Mingacevir Resevoir, Azerbaijan Photograph by Alex Tilson & Aaron Riggs   Southwestern Asia: Azerbaijan, into Georgia and Iran Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   24,700 square miles (64,000 square kilometers) -- about the size of West Virginia Critical/Endangered

· Life in a Low Desert
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Life in a Low Desert

Lowland steppe and semi-desert cover much of Azerbaijan and provide habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including Persian gazelles, white-tailed eagles, jungle cats, and wild boars. The marshy areas along the Kura and Araks rivers support waterfowl and migrating coastal birds in winter.

Special Features

The lowest areas of this ecoregion are those that were once part of the Caspian Sea, with the Shirvan Reserve at 66 to 82 feet (20 to 25 m) below sea level. The climate consists of a long, hot summer and mild winter. A variety of soil types, from those rich in organic matter (mollisols) to nutrient-poor soils (aridosols), support plant life such as sagebrush, cereals, and a variety of ephemeral grasses. Characteristic plants of the steppe and semi-desert areas include wormwood, manna plant, and liquorice, with reeds growing along bodies of water.

	The Caspian Sea is rising rapidly due to global warming and the resulting increased levels of glacial meltwater--about 7.4 feet (2.25 m) since 1978. The Caspian is inundating habitats in the Azerbaijan Shrub Desert, threatening many big cities and other human settlements along the coast.

Wild Side

The Shirvan Reserve protects the world's largest population of Persian gazelles. Raptors are important members of this ecosystem and include white-tailed eagles, steppe eagles, peregrine falcons, and great and little bustards. Other species that reside here are golden jackals, jungle cats, red foxes, badgers, wild boars, and European rabbits. At least two species of turtle--Caspian and swamp turtles--use the inland, freshwater rivers and canals. In winter, migratory birds such as gray geese, purple herons, little egrets, mallards, and pintail ducks fill local bodies of water.

Cause for Concern

More than half of the ecoregion has been converted to farmland, and considerable contamination of water and soils has resulted from the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides. In the coastal areas, oil exploration and extraction have taken their toll. More than a million refugees have recently arrived in the central part of this ecoregion, resulting in a sharp increase in both human and livestock populations.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.