The Saharan halophytics

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 ...

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

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. The depressions are characteristically saline, variously chotts (saline lakes fed by groundwater and some winter rains) or

sabkha A sabkha ( ar, سبخة) is a coastal, supratidal mudflat or sandflat in which evaporite-saline minerals accumulate as the result of semiarid to arid climate. Sabkhas are gradational between land and intertidal zone within restricted coastal p ...

s (coastal, supratidal mudflats of

evaporites An evaporite () is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean ...

). The plants of the areas are highly specialized to survive in the harsh environment, with many being

xerophyte A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or the ...

s (drought-tolerant) and

halophyte 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. Th ...

s (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 or saltmarsh, 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. It is domin ...

es, reed beds, and spring-fed

oases In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. Chott and sebkha areas exist in arid regions with clay soils heavy with evaporites. Specific locations assigned to this ecoregion include: *

Chott Melrhir Chott Melrhir () also known as Chott Melghir or Chott Melhir is an endorheic chott-kind of salt lake in northeastern Algeria. It is the westernmost part of a series of depressions, which extend from the Gulf of Gabès into the Sahara. They were ...

(Northeast

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

). An extension of the

Gulf of Gabès The Gulf of Gabes (or Cabès, Cabes, Gaps; ar, خليج قابس, ḫalīǧ Qābis), also known as Lesser Syrtis (from grc, Μικρά Σύρτις, Mikrá Sýrtis; la, Syrtis Minor), contrasting with the Greater Syrtis in Libya, is a gulf on ...

into the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. At below sea level, it is one of the lowest points in the Sahara region. *

Chott el Hodna The ''Chott el Hodna'' ( ar, شط الحضنة) is a very shallow saline lake in Algeria. It is located within an endorheic basin in the Hodna region, towards the eastern end of the ''Hautes Plaines''. The ''Chott el Hodna'' includes seasonal brac ...

(Northeast Algeria). A saline, endoheric lake fed by runoff from the

Tell Atlas The Tell Atlas ( ar, الاطلس التلي, Latn, ar, al-ʾaṭlas al-tlī) is a mountain chain over in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges in North Africa, stretching mainly across northern Algeria, with ends in both north-easter ...

Mountains in northeast Algeria. It has high steppe vegetation, being at an altitude of between mountain ranges. *

Chott el Djerid Chott el Djerid ( ar, شط الجريد ') also spelled ''Sciott Gerid'' and ''Shott el Jerid'', is a chott, a large endorheic salt lake in southern Tunisia. The name can be translated from the Arabic into English as "Lagoon of the Land of Palms" ...

(Southern Tunisia). Translates in English as "Lagoon of the Land of Palms". *

Qattara Depression The Qattara Depression ( ar, منخفض القطارة, Munḫafaḍ al-Qaṭṭārah) is a depression in northwestern Egypt, specifically in the Matruh Governorate. The depression is part of the Western Desert of Egypt. The Qattara Depressi ...

(Northern Egypt). Salt marshes, salt pans and dry lake beds in a depression below sea level, and in area. It includes the

Moghra Oasis The Moghra Oasis is an uninhabited oasis in the northeastern part of the Qattara Depression in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt. It has a lake containing brackish water, salt marshes and a swamp with Phragmites, reeds. Geograph ...

. *

Siwa Oasis The Siwa Oasis ( ar, واحة سيوة, ''Wāḥat Sīwah,'' ) is an urban oasis in Egypt; between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan Egypt–Li ...

(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 The North Saharan steppe and woodlands is a desert ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, that forms the northern edge of the Sahara. It extends east and west across Northern Africa, south of the Mediterranean dry woodlands and s ...

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 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 ...

(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 ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...

''), the generally subshrub genera ''

Salsola ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus and ...

'', Saltbush (''

Atriplex ''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''. The genus is quite variable and w ...

''), ''

Halocnemum strobilaceum ''Halocnemum strobilaceum'' is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Salicornioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It is native to coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and parts of the Middle East and central Asia, wher ...

'', and White wormwood (''

Artemisia herba-alba ''Artemisia herba-alba'', the white wormwood, is a perennial shrub in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia'' that grows commonly on the dry steppes of the Mediterranean regions in Northern Africa (Saharan Maghreb), Western Asia (Arabian Pen ...

''). While there are some large mammals in these areas, the most common mammals are gerbils (the North African gerbil ''

Gerbillus campestris The North African gerbil (''Dipodillus campestris'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in North Africa where its natural habitats are arable land and rocky areas of the Maghreb, and hot Saharan deserts. Description The N ...

'' and the ''

Dipodillus ''Dipodillus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae. It is sometimes classified as a subgenus of the genus Gerbillus. It contains the following species: * Botta's gerbil (''Dipodillus bottai'') * North African gerbil (''Dipodillus campest ...

''). 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 Cuvier's gazelle (''Gazella cuvieri'') is a species of gazelle native to Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Tunisia. It is also known as the edmi.

'') and the vulnerable Houbara bustard (''

Chlamydotis undulata The houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata''), also known as African houbara, is a relatively small bustard native to North Africa, where it lives in arid habitats. The global population is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2014. ...

'').

Protected areas

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

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