The Central Anatolian deciduous forests, also known as the Central Anatolian woodlands and steppe, is a

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

of the

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. Thes ...

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

. It is located in Central Anatolia, Asian

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Geography

The ecoregion occupies the plateau of Central Anatolia. Belts of forested mountains surround the ecoregion, with the Mediterranean-climate Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests and Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests ecoregions in western and southern mountains, and the more temperate-climate Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests in the ranges to the north. The eastern edge of the ecoregion approximates the Anatolian diagonal, a biogeographic boundary which separates central from eastern Anatolia. The diagonal forms the western edge of the adjacent Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests ecoregion. The driest portions of the plateau, including the area around

Lake Tuz Lake Tuz ( meaning 'Salt Lake) is the second largest lake in Turkey with its surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, northeast of Konya, south-southeast of Ankara and ...

, are part of the distinct Central Anatolian steppe ecoregion. The northern part of the ecoregion is drained by the Sakarya and Kızılırmak rivers. The southern portion occupies several closed lake basins, including Lake Tuz.

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, Turkey's capital, lies in the northern portion of the ecoregion. Other cities in the ecoregion are

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

Karaman Karaman is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the seat of Karaman Province and Karaman District.Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall ranges annual rainfall ranges from 400 to 600 mm.Kapur, Selim, Erhan Akça, and Hikmet Günal (2017). ''The Soils of Turkey''. Springer, Sep 30, 2017

Flora

The characteristic vegetation of the ecoregion is dry deciduous forest interspersed with areas of shrub steppe. Human activity has transformed most of the region into anthropogenic steppe or open woodland. The forests which once covered 50 to 55% of the region now cover less than 10%.Atalay, Ibrahim (1986). "Vegetation formations of Turkey". ''Travaux de l'Institut de Géographie de Reims'', Année 1986 65-66. pp. 17-30. Oaks, including ''

Quercus pubescens ''Quercus pubescens'' (Synonym (taxonomy), synonyms ''virgiliana''), commonly known as the downy oak, pubescent oak or Italian oak, is a species of white oak (genus ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') native to southern Europe and southwest Asia. It ...

'' and ''

Quercus infectoria ''Quercus infectoria'' or the Aleppo oak is a species of oak well known for producing galls (called manjakani in Malaysia, majuphal in India) that have been traditionally used for centuries in Asia medicinally while also used in softening leather ...

'', are the predominant trees. At higher elevations, ''Q. pubescens'' is joined by ''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula and Lower Austria to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica ...

Juniperus oxycedrus ''Juniperus oxycedrus'', vernacularly called Cade, cade juniper, prickly juniper, prickly cedar, or sharp cedar, is a species of juniper, native across the Mediterranean region, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level. The specific ep ...

'', and '' Juniperus excelsa''. The steppe plants include herbs, grasses, and low shrubs, with species of '' Artemisia, Bromus, Achillea,

Trifolium Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversity ...

'', and ''

Astragalus Astragalus may refer to: * ''Astragalus'' (plant), a large genus of herbs and small shrubs *Astragalus (bone) The talus (; Latin for ankle or ankle bone; : tali), talus bone, astragalus (), or ankle bone is one of the group of foot bones known ...

'' prominent. Trees are absent from areas with less than 400 mm of annual rainfall. These areas constitute the 'true steppe' of the Central Anatolian steppe ecoregion.

Protected areas

Protected areas include Bozdağ National Park and Sultan Sazlığı National Park.

External links

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Turkey Ecoregions of Asia Natural history of Anatolia * Forests of Turkey Palearctic ecoregions Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests