The Irano-Anatolian region is a
biodiversity hotspot designated by
Conservation International's Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, extending across portions of
Armenia,
Azerbaijan,
Georgia,
Iraq,
Iran,
Turkey, and
Turkmenistan. This hotspot covers the South-West portion of the
Irano-Turanian floristic region, connecting the
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...
with
Western Asia.
It includes highlands of the central and eastern
Anatolian Plateau as well as the
Zagros,
Alborz, and
Kopet Dag mountain ranges.
The
ecoregions
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 ...
included within the hotspot are:
*
Central Anatolian steppe
*
Central Anatolian deciduous forests
*
Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests
*
Eastern Anatolian montane steppe
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.
...
*
Elburz Range forest steppe
*
Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe
*
Zagros Mountains forest steppe
References
External links
Conservation International: Irano-Anatolian Biodiversity hotspot
Ecoregions of Asia
*
Geography of West Asia
Alborz (mountain range)
Palearctic ecoregions
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