The Central Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands

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: PA1309) covers the xeric (dry) eastern and southern slopes of the central mountain range of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, between the sandy desert to the south and the alpine meadows in the higher, wetter region to the north. Despite the 'woodlands' in the ecoregion name, very little of the territory is forested – less than 1% – but is instead sparse vegetation or herbaceous cover.

Location and description

The central mountain ranges of the Afghanistan are western extensions of the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...

mountains in the northeast of the country. These subranges center on the Koh-i-Baba (Baba Mountain Range) the Koh-e Paghman Mountains. The mean elevation is , with a highest peak being Kuh-e Kokzaro Zaghicha at the northeastern extreme of the ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Humid continental climate - Hot, dry summer sub-type'' (

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 ...

Dsa), with large seasonal temperature differentials and a hot summer (at least one month averaging over , and mild winters. The driest month between April and September does not have more than 30 millimeters of precipitation.

Flora

According to satellite analysis, 65% of the ecoregion is bare or sparse vegetation, and another 27% is "herbaceous cover". There are communities of wild pistachio trees (''

Pistacia atlantica ''Pistacia atlantica'' is a species of pistachio tree known by the English common name Mt. Atlas mastic tree, Atlas pistachio, Atlantic pistacio, Atlantic terebinth, Cyprus turpentine tree, and Persian turpentine tree. ''P. atlantica'' has th ...

'') at altitudes of 1,150-1,800 meters. Precipitation at these altitudes averages 250-400 mm/year. Higher, at 2,000-2,800 meters, Almond trees of genus ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the ...

'' mark a transition zone to the higher sub-alpine vegetation.

Fauna

Of conservation interest in the ecoregion is the critically endangered Paghman mountain salamandar (''

Afghanodon mustersi Paradactylodon mustersi is a species of salamander endemic to Afghanistan. It is also known as the Afghanistan brook salamander, Paghman Mountain Salamander, Afghan brook salamander, Afghanistan mountain salamander, Paghman mountain salamander, a ...

''). A large saline lake, Ab-i Istada in the ecoregion, is an important migratory stop in the Spring for waterfowl traveling between

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

and the Ganges Plain of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The site has a significant breeding population of American flamingos (''

Phoenicopterus ruber The American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo native to the Neotropics. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greater flamingo, but that trea ...

'').

Protected areas

There are no protected areas in this ecoregion.

References

{{reflist Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Afghanistan