The Central Anatolian steppe is a
Palearctic 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 ...
in the
temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands 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 km
2.
Geography
The Central Anatolian steppe is located in the
Central Anatolia region of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, 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 ecoregion, which occupies the plateaus and mountains of Central Anatolia. The Sündiken Mountains are part of the Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests ecoregion. The Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests 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 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 (''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 (''Vormela peregusna'').[
]
External links
*
References
{{reflist
Natural history of Anatolia
Ecoregions of Turkey
Ecoregions of Asia
*
Palearctic ecoregions
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands