The Tian Shan foothill arid 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: PA0818) covers the northern and western approaches to the Tian Shan mountains, centered on Lake
Issyk-Kul
Issyk-Kul (also Ysyk-Köl, ky, Ысык-Көл, lit=warm lake, translit=Ysyk-Köl, , zh, 伊塞克湖) is an endorheic lake (i.e., without outflow) in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh-deepest lake i ...
in
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
. This region receives more moisture from Central Asia, thereby supporting more vegetation and diversity of plant and animal species than the deserts to the south.
Location and description
The ecoregion stretches around the lower altitudes of the
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
mountain ridge, running for approximately 1,000 km from western
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
to a small section inside the western reaches of
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
Province in
China.
The foothills of the northwestern Tian Shan are a series of ridges and lake basins in this region. Elevations for this ecoregion are 150 - 660 meters.
Climate
Several different climate classifications are represented in the ecoregion, both semi-arid and humid. The most widespread in the northeast is ''
cold semi-arid'' (
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 generally characterized as having precipitation greater than a true desert, and also a colder temperature.
The western areas of the ecoregion, and the closer areas to the main ridge, are warmer, particularly in the summer, with high temperatures above 32 degrees C in July.
Flora and fauna
The semi-desert of the lower foothills feature Fescue (''
Festuca
''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ever ...
'') and feather grass (''
Stipa
''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species for ...
''), with
sagebrush
Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west.
Following is an al ...
and similar shrubs (
genus ''Artemisia''), and salt-tolerant tamarisk (''
Tamarix
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...
'').
Common mammals include red fox, corsac fox, wolf, steppe cat, weasels, ferrets, and various voles and shrews.
See also
*
Ecoregions in China {{Short description, none
The following is a list of terrestrial ecoregions of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The transition between two of the planet's eight terrestrial biog ...
References
{{reflist
Ecoregions of China
Ecoregions of Kazakhstan
Ecoregions of Kyrgyzstan
Palearctic ecoregions
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands