Zagros Mountains forest steppe | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Palearctic |
Biome | temperate broadleaf and mixed forests |
Borders | List |
Geography | |
Area | 397,555 km2 (153,497 sq mi) |
Countries | |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | Critical/endangered [1] |
Protected | 20,339 km² (5%) [2] |
The Zagros Mountains forest steppe is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Western Asia. The ecoregion extends along the Zagros Mountains, stretching from eastern Turkey and northern Iraq to southern Iran.
The Zagros Mountains are a belt of folded mountains formed by the collision of the African Plate with the Eurasian Plate. On the west, south, and east, the mountains are surrounded by deserts and semi-deserts. The dry grasslands, shrublands, and low-lying deserts of Mesopotamia and southern Iran lie to the west, and the plateau deserts of the Iranian Plateau to the east. The Armenian Highlands and Alborz Mountains lie to the north.
The ecoregion's climate is semi-arid and temperate. Annual precipitation ranges from 400 m to 800 mm, and falls mostly in winter and spring. Summers are hot and dry, and winters are cold, with the coldest winter temperatures dropping below −25 °C. Temperatures are generally warmer and the climate drier at the southern end of the range.
The predominant plant community in the mountains is forest or open woodland of deciduous broadleaf trees, with an understory of steppe shrubs and grasses. Oaks, particularly Persian oak (Quercus brantii), are the characteristic trees, covering over 50% of the Zagros mountains in Iran. [3] Pistachio (Pistacia spp.) forms groves, and grows in association with oaks. Vegetation varies with altitude and exposure to prevailing winds. In the northern part of the ecoregion, shrub steppe of Astragalus spp. and Salvia spp. with scattered trees occurs above 400m to 500m elevation. Forests and forest remnants of Quercus brantii and/or Q. boissieri occur from 700 to 800 meters elevation to about 1,700 m. The treeline is at 1,900 to 2,000 meters elevation, with sub-alpine vegetation above it. [1]
At the southern end of the range, the trees are sparser and more open, and the steppe vegetation is more prominent. Steppe extends up to 1400 meters elevation, and open woodlands of Quercus brantii, hawthorn (Crataegus), almond (Prunus amygdalus), nettle tree (Celtis spp.) and pear ( Pyrus syriaca and Pyrus glabra ) continue up to 2,400 meters. [1]
Although degraded from overgrazing and deforestation, the Zagros is home to a rich and complex flora. Remnants of the originally widespread oak-dominated woodland can still be found, as can park-like pistachio-almond steppelands. The wild ancestors of many important food plants, including wheat, barley, lentil, almond, walnut, pistachio, apricot, plum, pomegranate, and grape, grow throughout the mountains. [4] Endemic plants of the mountain range include Allium iranicum , Astragalus crenophila , Bellevalia kurdistanica , Cousinia carduchorum , Cousinia odontolepis , Echinops rectangularis , Erysimum boissieri , Iris barnumiae , Ornithogalum iraqense , Scrophularia atroglandulosa , Scorzonera kurdistanica , Tragopogon rechingeri , and Tulipa kurdica . [5]
The Zagros are home to many threatened and endangered animals, including the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana), Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus), mouflon (Ovis orientalis orientalis), wolf (Canis lupus), striped hyena (Hyena hyena), Blanford's fox (Vulpes cana), and Zagros Mountains mouse-like hamster (Calomyscus bailwardi). Wild goats (Capra aegagrus) can be found throughout the Zagros Mountains. The Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica), an ancient domesticate once thought extinct, was rediscovered in the late 20th century in Khuzestan Province in the southern Zagros. [1]
In the late 19th century, the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) inhabited the southwestern part of the mountains. [6] It is now extinct in this region. [7]
The Luristan newt (Neurergus kaiseri) is a vulnerable species endemic to the central Zagros mountains of Iran.
A 2017 assessment found that 20,339 km², or 5%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. [2] Protected areas include: [8]
The Zagros Mountains are a long mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of 1,600 km (990 mi). The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of southeastern Turkey and northeastern Iraq. From this border region, the range continues southeast under also the waters of the Persian Gulf. It spans the southern parts of the Armenian highlands, the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau, ending at the Strait of Hormuz. The highest point is Mount Dena, at 4,409 metres (14,465 ft).
The Sierra de la Laguna pine–oak forests are a subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion, found in the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico.
The Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests are a Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental range from the southwest USA region to the western part of Mexico. They are home to a large number of endemic plants and important habitat for wildlife.
The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States.
The Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion located in northern Anatolia, Turkey.
The Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests, also known as the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-broadleaf 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 woodlands and forests is an ecoregion in the coastal plains, hills, and mountains bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean in North Africa. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
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 Southeastern mixed forests are an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome, in the lower portion of the Eastern United States.
Quercus brantii, Brant's oak, is a species of oak native to Western Asia, namely in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
The Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests ecoregion is located in the mountains of eastern Turkey. It is a Palearctic ecoregion in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome.
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 Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests is an ecoregion located in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
The Iberian conifer forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It includes the mountain forests of southern and central Spain.
The Kuh Rud and Eastern Iran montane woodlands ecoregion covers hills and mountains in central and eastern Iran. The habitat is wetter and cooler than the surrounding desert of the Iranian Plateau, supporting the vulnerable goitered gazelle and small populations of the cheetah. The ecoregion is under conservation threat from overgrazing and conversion of steep slopes to cultivation.
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 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 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 Baluchistan xeric woodlands ecoregion covers the middle elevations of a series of mountain ranges of western Pakistan and northeastern Afghanistan, reaching 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) from the Arabian Sea in the south to the Hindu Kush Mountains and the Himalayas in the north. The characteristic vegetation is xeric (dry) woodlands of shrubs and herbaceous cover. The region has rich biodiversity but relatively few endemic species.
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: CS1 maint: date and year (link) Supplemental material 2 table S1b.