The Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert, also known as the Southwestern Arabian coastal xeric scrub, is desert
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 ...
on the southern coasts of the
Arabian Peninsula, which experiences thick fogs where visibility may be reduced to . It is classed as an
Afrotropical fog desert
Location and description
This ecosystem exists on a strip along the western and eastern coasts of Arabia. It follows the coast of
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
southward from
Masirah Island
Masirah Island ( ar, جَزِيْرَة مَصِيْرَة, Jazīrat Maṣīrah), also referred to as Mazeira Island or ''Wilāyat Maṣīrah'' ( ar, وِلَايَة مَصِيْرَة), is an island off the east coast of mainland Oman in the ...
and reaches inland to in the
Jiddat al Harasisi plateau and the
Dhofar
The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah G ...
mountains. From here it continues as a very narrow strip (only wide) along the coast 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 ...
and up the wide the
Tihamah
Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb.
Etymology
Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for ' sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in m ...
plain along 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''; ...
coast of
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 ...
. In Oman and Yemen moisture is provided by thick fogs coming off the ocean during the summer
khareef
''Khareef'' ( ar, خَرِيْف, Kharīf, autumn) is a colloquial Arabic term used in southern Oman, southeastern Yemen, southwestern Saudi Arabia and Sudan for the southeastern monsoon. The monsoon affects Dhofar and Al Mahrah Governorates f ...
monsoon, while the hot Tihamah plain is moisturised by some rainfall and the generally high humidity of the Red Sea.
Flora
In this region, although it rarely rains the fog provides moisture sufficient to nurture a great deal of
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
,
shrubs and thick
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
. There are over sixty local species of plant. This coastal strip is of particular importance as further inland where the fog does not have an influence most of the Arabian Peninsula is desert. Vegetation varies progressively away from the coast which features dense woodland of ''
Anogeissus dhofarica'', ''
Senegalia senegal
''Senegalia senegal'' (also known as ''Acacia senegal'') is a small thorny deciduous tree from the genus '' Senegalia'', which is known by several common names, including gum acacia, gum arabic tree, Sudan gum and Sudan gum arabic. In parts of I ...
'' and various thorny ''
Commiphora
The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the ...
'' trees and shrubs. The richest flora can be found in the Dhofar mountains which have 900 plants including 60 endemic species and two endemic genera, ''
Cibirhiza'' and ''
Dhofaria''. One of these plants, ''
Boswellia sacra
''Boswellia sacra'' (commonly known as frankincense or olibanum-tree) is a tree in the Burseraceae family. It is the primary tree in the genus '' Boswellia'' from which frankincense, a resinous dried sap, is harvested. It is native to the Arabia ...
'' (frankincense), was a source of great wealth for Dhofar in antiquity. In Yemen, the side of
Jabal Urays facing the sea is covered with ''
Euphorbia balsamifera'' shrubs.
Fauna
The many mammals found here include the
Arabian Oryx
The Arabian oryx (''Oryx leucoryx'') or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus ''Oryx'', native to desert and steppe areas o ...
''(Oryx leucoryx)'' which was reintroduced to the wild after disappearing,
Arabian Gazelle
The Arabian gazelle ''(Gazella arabica)'' is a species of gazelle from the Arabian Peninsula.
Taxonomy
Until recently, it was only known from a single lectotype specimen mistakenly thought to have been collected on the Farasan Islands in the R ...
and
Nubian Ibex, a
goat antelope. Predators found on the coast include
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Striped Hyena and the critically endangered
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 nimr)'', which survives on
Jebel Samhan
Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve ( ar, محمية جبل سمحان) is a nature reserve in the area of ''Jabal Samḥān'' ( ar, جَبَل سَمْحَان, "Mount Samhan") in Dhofar, Oman. It has an area of and has no permanent population. Being in ...
in the Dhofar mountains.
Threats and preservation
The main threat to this ecosystem is
overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
by increasing numbers of cattle and other livestock as well as off-road driving and human encroachment. Urban areas in this ecoregion include: in Oman the port of
Duqm and the Dhofar capital of
Salalah
Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169.
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...
; in Yemen, the
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...
port capital
Mukalla
Mukalla ( ar, ٱلْمُكَلَّا, ') is a seaport and the capital city of Yemen's largest governorate, Hadhramaut. The city is in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of Aden, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, about east o ...
, the former capital and ancient port of
Aden, the Red Sea coffee ports of
Al Hudaydah (still the largest town on this coast of Yemen) and
Mocha, and the
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
of
Zabid
Zabid ( ar, زَبِيد) (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since ...
; and the city of
Jizan
Jazan ( ar, جازان, Jāzān), also spelled ''Jizan'' ( ar, جيزان, Jīzān), ''Gizan'' or ''Gazan'', is a port city and the capital of Jizan Region, which lies in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia and directly north of the border with ...
, the ''fruit basket of Saudi Arabia''. Protected areas in Oman include the controversial
Arabian Oryx Sanctuary where the reintroduction took place, and
Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve established for the protection of the leopards. There are a number of
Important Bird Areas on the coast of Yemen but none are officially protected.
References
External links
Google booksBritannica Arabian Desert
{{coord missing, Asia
Ecoregions of Asia
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Ecoregions of Oman
Ecoregions of Saudi Arabia
Ecoregions of Yemen
Arabian Peninsula
Deserts of Oman
Deserts of Saudi Arabia
Deserts of Yemen
Afrotropical ecoregions