Near Kerman, Iran Photograph by Andy Gilham   Southwestern Asia: Central and eastern Iran into western Afghanistan Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   224,300 square miles (580,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of New Mexico and Colorado combined Vulnerable

· The Salt of the Earth
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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The Salt of the Earth

Salt pans crack and blister under the desert sun across the central plateau of central and eastern Iran. Roots from the sparse vegetation search desert soils for whatever water might be beneath the surface. Many of the animals living here wait for the heat of day to pass before they emerge on this landscape. At night, various wild cats, wolves, foxes, and other carnivores roam the desert, while bats fly about.

Special Features

Huge salt basins, including Dasht-e Kavir, which means salt desert, stretch across this region. These basins shimmer in the desert like waterless lakes as light reflects from salt crystals. Evaporation exceeds rainfall across this ecoregion, leaving behind the salt deposits. Drifting sand dunes are another prominent feature of these open lands. In the hills and plains to the north, between the Elburz Mountains and the Dasht-e Kavir, higher rainfall supports luxuriant grasses. The most widespread vegetation in the ecoregion is desert sagebrush and other artemisia plant species.

	Goitered gazelles are very fast--they can run up to 40 miles (64 km) per hour!

Wild Side

As the desert cools and settles into evening, a herd of goitered gazelles rises from an oval-shaped pit in the sand and begins to feed on grasses and shrubs. The gazelles dig pits such as this in the shade and lie there during the heat of the day. The fading sunlight gleams on the s-shaped curves of the males’ horns as the gazelles move about. A Persian long-tailed desert lizard lying on a rock soaks up the last bits of sunlight and then slides into a crevice. Another reptile, the Iranian spiny-tailed lizard, darts across the sand. A Pleske’s ground-jay, the only endemic bird found in Iran, sits perched on a bush top, enjoying the cool of the evening. A Ruppell’s sand fox trots across the desert, its fur blending into the sand. At the sight of this predator, various larks and sand grouses flutter to the tops of shrubs. A Houbara buzzard watches the scene unfold as an evening breeze ruffles the long white feathers hanging from its chest and on the top of its head. As night falls, this bird stretches its leopard-print wings to take flight in the desert sky.

Cause for Concern

The driest portions of this ecoregion are uninhabited, but in areas where enough rain falls to support habitation, humans have degraded the landscape. Agriculture, pastoralism, and woodcutting have caused the loss of natural vegetation. Urban areas along the northernmost portion of the ecoregion pollute the land and encroach on desert habitats.

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