The Saharan halophytics

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

(WWF ID: PA0905) covers a series of low-lying evaporite depressions and wetlands spread across

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. The depressions are characteristically saline, variously chotts (saline lakes fed by groundwater and some winter rains) or sabkhas (coastal, supratidal mudflats of evaporites). The plants of the areas are highly specialized to survive in the harsh environment, with many being xerophytes (drought-tolerant) and halophytes (salt-tolerant). The biodiversity of the areas has been relatively protected by their isolation, and unsuitability of alkaline soil for farming.

Location and description

The sites making up this ecoregion contain a wide variety of habitat types: salt pans, seasonal salt lakes,

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es, reed beds, and spring-fed oases. Chott and sebkha areas exist in arid regions with clay soils heavy with evaporites. Specific locations assigned to this ecoregion include: * Chott Melrhir (Northeast

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

). An extension of the Gulf of Gabès into the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. At below sea level, it is one of the lowest points in the Sahara region. * Chott el Hodna (Northeast Algeria). A saline, endoheric lake fed by runoff from the Tell Atlas Mountains in northeast Algeria. It has high steppe vegetation, being at an altitude of between mountain ranges. * Chott el Djerid (Southern Tunisia). Translates in English as "Lagoon of the Land of Palms". *

Qattara Depression The Qattara Depression () is a depression (geology), depression in northwestern Egypt, specifically in the Matruh Governorate. The depression is part of the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt. The Qattara Depression lies below sea ...

(Northern Egypt). Salt marshes, salt pans and dry lake beds in a depression below sea level, and in area. It includes the Moghra Oasis. * Siwa Oasis (Northwestern Egypt). The "Field of Trees", Siwa is an oasis fed by permanent springs. It supports agriculture—over 250,000 date palms and 30,000 olive trees by the 1980s. The site are surrounded by terrain of the North Saharan steppe and woodlands ecoregion that extends across the northern Sahara.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Hot desert 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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

(BWh)). This climate features stable air and high pressure aloft, producing a hot, arid desert. Hot-month temperatures typically average . Rainfall varies between per year.

Flora and fauna

Vegetation within a site varies by soil salinity and sand tenure; these typically vary by distance from the center of a salt pan. Common species include Picklegrass ('' Salicornia''), the generally subshrub genera '' Salsola'', Saltbush ('' Atriplex''), '' Halocnemum strobilaceum'', and White wormwood ('' Artemisia herba-alba''). While there are some large mammals in these areas, the most common mammals are gerbils (the North African gerbil '' Gerbillus campestris'' and the '' Dipodillus''). An example of species diversity is that of the Chott el Hodna, in which have been identified 550 species of plants, 119 species of birds, 10 of reptiles and 20 of mammals. Animals of conservation in this area include the vulnerable Cuvier's gazelle ('' Gazella cuvieri'') and the vulnerable Houbara bustard ('' Chlamydotis undulata'').

Protected areas

Over 25% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: * Chott el Djerid

External Links

References

{{reflist Geography of North Africa Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Algeria Ecoregions of Tunisia Ecoregions of Libya Ecoregions of Egypt Flooded grasslands and savannas Ecoregions of Mauritania