The Alashan Plateau semi-desert''

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

(WWF ID: PA1302) covers the south-western portion of the Gobi Desert where precipitation in the mountains is sufficient for a short part of the summer to support sparse plant life. The terrain is basin and range, with elevations from . The region straddles the China-Mongolian border, with the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...

to the south, and the more arid regions of the Gobi to the north and east.

Location and description

The ecoregion encompasses the desert basins and low mountains bordered by the

Lop Desert The Lop Desert, or the Lop Depression, is a desert extending from Korla eastwards along the foot of the Kuruk-tagh (meaning Dry Mountain) to the former terminal Tarim Basin in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. It is an almost per ...

on the west, the Tibetan Plateau and

Qilian Mountains The Qilian Mountains (, also romanized as Tsilien; Mongghul: Chileb), together with the Altyn-Tagh (Altun Shan) also known as Nan Shan (, literally "Southern Mountains"), as it is to the south of Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlu ...

to the south, the Gobi extension of the Altai Mountains on the north, and the

Helan Mountains The Helan Mountains, frequently called Alashan Mountains in older sources, are an isolated desert mountain range forming the border of Inner Mongolia's Alxa League and Ningxia. They run north-south parallel to the north-flowing Yellow River in t ...

to the southeast. This part of the Gobi desert is in the rain shadow of the Tibetan Plateau. However, parts of it still receive enough precipitation to support areas of semi-arid desert plant communities.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is a

cool arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BWk''). This climate is characteristic of arid climates that typically have precipitation far below

potential evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpira ...

. Several months average below . Annual precipitation on the Alashan Plateau is under /year.

Flora and fauna

Plant communities of the Alashan Plateau use various strategies to form and survive. While the ecoregion does have areas of sand and bare rock, there are also low-lying areas with plants that are salt-tolerant (

halophytes A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs and seashores. T ...

) and adapted to the low levels of precipitation (

xerophytes A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or the ...

). Shrubs such as saxaul (''

Haloxylon ammodendron ''Haloxylon ammodendron'', the saxaul, black saxaul, sometimes sacsaoul or saksaul ( rus, саксау́л, r=saksaúl, which is from kk, сексеуіл, r=seksewil), is a plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Description The saxaul ra ...

'') and the semi-perennial ''

Reaumuria soongorica ''Reaumuria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, found in North Africa, Sicily, Anatolia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Pakistan, Central Asia, Mongolia, Tibet, and northern China. They tend to be perennial xerophytic and ...

'' add stability to the soil and attract associated species. Areas with more moisture support semi-desert communities of wormwoods (''

Artemisia Artemisia may refer to: People * Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC), queen of Halicarnassus under the First Persian Empire, naval commander during the second Persian invasion of Greece * Artemisia II of Caria (died 350 BC), queen of Caria under th ...

'', bean caper (''

Zygophyllum ''Zygophyllum'' is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν (''zygon''), meaning "double", and φυλλον (''phyllon''), meaning "leaf". It refers to the leaves, ...

''), and '' Calligonum mongolicum''. Runoff from the Qilian Mountains supports some grasslands, and the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

, which runs along the eastern edge, supports river forests of desert poplar (''

Populus euphratica ''Populus euphratica'', commonly known as the Euphrates poplar, desert poplar, diversiform-leaved poplar, or poplar diversifolia, is a species of poplar tree in the willow family. Description The Euphrates poplar is a medium-sized deciduous ...

'') and ''

Tamarix The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...

'' species. There is one mammal endemic to the Alashan Plateau, Przewalski's gerbil.

Protections

The Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park is in Mongolia's north-central part of the ecoregion.

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of China Ecoregions of Mongolia Gobi Desert Deserts and xeric shrublands Palearctic ecoregions

Location and description

Climate

Flora and fauna

Protections

See also

References