The Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands is a xeric woodland

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 ...

in the southwestern

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

Setting

The ecoregion covers an area of , lying above 2000 meters elevations in the Sarawat Mountains, which include the

Asir Mountains The Asir Mountains ( ar, جِبَال عَسِيْر, '; (' Difficult')) is a mountainous region in southwestern Saudi Arabia running parallel to the Red Sea. It comprises areas in the Asir Region of Saudi Arabia, however it also generally inc ...

of southwestern

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and the Western Highlands of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. These mountains run generally north and south, parallel to the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

coast. To the west the mountains drop steeply towards the Red Sea in a series of escarpments, and descend more gradually to the desert plateaus and basins to the east. The mountains generally decrease in elevation towards the north. The highest peak is

Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb ''Jabal An-Nabī Shuʿayb'' ( ar, جَبَل ٱلنَّبِي شُعَيْب, lit=Mountain of the Prophet Shuaib), also called ''Jabal Hadhur'' ( ar, جَبَل حَضُوْر, link=no, Jabal Ḥaḍūr), is a mountain of the Harazi subregion of ...

in Yemen (3,666 meters), which is also the highest on the Arabian Peninsula. Other peaks include

Jabal Sawda Jabal Sawda ( ar, جَبَل ٱلسُّوْدَة ', ) is a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with a claimed elevation of , on the basis of which it is claimed to be the highest point in Saudi Arabia. In a 2018 GPS survey the peak's elevation wa ...

and Jabal Ferwa in Saudi Arabia, which are the country's highest.

Sana'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...

, Yemen's capital city, is in the ecoregion.

Flora

The flora changes with elevation. Evergreen woodland and scrub lies between 2000 and 2500 meters elevation, with '' Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata'' and ''

Tarchonanthus camphoratus ''Tarchonanthus camphoratus'' (known as camphor bush for its scent, or leleshwa in Kenya), is a shrub or small tree, widespread in Africa south of the Sahel. Description The camphor bush can reach up to 6 meters in height. The twigs and younger ...

'' the predominant trees. Above 2500 meters elevation, cloud forests, composed of large shrubs and small trees, can be found on wetter north-facing slopes, mostly made up of ''

Juniperus procera ''Juniperus procera'' (known by the common English names African juniper, African pencil-cedar, East African juniper, East African-cedar, and Kenya-cedar) is a coniferous tree native to mountainous areas in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is ...

'' and ''

Euryops arabicus ''Euryops arabicus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae that grows in the form of a bush. It is found on the Arabian Peninsula, Socotra, Somalia and Djibouti. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. De ...

'', covered with the

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Usnea articulata ''Usnea articulata'', commonly known as the string-of-sausage lichen, is a pale greenish-grey, densely branched lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fung ...

''. On the drier south-facing slopes dwarf-shrub forests of '' Rubus petitianus, Rosa abyssinica, Alchemilla crytantha,

Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mor ...

'' spp., '' Helichrysum abyssinicum, Aloe sabae,'' and ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

'' ssp. are common. Below 2000 meters, the montane woodlands transition to the drier semi-evergreen open woodlands and thorn scrub of the

Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna The Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna, also known as the Southwestern Arabian Escarpment shrublands and woodlands, is a desert and xeric shrubland ecoregion of the southern Arabian Peninsula, covering portions of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oma ...

ecoregion.

Fauna

The

Arabian leopard The Arabian leopard (''Panthera pardus nimr'') is a leopard subspecies native to the Arabian Peninsula. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1996 as fewer than 200 wild individuals were estimated to be alive i ...

(''Panthera pardus'' ssp. ''nimr'') and

Arabian wolf The Arabian wolf (''Canis lupus arabs'') is a subspecies of gray wolf native to the Arabian Peninsula, the Negev Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and Jordan. It is the smallest wolf subspecies, and a desert-adapted subspecies that normally lives in ...

(''Canis lupus'' ssp. ''arabs'') are critically endangered. Other mammals include the

hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region of the Arabian Peninsula. These re ...

(''Papio hamadryas''),

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

(''Caracal caracal'' ssp. ''schmitzi''),

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the da ...

(''Procavia capensis'' ssp. ''jayakari''), and striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena''). Several species of birds are endemic to the mountains of southwestern Arabia. They include Philby's partridge (''Alectoris philbyi''), Asir magpie (''Pica asirensis''), Yemen warbler (''Curruca buryi''), Yemen thrush (''Turdus menachensis''),

Arabian accentor Radde's accentor (''Prunella ocularis'') is a species of bird in the family Prunellidae. It is found in mountainous parts of Yemen and northern Southwest Asia. Its natural habitat is temperate grassland. Taxonomy Radde's accentor was describ ...

(''Prunella fagani''), Arabian waxbill (''Estrilda rufibarba''), Yemen serin (''Crithagra menachensis''), and

Yemen linnet The Yemen linnet (''Linaria yemenensis'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. The Yemen linnet was formerly placed in the genus '' ...

(''Linaria yemenensis'').BirdLife International (2021) Endemic Bird Areas factsheet: South-west Arabian mountains. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 01/02/2021. Juniper berries are an important food source for the Yemen warbler, Yemen thrush, and Yemen linnet, and all three species nest in the juniper trees. Other native bird species with a wider range include the Arabian woodpecker (''Dendrocopos dorae''),

Arabian wheatear The Arabian wheatear (''Oenanthe lugentoides'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in We ...

(''Oenanthe lugentoides''),

Arabian serin The Arabian serin (''Crithagra rothschildi'') or olive-rumped serin, is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is native to the Sarawat Mountains of western Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry ...

(''Crithagra rothschildi''), and Arabian golden-winged grosbeak (''Rhynchostruthus percivali''). Raptors include the

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with Rü ...

(''Gyps fulvus''),

bearded vulture The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey and the only member of the genus ''Gypaetus''. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate mi ...

(''Gypaetus barbatus''),

Verreaux's eagle Verreaux's eagle (''Aquila verreauxii'') is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the Indian black eagle (''Ictinaetus malayensis''), which lives far to t ...

(''Aquila verreauxii''), and Barbary falcon (''Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides'').

Human use

Residents of the mountains have farmed the steep slopes for over 2000 years, creating terraced fields on the steep slopes. Wheat, barley, and sorghum are historically important crops. Overharvesting trees for firewood and timber and intensive grazing by domestic and feral cattle, goats, sheep and camels have reduced and degraded the ecoregion's woodlands. Soil erosion from deforested slopes and abandoned terraces is also a threat. The ecoregion's woodlands been greatly reduced in extent by human activity and livestock grazing. Many of the ecoregion's juniper forests are regenerating poorly. Possible causes include human disturbance, livestock grazing, climate change, and/or infestation of cones by a Tortricid moth.

Protected areas

0.43% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include portions of Saudi Arabia's

Asir National Park Asir National Park is a national park in Saudi Arabia's Asir region. It was established in 1981. Geography Asir National Park covers an area of 6490.7 km2. It extends from Red Sea coast to the mountains, and includes both marine and terre ...

and

Raydah Natural Reserve Raydah Natural Reserve is a 9.33 km2 protected area in Saudi Arabia managed by the Saudi Wildlife Authority. The reserve situated adjacent to 'Asir National Park. It was listed as a protected area in 1989. Wildlife Raydah reserve is a habit ...

References

External links

* {{WWF ecoregion, name=Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands, id=at1321 Afromontane ecoregions Afromontane forests Afrotropical ecoregions Deserts and xeric shrublands Ecoregions of Saudi Arabia Ecoregions of Yemen