The Eastern Gobi desert steppe is a

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

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 ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and northern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is the easternmost of the ecoregions that make up the larger

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...

. It lies between the more humid Mongolian–Manchurian grassland on the north, east, and southeast, and the drier Alashan Plateau semi-desert to the west.

Geography

The ecoregion lies on a plateau, mostly between 1000 and 1500 meters elevation. The ecoregion extends southwest along the

Yin Mountains The Yin Mountains, also known by their Chinese name as the Yin Shan or Yinshan and by various romanizations as the Daqing Mountains, are mountains in the Eastern Gobi Desert steppe of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China. The Yellow Riv ...

, which rise between 1,500 and 2,200 meters elevation. There are no large rivers in the ecoregion. Most of the ecoregion lies in closed basins, with intermittent streams that drain into salt pans and small ponds.

Climate

The climate is arid and continental. Winters are intensely cold, with January mean temperatures of . Summers are warm to hot, depending on elevation. The mean annual temperature ranges from -2 to -6 °C. Annual rainfall ranges from 100 to 150 mm, falling mostly in the summer, and varies considerably from year to year.

Flora

The predominant vegetation is a steppe of drought-tolerant shrubs and low grasses. The legumes ''

Caragana bungei ''Caragana'' is a genus of about 80–100 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to Asia and eastern Europe. They are shrubs or small trees growing tall. They have even-pinnate leaves with small leaflets, and solitary or cl ...

'' and '' Caragana leucocephala'' are characteristic shrubs. Other shrubs include gray sparrow's saltwort ('' Salsola passerina''), gray sagebrush ('' Artemisia xerophytica''), '' Potaninia mongolica'', and ''

Nitraria sibirica ''Nitraria'', known as the nitre bushes, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Nitrariaceae, native to Africa, Europe, Asia, Russia and Australia. There are about 9 species including: *''Nitraria billardierei'' DC., known as nitre bush ...

''. Common grasses include the needle grasses '' Stipa gobica'' and '' Stipa glareosa'' and bridlegrass ('' Cleistogenes soongorica''). The taana wild onion ('' Allium polyrhizum'') is the main

browse Browsing is a kind of orienting strategy. It is supposed to identify something of relevance for the browsing organism. In context of humans, it is a metaphor taken from the animal kingdom. It is used, for example, about people browsing open sh ...

eaten by many herd animals, and Mongolians claim that this is essential in producing the proper, hazelnut-like notes of camel airag (fermented milk).

Fauna

Large mammals in the ecoregion include the

Mongolian wild ass The Mongolian wild ass (''Equus hemionus hemionus''), also known as Mongolian khulan, is the nominate subspecies of the onager. It is found in southern Mongolia and northern China. It was previously found in eastern Kazakhstan and southern Sibe ...

(''Equus hemionus hemionus''), Mongolian saiga antelope (''Saiga tartarica mongolica''), Yarkand gazelle (''Gazella subgutturosa''), and

marbled polecat The marbled polecat (''Vormela peregusna'') is a small mammal belonging to the genus ''Vormela'' within the mustelid subfamily Ictonychinae. ''Vormela'' is from the German language, German word , which means "little worm". The specific name (zool ...

(''Vormela peregusna''). Several species of

jerboa Jerboas () are the members of the family Dipodidae. They are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on by little owls (''A ...

s (family

Dipodidae Jerboas () are the members of the family Dipodidae. They are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on by little owls ('' ...

) are found in sandy areas. Jerboas are small mammals with long hindlegs and tails, adapted to burrowing and able to jump up to three meters. Native jerboa species include the long-eared jerboa (''Euchoreutus naso''), Kozlov's pygmy jerboa (''Salpingotus kozlovi''),

Mongolian jerboa Andrews's three-toed jerboa, or the Mongolian jerboa, (''Stylodipus andrewsi'') is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China (Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Ningxia provinces) and Mongolia. Description Andrews's three-toed je ...

(''Stylodipus andewsi''), and Gobi jerboa (''Allactaga bullata''). Native birds include the

lammergeier The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of 70–90% bone. ...

(''Gypaetus barbatus''),

cinereous vulture The cinereous vulture (''Aegypius monachus''), also known as the black vulture, Eurasian black vulture, and monk vulture, is a very large Raptor (bird), raptor in the family Accipitridae distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. With a body ...

(''Aegypius monachus''),

MacQueen's bustard The Asian houbara (''Chlamydotis macqueenii''), also known as MacQueen's bustard, is a large bird in the bustard family. It is native to the desert and steppe regions of Asia, west from the Sinai Peninsula extending across Iran and further north ...

(''Chlamydotis macqueenii''),

chukar partridge The chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar''), or simply chukar, is a Palearctic upland Upland game, gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partrid ...

(''Alectoris chukar''), Pallas's sandgrouse (''Syrrhaptes paradoxus''),

Mongolian ground jay The Mongolian ground jay (''Podoces hendersoni'') or Henderson's ground jay, is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. Description The bird is light tan with iridescent blue on its primary feathers. It has a long, curved beak and a black stri ...

(''Podoces hendersoni''), greater sand plover (''Charadrius leschenaultii''), and Mongolian finch (''Bucanetes mongolicus'').

Human use

The vast desert is crisscrossed by several trade routes, some of which have been in use for thousands of years. Among the most important are those from Kalgan (at the Great Wall) to Ulaanbaatar (); from

Jiuquan Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in it ...

(in

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

) to Hami ; from Hami to Beijing (); from

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the Capital (political), capital of Inner Mongolia in the North China, north of the China, People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrativ ...

to Hami and Barkul; and from

Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...

(in Gansu) to Hami.

Protected areas

3.34% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include

Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (, ''Gobi three beauties nature complex'') is a national park in southern Mongolia. The park was established in 1993, and expanded to its current size in 2000. The park, at nearly 27,000 square kilometers, is th ...

, Wuliangsuhainiaolei Protected Area, Ergeliin Zoo Nature Reserve, Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve, Zagiin us Nature Reserve, Gobiin baga Strictly Protected Area, Ongon Tavan bulag Nature Reserve, Delgerkhangai mountain Nature Reserve, and Burdene bulag Nature Reserve.

References

External links

* {{Palearctic desert and xeric shrubland ecoregions Ecoregions of China Ecoregions of Mongolia Palearctic ecoregions Deserts and xeric shrublands Gobi Desert