The Central Anatolian steppe is a

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

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 l ...

in the

temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to sem ...

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

. It covers an area of 24,934 km².

Geography

The Central Anatolian steppe is located in the

Central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is borde ...

region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, where it occupies the lowest portion of the Central Anatolian plain. It consists of three separate areas, along with several smaller ones. The largest is centered on

Lake Tuz Lake Tuz ( tr, Tuz Gölü meaning 'Salt Lake'; anciently Tatta — grc, ἡ Τάττα, la, Tatta Lacus) was the second largest lake in Turkey with its surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the C ...

, and also includes the middle reach of the Kizilirmak River. The second area is the Karapınar and Konya Plains south of Lake Tuz. The Obruk Plateau separates the Lake Tuz basin from the Karapınar and Konya plains. The third area lies in the middle valleys of the

Sakarya Sakarya may refer to: Places * Sakarya Province, in Turkey ** Sakarya (electoral district) ** Sakarya University * Sakarya (continent), a small continent 90 million years ago * Sakarya River, in Turkey * Sakarya, Polatlı, a village in Ankara Pr ...

and Porsuk rivers northwest of Lake Tuz, as they curve around the eastern end of the Sündiken Mountains. The ecoregion consists mostly of plains and river valleys, with an average elevation of 1,000 m. Mountains and plateaus define the edges of the ecoregion. Lake Tuz lies in a

closed basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

, fed by seasonal streams descending from the surrounding plateaus. The average elevation of the lake is 829 m. In the summer months, the lake mostly dries up, exposing salt flats. During the winter months the lake refills and expands. The steppe is mostly bounded by the

Central Anatolian deciduous forests The Central Anatolian deciduous forests, also known as the Central Anatolian woodlands and steppe, is a Palearctic ecoregion of the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome. It is located in Central Anatolia, Asian Turkey. Geography The ecore ...

ecoregion, which occupies the plateaus and mountains of Central Anatolia. The Sündiken Mountains are part of the

Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests 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. Geography The ecoregion covers the ...

ecoregion. The

Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests The Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion located in northern Anatolia, Turkey. Geography The ecoregion covers an area of . It covers portions of the Pontic Mountains, which extend east and ...

ecoregion covers the

Pontic Mountains The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Kuzey Anadolu Dağları'', meaning North Anatolian Mountains) form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the ''Parhar Mountains'' in the local Turki ...

, which enclose Central Anatolia on the north.

Climate

The ecoregion has a continental climate, with hot and dry summers and cold winters. The ecoregion is semi-arid, and annual precipitation ranges from 400 to 500 mm, and as low as 300 mm in some

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

areas.

Flora

Lake Tuz is surrounded by salt steppe, composed of salt-tolerant (

halophytic 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. ...

) low shrubs and herbaceous plants, including many from the

Chenopodiaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making i ...

and

Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial herbaceous plants, but a few grow ...

families. The most salt-tolerant plants grow closest to the center of the lake, with less salt-tolerant plants occupying higher areas. Lake Tuz' saline steppes are home to many endemic species. The Karapınar Plain includes areas of salt steppe around smaller saline lakes, seasonal freshwater wetlands, and upland steppes characterized by '' Limonium anatolicum'', with ''Petrosimonia brachiata, Alhagi pseudoalhagi, Salsola crassa, Petrosimonia nigeensis'', and ''Frankenia hirsuta''.

Fauna

The ecoregion's salt lakes and freshwater wetlands are home to large populations of water birds, including resident and breeding birds and winter migrants. A subspecies of

Asian short-toed lark The Asian short-toed lark (''Alaudala cheleensis'') is a lark in the family Alaudidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1871. It is found from south-central to eastern Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Formerly or presently, s ...

(''Alaudala cheleensis'' ssp. ''niethammeri''), inhabits the barren fringes of the ecoregion's salt and soda lakes. Steppe bird species include the

great bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European po ...

(''Otis tarda'') and

little bustard The little bustard (''Tetrax tetrax'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Tetrax''. The genus name is from Ancient Greek and refers to a gamebird mentioned by Aristophanes and others. Distribution It breeds in South ...

(''Tetrax tetrax''). Mammal species of the salt steppe include

Williams's jerboa Williams's jerboa (''Allactaga williamsi'') is a species of jerboas native to Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. Description Similar to the other jerboas in the Allactaga genus, the Williams's Jerboa are small hopping rodents of ...

(''Allactaga williamsi''), Anatolian ground squirrel (''Spermophilus xanthoprymnus''),

Turkish hamster The Turkish hamster (''Mesocricetus brandti''), also referred to as Brandt's hamster, Azerbaijani hamster, or ''avurtlak'', is a species of hamster native to Turkey, Armenia and other surrounding nations. The Turkish hamster, first catalogued in ...

(''Mesocricetus brandtii''),

Eurasian badger The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large s ...

(''Meles meles''), and

marbled polecat The marbled polecat (''Vormela peregusna'') is a small mammal belonging to the monotypic genus ''Vormela'' within the mustelid subfamily Ictonychinae. ''Vormela'' is from the German word , which means "little worm". The specific name ''pereg ...

(''Vormela peregusna'').

External links

References

{{reflist Natural history of Anatolia Ecoregions of Turkey Ecoregions of Asia * Palearctic ecoregions Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands