The Paropamisus xeric woodlands

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: PA1322) covers the portion of northeastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

north of the central mountain range and the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...

Mountains. The name is derived from the Old Persian name for the region - Parupraesanna ( "Beyond the Hindu Kush"). While there are low canopy woodlands in the northeast of the ecorgegion, most of the territory is desert or xeric (dry) scrubland.

Location and description

The ecoregion stretches for across northern Afghanistan, from the city of

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

in the west to the

Wakhan Corridor The Wakhan Corridor ( ps, واخان دهلېز, translit=wāxān dahléz, fa, دالان واخان, translit=dâlân vâxân) is a narrow strip of territory in Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, extending to Xinjiang in China and separatin ...

in the east. The territory is on the north slopes of the mountains of central Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush. To the north is the Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert ecoregion, to the south are the Ghorat-Hazarajat alpine meadow and Hindu Kush alpine meadow ecoregions. The terrain is rugged: elevations range from to a high point of .

Climate

The climate of ecoregion is ''

Cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(BSk)). This climate is characteristic of steppe climates intermediary between desert humid climates, and typically have precipitation is above

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 transpi ...

. At least one month averages below .

Flora and fauna

Over 80% of the ecoregion is dry shrub. Another 8% is cultivated in crop agriculture (mostly along river valleys), and another 8% is sparse vegetation or bare ground. Common vegetation is thornbush, ''

Ziziphus ''Ziziphus'' is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three promi ...

'', and '' Acacia''. There are areas of woodland in the northeast of the ecoregion in

Badakhshan Province Badakhshan Province (Persian/ Uzbek: , ''Badaxšān'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower ...

, featuring wild almond, pistachio, willow, and buckthorn trees. There are no endemic vertebrates, but the isolated areas support a range of non-endemic threatened and endangered species, including the near threatened Argali ('' Ovis ammon''), the vulnerable Goitered gazelle ('' Gazella subgutturosa''), the endangered Kulan ('' Equus hemionus''), the near threatened Mountain weasel ('' Mustela altaica''), and near threatened Sand cat ('' Felis margarita'').

Protected areas

Less than 1% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: * Dashti-Jum Nature Reserve (Tajikistan)

References

{{reflist Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Afghanistan Ecoregions of Tajikistan Deserts and xeric shrublands