia larica is a semi-succulent shrub or subshrub native to southern Iran and the south-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. In the United Arab Emirates it is commonly known as isbaq.