Central Asian northern desert

Central Asian northern desert
Altyn Emel National Park, Kazakhstan
Ecoregion territory (in yellow)
Ecology
Realm	Palearctic
Biome	Deserts and xeric shrublands
Geography
Area	663,000 km2 (256,000 sq mi)
Country	Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan
Conservation
Conservation status	Vulnerable
Global 200	134

The Central Asian northern desert is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The annual precipitation ranges from 100 to 150 mm (4 to 6 in), the winters are cold at −10 to −15 °C (14 to 5 °F) and the summers hot at around 25 °C (77 °F). There are a range of habitat types including salt flats, clay desert, rocky desert and some sand desert. The vegetation consists of scanty xeric shrubs including Artemisia and Salsola. The fauna is varied, as well as mammals and birds, there are a large number of reptiles and many species of invertebrate. Some protected areas are included in this ecoregion but other parts are being degraded by conversion to farmland, overgrazing and poaching.