Afghan Mountains semi-desert
The Afghan Mountains semi-desert ecoregion covers three disconnected interior valleys in the north of the mountains of Afghanistan. These valleys are arid, and covered mostly in thorny shrubs. Overgrazing by livestock has put pressure on the grasses and the wild animals dependent on them.
Location and description
The valleys of this ecoregion lie along the central mountain range of Afghanistan, the Koh-i-Baba, a western extension of the Hindu Kush. The western sector of this ecoregion is on the valley of the Hari River around the town of Chaghcharan. The middle sector covers the Bamyan Valley at an altitude of. The easternmost sector is in Badakhshan Province on the northern slope of the mountains 100 km north of Jalalabad. The terrain ranges in elevation from, with an average of.
Climate
The climate of the ecoregion is Humid continental climate - Warm, dry summer sub-type, with large seasonal temperature differentials and a warm summer (no month averaging over, and at least four months averaging over. The driest month between April and September has less than 1/3 the precipitation of the wettest month. In this ecoregion, average precipitation is 250–300 mm/year.
Flora and fauna
The ground cover in the ecoregion is about 2/3 herbaceous cover and 1/3 bare. The vegetation is mostly open cover thorny shrub, the height of which is generally under. Significant vegetation tends to occur along dry river beds. There are only 95 vertebrate species recorded in the ecoregion, none of which are endemic. Overgrazing has degraded the grass-like vegetation. Species of conservation interest include the near-threatened Argali, the near-threatened striped hyena, and the endangered white-bellied musk deer.
Protected areas
Less than 2% of the ecoregion is officially protected. A 2017 estimate of the protected area included only 569 square kilometers. These protected areas include: