The Middle East steppe

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: PA0812) stretches in an arc from southern

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

across

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

to the western border of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The upper plains of the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

and

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

Rivers dominate most of the ecoregion. The terrain is mostly open shrub steppe. The climate is arid (less than 250 mm of precipitation per year). Evidence is that this region was once more of a forest-steppe, but centuries of

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

and gathering firewood have reduced tree and grass cover to small areas and along the riverine corridors. Despite the degraded condition of the steppe environment, the ecoregion is important for water birds as the rivers and reservoirs provide habitat in the arid region.

Location and description

Most of the ecoregion is in upper Syria and Iraq, with a thin extension through western

that almost reaches the

Gulf of Aqaba The Gulf of Aqaba () or Gulf of Eilat () is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. ...

in the south, and almost touching the border with

in the east. The terrain is flat plains or hills, with an average elevation of . The ecoregion to the south is the

Mesopotamian shrub desert The Mesopotamian shrub desert is an ecoregion of deserts and xeric shrublands located in Western Asia. It extends across portions of Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Geography The Mesopotamian shrub desert is a transitional region betwe ...

, and to the north is the

Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Hot semi-arid climates'' (

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 . Precipitation averages less than 200 mm/year.

Flora and fauna

The region is one of shrub steppe, crossed by riverine woodlands in places. In deep, non-saline soils the dominant shrubs are white wormwood ''(

Artemisia herba-alba ''Artemisia herba-alba'', the white wormwood, is a perennial shrub in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia'' that grows commonly on the dry steppes of the Mediterranean regions in Northern Africa (Saharan Maghreb), Western Asia (Arabian Pen ...

)'', associated with bulbous bluegrass'' (

Poa bulbosa ''Poa bulbosa'' is a species of grass known by the common names bulbous bluegrass or bulbous meadow-grass. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is present practically worldwide as an introduced species. It is widespread in the United ...

)''. Stonier soils support '' Hammada scoparia''. Areas near water support ''(

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 ...

)'', Euphrates poplar ''(

Populus euphratica ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

)'', and reeds ''(

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial plant, perennial reed (plant), reed Poaceae, grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Famili ...

)''. In heavily-vegetated areas with little to no human population, some large mammals are found, including the European badger ''(

Meles meles The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a w ...

)'', wild boar ''(

Sus scrofa The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is n ...

)'',

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller a ...

(''Canis aureus''), Rüppell's fox (''Vulpes rueppellii''),

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 veget ...

(''Gazella dorcas),''

striped hyena 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 IU ...

(''Hyaena hyaena''),

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized Felidae, wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long ...

(Caracal caracal), and the vulnerable Arabian goitered gazelle ('' Gazella subgutturosa)''. The

Syrian wild ass The Syrian wild ass (''Equus hemionus hemippus''), less commonly known as a hemippe, an achdari, or a Mesopotamian or Syrian onager, is an extinct subspecies of onager native to the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding areas. It ranged across prese ...

(''Equus hemionus hemippus'') once ranged across the ecoregion, but was hunted to extinction by the early 20th century. Similarily, the

Arabian ostrich The Arabian ostrich (''Struthio camelus syriacus''), Syrian ostrich, or Middle Eastern ostrich is an extinct subspecies of the ostrich that lived on the Arabian Peninsula and in the Near East until the mid-20th century. Distribution The Arabia ...

and the

Syrian elephant The Syrian or Western Asiatic elephant (sometimes given the subspecies designation ''Elephas maximus asurus'') was the westernmost population of the Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), which went extinct in ancient times, with early human civil ...

are hypothesised to have inhabited the region in the past, but have been extinct for millenia. The large predators of the Arabian Plate, including the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

(''Panthera leo''),

Syrian brown bear The Syrian brown bear (''Ursus arctos syriacus'' or ''Ursus arctos arctos'') is a medium-sized and endangered subspecies of Eurasian brown bear native to the Middle East and West-Central Asia, particularly around the Caucasus Mountains. Charac ...

(''Ursus arctos syriacus''),

Arabian wolf The Arabian wolf (''Canis lupus arabs'') is a subspecies of gray wolf native to the Arabian Peninsula—to the west of Bahrain, as well as Oman, southern Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. It is also found in Israel’s Negev and Arava Deserts, Jordan, P ...

(''Canis lupus''), and

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

(''Acinonyx jubatus'') have been mostly or completely extirpated from over-hunting and habitat loss.Horowitz, Aharon (2014). ''The Quaternary of Israel''. Academic Press, May 10, 2014. For migratory water birds, the Euphrates River valley serves as a major migration route between the wetlands of Turkey and the wetlands of Iraq. Many of these species depend on a combination of wetlands and arid desert habitat. Birds in the ecoregion of conservation interest include vulnerable Houbara bustard ''( Chlamydotis undulata)'', the vulnerable Great bustard ''(

Otis tarda The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, and the only living member of the genus '' Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe to temperate Central and East Asia. ...

)'', and the near-threatened Little bustard ''(

Tetrax tetrax The little bustard (''Tetrax tetrax'') is a Aves, bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Tetrax''. It breeds in Southern Europe and in Western Asia, Western and Central Asia. Taxonomy The little bustard was Species descripti ...

)''.

Protected areas

Less than 1% of the ecoregion is officially protected. These protected areas include: * Wujib Nature Reserve (Jordan) *

Dana Biosphere Reserve The Dana Biosphere Reserve (Arabic: محمية ضانا للمحيط الحيوي) is Jordan's largest nature reserve, located in south-central Jordan. Dana Biosphere Reserve was founded in 1989 in the area in and around the Dana village and ...

(Jordan) * Fifa Nature Reserve (Jordan)

References

{{reflist Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Jordan Ecoregions of Syria Ecoregions of Iraq