The Middle East steppe

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: PA0812) stretches in an arc from southern

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

across

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to the western border of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The upper plains of the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

and

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

Rivers dominate most of the ecoregion. The terrain is mostly open shrub steppe. The climate is arid (less than 250 mm of precipitation per year). Evidence is that this region was once more of a forest-steppe, but centuries of overgrazing and gathering firewood have reduced tree and grass cover to small areas and along the riverine corridors. Despite the degraded condition of the steppe environment, the ecoregion is important for water birds as the rivers and reservoirs provide habitat in the arid region.

Location and description

Most of the ecoregion is in upper Syria and Iraq, with a thin extension through western

that almost reaches the

Gulf of Aqaba The Gulf of Aqaba ( ar, خَلِيجُ ٱلْعَقَبَةِ, Khalīj al-ʿAqabah) or Gulf of Eilat ( he, מפרץ אילת, Mifrátz Eilát) is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian ...

in the south, and almost touching the border with

in the east. The terrain is flat plains or hills, with an average elevation of . The ecoregion to the south is the Mesopotamian shrub desert, and to the north is the

Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Hot semi-arid climates'' (

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, nota ...

(BSh)). This climate is characteristic of steppes, with hot summers and cool or mild winters, and minimal precipitation. The coldest month averages above . Precipitation averages less than 200 mm/year.

Flora and fauna

The region is one of shrub steppe, crossed by riverine woodlands in places. In deep, non-saline soils the dominant shrubs are white wormwood ''(

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

)'', associated with bulbous bluegrass'' (

Poa bulbosa ''Poa bulbosa'' is a species of grass known by the common names bulbous bluegrass or bulbous meadow-grass. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is present practically worldwide as an introduced species. It is widespread in the United ...

)''. Stonier soils support ''

Hammada scoparia ''Haloxylon scoparium'' (syns. ''Arthrophytum scoparium'' and ''Hammada scoparia'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference ...

''. Areas near water support ''( Tamarix)'', Euphrates poplar ''(

Populus euphratica ''Populus euphratica'', commonly known as the Euphrates poplar, desert poplar, diversiform-leaved poplar, or poplar diversifolia, is a species of poplar tree in the willow family. Description The Euphrates poplar is a medium-sized deciduous ...

)'', and reeds ''(

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in L ...

)''. In less populated areas with vegetation, some large mammals are found, including the European badger ''( Meles meles)'', wild boar ''(

Sus scrofa The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is n ...

)'', and the vulnerable Arabian goitered gazelle ''( Gazella subgutturosa)''. For migratory water birds, the Euphrates River valley serves as a major migration route between the wetlands of Turkey and the wetlands of Iraq. Many of these species depend on a combination of wetlands and arid desert habitat. Birds in the ecoregion of conservation interest include 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. ...

)'', the vulnerable Great bustard ''(

Otis tarda The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European p ...

)'', and the near-threatened Little bustard ''(

Tetrax tetrax The little bustard (''Tetrax tetrax'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Tetrax''. The genus name is from Ancient Greek and refers to a gamebird mentioned by Aristophanes and others. Distribution It breeds in S ...

)''.

Protected areas

Less than 1% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: * Wujib Nature Reserve (Jordan) *

Dana Biosphere Reserve Dana Biosphere Reserve is Jordan's largest nature reserve, located in south-central Jordan. Dana Biosphere Reserve was founded in 1989 in the area in and around the Dana village and Wadi Dana comprising . Human presence The people of the Ata' ...

(Jordan) * Fifa Nature Reserve (Jordan)

References

{{reflist Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Jordan Ecoregions of Syria Ecoregions of Iraq