The Central Persian desert basins

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 ...

(WWF ID: PA1313) covers the arid steppe and desert basins of central Iran, stretching into northwestern Afghanistan. The ecoregion extends over the Central Iranian Plateau, which is surrounded by mountain ranges and has no outlets to the sea. Much of the terrain is hot sand-and-gravel desert and large

salt flats Salt flats, Salt flat, Salt Flats, or Salt Flat may refer to: Geology *Salt pan (geology), a flat expanse of ground covered with salt and other minerals *Dry lake, an ephemeral lakebed that consists of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali sal ...

. The vegetation includes many specialized species of

halophytes A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. ...

(salt-tolerant),

xerophytes A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology and physiology of xerophytes are adapted to ...

(drought-tolerant), and

psammophile A psammophile ( ) is a plant or animal that prefers or thrives in sandy areas. Plant psammophiles are also known as psammophytes. They thrive in places such as the Arabian Peninsula and the Sahara and also the dunes of coastal regions. Because of ...

(sand-loving) plants.

Location and description

The ecoregion is bounded on the west and south by the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

, on the north by the

Alborz Mountains The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...

(Elbruz) along the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

, on the northeast by the

Kopet Dag The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh (; ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast of the Caspian Sea, stretching nort ...

mountains on the border with

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

, and on the east by a series of lower ranges along the border with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Higher elevation mountain ridges of the Kuh Rud and Eastern Iran montane woodlands ecoregion, which intrude into the plateau. In the north of the basin is the large

Dasht-e Kavir Dasht-e Kavir ( in classical Persian, from ''khwar'' (low), and ''dasht'' (plain, flatland)) or the Kavir Desert, also known as Kavir-e Namak or the Great Salt Desert, is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian Plateau. It is about ...

(a salt desert), in the east and south is the

Dasht-e Lut The Lut Desert, widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut (, "Emptiness Plain"), is a salt desert located in the provinces of Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran. It is the world's 33rd-largest desert, and was included in UNESCO's World Heritage List ...

(a sand and gravel desert), and there are portions of the plateau covered in large sand dunes. The average elevation is . Some areas receive water run-off from nearby mountains in the spring, but the water is mostly lost to evaporation by summer. In the northwest is

Namak Lake Namak Lake (, i.e., ''salt lake'') is a salt lake in Iran. It is located approximately east of the city of Qom and of Aran va bidgol at an elevation of above sea level. The lake is a remnant of the Paratethys sea, which started to dry up fro ...

, a significant complex of saline lake, salt marsh and salt flats.

Climate

The climate of ecoregion is ''

Semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

(BSh)). This climate is characteristic of steppes, with hot summers and cool or mild winters, and minimal precipitation. The coldest month averages above . The ecoregion experiences great extremes in temperature, ranging from lows of to highs of .

Flora and fauna

The flora of the ecoregion is highly dependent on the soil and moisture characteristics of the locality. In the broad interior basins, the more common ground cover is dwarf scrub of genus ''

Artemisia (genus) ''Artemisia'' ( ) is a large, diverse genus of plants belonging to the daisy family, Asteraceae, with almost 500 species. Common names for various species in the genus include mugwort, wormwood, and sagebrush. Some botanists split the genus i ...

'' (sagebrush) 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 ...

''. In the more arid regions the cover is open, with a rich variety of halophytic and xerophytic species. Areas with more precipitation support the addition of thorn-cushion plants. The sand deserts support '' Ephedra'', ''

Calligonum ''Calligonum'' is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae with about 80 species across the Mediterranean Sea region, Asia and North America. Description Plants of the genus ''Calligonum'' are shrubs, diffusely but irregularly branched, wi ...

'', and ''

Heliotropium ''Heliotropium'' is a genus of flowering plants traditionally included in the family Boraginaceae ''s.l.'', but placed in the family Heliotropiaceae within the Boraginales order, by the Boraginales Working Group.. There are around 325 species ...

''. The margins of the gravel deserts support a wide variety of ''

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 Ta ...

'' plants. On the margins of the salt pans of the Dasht-e Kavir, representative plants include genus ''

Halothamnus ''Halothamnus'' is a genus in the subfamily Salsoloideae of the family Amaranthaceae (s.l., now including Chenopodiaceae). The scientific name means "saltbush", from the Greek language, Greek () and () . This refers either to salty habitats or ...

'', (from the Greek 'hals' (salt) and 'thamnos' (bush)), ''

Halocnemum strobilaceum ''Halocnemum'' is a genus of halophytic shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. The plants are fleshy and apparently articulated with characteristic globular or short-cylindrical lateral branches, and reduced leaves and flowers. There are three or tw ...

'', ''

Haloxylon ''Haloxylon'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees, belonging to the plant family Amaranthaceae. ''Haloxylon'' and its species are known by the common name saxaul. "Saksaul" is a common Turkic word that entered Russian through Kazakh. Descripti ...

'' (common name saxaul), and ''

Salsola ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in Australia, central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. Common names of various members of this ...

'' (from Latin (salty)). Mammals that were once associated with this area are now greatly reduced in number and mostly sighted in protected areas. These include the now-critically endangered Asiatic cheetah ('' Acinonyx jubatus, subspecies venaticus''), the near threatened Striped hyena (''

Hyaena hyaena The striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') is a species of hyena native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Hyaena''. It is listed by the IUC ...

''), the Argali ('' Ovis ammon''), the endangered Mountain gazelle (''

Gazella gazella The mountain gazelle (''Gazella gazella''), also called the true gazelle or the Palestine mountain gazelle, is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed. Approximately 6,000 are left in the wild as of 2024. The mountain gazell ...

''), the vulnerable leopard (''

Panthera pardus The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

''), and the vulnerable Marbled polecat ('' Vormela peregusna'').

Protected areas

Over 12% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: *

Kavir National Park Kavir National Park is a national park in northern Iran with an area of located on the western end of the Dasht-e Kavir desert. It encompasses desert and steppe landscapes harbouring native goats (''Capra aegagrus''), sheep (''Ovis orientalis''), ...

* Khojir National Park * Sorkheh Hesar National Park *

Khar Turan National Park Khar Turan National Park and Touran Wildlife Refuge are adjoining protected areas in Iran. They are situated in the Semnan province, southeast of Shahrud. With a size of , They form the second-largest reserve in Iran. Khar Turan National Park a ...

References

External links

* {{Palearctic desert and xeric shrubland ecoregions Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Iran Ecoregions of Afghanistan