The North Saharan steppe and woodlands is a desert ecoregion, in the

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

, that forms the northern edge of the Sahara. It extends east and west across Northern Africa, south of the Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe ecoregion of the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

and

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

, which is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. Winter rains sustain shrublands and dry woodlands that form an

ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...

between the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

regions to the north and the hyper-arid Sahara Desert ecoregion to the south.

Geography

The North Saharan steppe and woodlands covers in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, Mauritania,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, and

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

Climate

The climate in this ecoregion is hot and dry in the summer but cooler with some rain in the winter. Atlantic depressions sometimes penetrate inland between October and April. Rainfall is erratic, but averages in the north and in the south. During the summer, temperatures regularly rise to and evaporation far exceeds precipitation.

Ecology

There are varying habitats in the ecoregion including sandy systems, rocky plateaus, wadis, depressions and mountains. Each has its own characteristic species and there is considerable

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

of both plants and animals in the area.

Flora

Plant communities include steppes of grasses, herbs and low shrubs, tall shrublands, and dry woodlands. Shrublands and woodlands typically grow in depressions, in the valleys of intermittent streams (wadis), and on consolidated dunes. Common trees include ''

Vachellia tortilis ''Vachellia tortilis'', widely known as ''Acacia tortilis'' but now attributed to the genus '' Vachellia'', is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as ''umbrella thorn'' and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Afr ...

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 thr ...

'', and ''

Tamarix aphylla ''Tamarix aphylla'' is the largest known species of '' Tamarix'', with heights up to . The species has a variety of common names, including Athel tamarisk, Athel tree, and Athel pine. It is an evergreen tree, native across North, East, and Centr ...

''. Tall shrubs of the woodlands and tall shrublands include ''

Retama raetam ''Retama raetam'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to northern Africa from the Western Sahara to Sudan, Sicily, Israel, Sinai Peninsula, the Palestine region and Saudi Arabia, and widely naturalized elsewhere. F ...

Ziziphus lotus ''Ziziphus'' is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three promi ...

, Calobota saharae'', and '' Calligonum comosum''. Plants have evolved various strategies to adapt to the dry climate and intermittent rainfall. Many herbaceous ephemeral plants, particularly in the north, germinate in January during the wet season and quickly mature and flower before they dry out in the spring.

Fauna

Small mammals endemic to the Sahara area include the

four-toed jerboa The four-toed jerboa (''Allactaga tetradactyla'') is a rodent of the family Dipodidae and genus '' Allactaga'' that has four digits. It is the sole species in the subgenus ''Scarturus''. Four-toed jerboas are native to Egypt and Libya. They liv ...

(''Allactaga tetradactyla''), North African gerbil (''Gerbillus campestris''), James's gerbil (''G. jamesi''), pale gerbil (''G. perpallidus''), lesser short-tailed gerbil (''G. simoni''), sand gerbil (''G. syrticus''),

fat-tailed gerbil The fat-tailed gerbil (''Pachyuromys duprasi''), also called the duprasi gerbil or doop, is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. It is the only member of the genus ''Pachyuromys''. These rodents are the most docile species of the ge ...

(''Pachyuromys duprasi'') and

Shaw's jird Shaw's jird (''Meriones shawi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. Its natural habitats are arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens. They typically live 1–2 years. Sh ...

(''Meriones shawi''). Larger mammals include the

dorcas gazelle The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on vegeta ...

(''Gazella dorcas''),

mountain gazelle The mountain gazelle (''Gazella gazella''), also called the Palestine mountain gazelle, is a species of gazelle widely but unevenly distributed. Description Mountain gazelle are one of the few mammals in which both sexes have horns. Males ha ...

(''Gazella cuvieri'') and slender-horned gazelle (''Gazella leptoceros''). There are a variety of snakes and lizards, including two endemic species, desert agama (''Trapelus mutabilis'') and Natterer's gecko (''Tropiocolotes nattereri''). There are few amphibians, Brongersma's toad (''Bufo brongersmai'') being endemic to the coastal region of North Africa. Among the bird species, the Houbara bustard (''Chlamydotis undulata'') and Nubian bustard (''Neotis nuba'') have decreased in numbers because of hunting pressure.

Protected areas

Only 0.69% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include: * Dghoumes National Park, Tunisia * El Omayed Nature Conservation Reserve, Egypt * Iriqui National Park, Morocco * Khnifiss National Park, Morocco * Jbil National Park, Tunisia * Oued Dkouk Nature Reserve, Tunisia * Sanghr Jabbess National Park, Tunisia * Sidi Toui National Park, Tunisia

References

{{reflist Deserts and xeric shrublands Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Algeria Ecoregions of Egypt Ecoregions of Libya Ecoregions of Mauritania Ecoregions of Morocco Ecoregions of Tunisia Ecoregions of Western Sahara Flora of Algeria Flora of Egypt Flora of Libya Flora of Mauritania Flora of Tunisia Flora of Western Sahara