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PalearcticThe Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface (see map).
Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone. It includes the terrestrial ecoregions of Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas, northern Africa, and the northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Palearctic ecozone includes mostly boreal and temperate climate ecoregions, which run across Eurasia from western Europe to the Bering Sea. This boreal and temperate European-Siberian region is the Palearctic's largest biogeographic region, which transitions from Tundra in the northern reaches of Russia and Scandinavia to the vast Taiga, the boreal coniferous forests which run across the continent. South of the taiga are a belt of Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests and Temperate Coniferous Forests. This vast European-Siberian region is characterized by many shared plant and animal species, and has many affinities with the temperate and boreal regions of the Nearctic ecoregion of North America. Eurasia and North America were often connected by the Bering land bridge, and have very similar mammal and bird fauna, with many Eurasian species having moved into North America, and fewer North American species having moved into Eurasia. Many zoologists consider the Palearctic and Nearctic to be a single Holarctic ecozone. The Palearctic and Nearctic also share many plant species, which botanists call the Arcto-Tertiary flora.
Central Asia and the Iranian plateau are home to dry steppe grasslands and desert basins, with montane forests, woodlands, and grasslands in the region's high mountains and plateaux. The Himalayas form the boundary between the Palearctic and Indomalaya ecoregions. The Caucasus mountains, which run between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, are a particularly rich mix of coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests, and include the temperate rain forests of the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests ecoregion.
The lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea in southern Europe, north Africa, and western Asia are home to the Mediterranean basin ecoregions, which together constitute world's largest and most diverse mediterranean climate region of the world, with generally mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The Mediterranean basin's mosaic of Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Shrub are home to 13,000 endemic species. The Mediterranean basin is also one of the world's most endangered biogeographic regions; only 4% of the region's original vegetation remains, and human activities, including overgrazing, deforestation, and conversion of lands for pasture, agriculture, or urbanization, have degraded much of the region. Formerly the region was mostly covered with forests and woodlands, but heavy human use has reduced much of the region to the sclerophyll shrublands known as chaparral, matorral, maquis, or garrigue. Conservation International has designated the Mediterranean basin as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.
A great belt of deserts, including the Atlantic coastal desert, Sahara desert, and Arabian desert, separates the Palearctic and Afrotropic ecoregions. This scheme includes these desert ecoregions in the palearctic ecozone; other biogeographers identify the ecozone boundary as the transition zone between the desert ecoregions and the Mediterranean basin ecoregions to the north, which places the deserts in the Afrotropic, while others place the boundary through the middle of the desert.
China and Japan are more humid and temperate than adjacent Siberia and Central Asia, and are home to rich temperate coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests, which are now mostly limited to mountainous areas, as the densely populated lowlands and river basins have been converted to intensive agricultural and urban use. In the subtropical southern parts of China and Japan, the Palearctic temperate forests transition to the subtropical and tropical forests of Indomalaya, creating a rich and diverse mix of plant and animal species. The mountains of southwest China are also designated as a biodiversity hotspot.
The ecozone contains several important freshwater ecoregions as well, including the heavily developed Rivers of Europe, the Rivers of Russia, which flow into the Arctic, Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas, and Siberia's Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake on the planet.
One bird family, the accentors ( Prunellidae) is endemic to the Palearctic region. The Holarctic has four other endemic families: the divers or loons ( Gaviidae), grouse ( Tetraoninae), auks ( Alcidae), and waxwings ( Bombycillidae).
A several mammal species originated in the Palearctic, and spread to the Nearctic during the ice ages, including the Brown Bear ( Ursus arctos, known in North America as the Grizzly), Red Deer ( Cervus elephas, known in North America as the Wapiti or Elk), Bison ( Bison bison), and Reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus, known in North America as the Caribou).
Palearctic Terrestrial Ecoregions
| Tropical and Subtropical Coniferous Forests ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nGizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests (China)
\nYunnan Plateau subtropical evergreen forests (China)
\n | | \n | | Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nAppenine deciduous montane forests (Italy)
\nAtlantic mixed forests (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany. Netherlands)
\nAzores temperate mixed forests (Portugal)
\nBalkan mixed forests (Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey)
\nBaltic mixed forests (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden)
\nCantabrian mixed forests (Portugal, Spain)
\nCaspian Hyrcanian mixed forests (Azerbaijan, Iran)
\nCaucasus mixed forests (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia Turkey)
\nCeltic broadleaf forests (Ireland, United Kingdom)
\nCentral Anatolian deciduous forests (Turkey)
\nCentral China loess plateau mixed forests (China)
\nCentral European mixed forests (Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine)
\nCentral Korean deciduous forests (North Korea, South Korea)
\nChangbai Mountains mixed forests (China, North Korea)
\nChangjiang Plain evergreen forests (China)
\nCrimean Submediterranean forest complex (Russia, Ukraine)
\nDaba Mountains evergreen forests (China)
\nDinaric Mountains mixed forests (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia)
\nEast European forest steppe (Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine)
\nEastern Anatolian deciduous forests (Turkey)
\nEnglish Lowlands beech forests (United Kingdom)
\nEuxine-Colchic deciduous forests (Georgia, Turkey)
\nHokkaido deciduous forests (Japan)
\nHuang He Plain mixed forests (China)
\nMadeira evergreen forests (Portugal)
\nManchurian mixed forests (China, North Korea, Russia, South Korea)
\nNihonkai evergreen forests (Japan)
\nNihonkai montane deciduous forests (Japan)
\nNorth Atlantic moist mixed forests (Ireland, United Kingdom)
\nNortheast China Plain deciduous forests (China)
\nPannonian mixed forests (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine)
\nPo Basin mixed forests (Italy)
\nPyrenees conifer and mixed forests (Andorra, France, Spain)
\nQin Ling Mountains deciduous forests (China)
\nRodope montane mixed forests (Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia)
\nSarmatic mixed forests (Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Sweden)
\nSichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests (China)
\nSouth Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests (Russia)
\nSouthern Korea evergreen forests (South Korea)
\nTaiheiyo evergreen forests (Japan)
\nTaiheiyo montane deciduous forests (Japan)
\nTarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe (China)
\nUssuri broadleaf and mixed forests (Russia)
\nWest Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests (Russia)
\nWestern European broadleaf forests (Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Switzerland)
\nZagros Mountains forest steppe (Iran)
\n | | \n | | Temperate Coniferous Forests ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nAlps conifer and mixed forests (France, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland)
\nAltai montane forest and forest steppe (China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia)
\nBalkan montane conifer forests (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro)
\nCaledonian conifer forests (United Kingdom)
\nCarpathian montane conifer forests (Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine)
\nDa Hinggan-Dzhagdy Mountains conifer forests (China, Russia)
\nEast Afghan montane conifer forests (Afghanistan, Pakistan)
\nElburz Range forest steppe (Iran)
\nHelanshan montane conifer forests (China)
\nHengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests (China)
\nHokkaido montane conifer forests (Japan)
\nHonshu alpine conifer forests (Japan)
\nKhangai Mountains conifer forests (Mongolia, Russia)
\nMediterranean conifer and mixed forests (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia)
\nNortheastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests (China, India, Bhutan)
\nNorthern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests (Armenia, Georgia, Turkey)
\nNujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests (China)
\nQilian Mountains conifer forests (China)
\nQionglai-Minshan conifer forests (China)
\nSayan montane conifer forests (Mongolia, Russia)
\nScandinavian coastal conifer forests (Norway)
\nTian Shan montane conifer forests (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)
\n | | \n | | Boreal Forests/Taiga ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nEast Siberian taiga (Russia)
\nIceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra (Iceland)
\nKamchatka-Kurile meadows and sparse forests (Russia)
\nKamchatka-Kurile taiga (Russia)
\nNortheast Siberian taiga (Russia)
\nOkhotsk-Manchurian taiga (Russia)
\nSakhalin Island taiga (Russia)
\nScandinavian and Russian taiga (Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden)
\nTrans-Baikal conifer forests (Mongolia, Russia)
\nUrals montane tundra and taiga (Russia)
\nWest Siberian taiga (Russia)
\n | | \n | | Temperate Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nAlai-Western Tian Shan steppe (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)
\nAltai steppe and semi-desert (Kazakhstan)
\nCentral Anatolian steppe (Turkey)
\nDaurian forest steppe (China, Mongolia, Russia)
\nEastern Anatolian montane steppe (Armenia, Iran, Turkey)
\nEmin Valley steppe (China, Kazakhstan)
\nFaroe Islands boreal grasslands(Faroe Islands, part of Denmark)
\nGissaro-Alai open woodlands (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
\nKazakh forest steppe (Kazakhstan, Russia)
\nKazakh steppe (Kazakhstan, Russia)
\nKazakh upland (Kazakhstan)
\nMiddle East steppe (Iraq, Syria)
\nMongolian-Manchurian grassland (China, Mongolia, Russia)
\nPontic steppe (Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine)
\nSayan Intermontane steppe (Russia)
\nSelenge-Orkhon forest steppe (Mongolia, Russia)
\nSouth Siberian forest steppe (Russia)
\nTian Shan foothill arid steppe (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)
\n | | \n | | Flooded Grasslands and Savannas ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nAmur meadow steppe (China, Russia)
\nBohai Sea saline meadow (China)
\nNenjiang River grassland (China)
\nNile Delta flooded savanna (Egypt)
\nSaharan halophytics (Algeria Egypt, Mauritania, Tunisia, Western Sahara)
\nTigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh (Iraq, Iran)
\nUssuri-Wusuli meadow and forest meadow (China, Russia)
\nYellow Sea saline meadow (China)
\n | | \n | | Montane Grasslands and Shrublands ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nAltai alpine meadow and tundra (China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia)
\nCentral Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe (China)
\nEastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows (Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal)
\nGhorat-Hazarajat alpine meadow (Afghanistan)
\nHindu Kush alpine meadow (Afghanistan, Pakistan)
\nKarakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe (Afghanistan, China, India, Pakistan)
\nKhangai Mountains alpine meadow (Mongolia)
\nKopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe (Iran, Turkmenistan)
\nKuhrud-Kohbanan Mountains forest steppe (Iran)
\nMediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe (Morocco)
\nNorth Tibetan Plateau-Kunlun Mountains alpine desert (China)
\nNorthwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows (China, India, Pakistan)
\nOrdos Plateau steppe (China)
\nPamir alpine desert and tundra (Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan)
\nQilian Mountains subalpine meadows (China)
\nSayan Alpine meadows and tundra (Mongolia, Russia)
\nSoutheast Tibet shrub and meadows (China)
\nSulaiman Range alpine meadows (Afghanistan, Pakistan)
\nTian Shan montane steppe and meadows (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)
\nTibetan Plateau alpine shrub and meadows (China)
\nWestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows (India, Nepal)
\nYarlung Zambo arid steppe (China)
\n | | \n | | Tundra ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nArctic desert (Russia)
\nBering tundra (Russia)
\nCherskii-Kolyma mountain tundra (Russia)
\nChukchi Peninsula tundra (Russia)
\nKamchatka Mountain tundra and forest tundra (Russia)
\nKola Peninsula tundra (Norway, Russia)
\nNortheast Siberian coastal tundra (Russia)
\nNorthwest Russian-Novaya Zemlya tundra (Russia)
\nNovosibirsk Islands arctic desert (Russia)
\nScandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands (Finland, Norway, Sweden)
\nTaimyr-Central Siberian tundra (Russia)
\nTrans-Baikal Bald Mountain tundra (Russia)
\nWrangel Island arctic desert (Russia)
\nYamalagydanskaja tundra (Russia)
\n | | \n | | Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Shrub ecoregions'\ |
|---|
\n\nAegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests (Greece, Macedonia, Turkey)
\nAnatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests (Turkey)
\nCanary Islands dry woodlands and forests (Spain)
\nCorsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests (France)
\nCrete Mediterranean forests (Greece)
\nCyprus Mediterranean forests (Cyprus)
\nEastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests (Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey)
\nIberian conifer forests (Portugal, Spain)
\nIberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests (Portugal, Spain)
\nIllyrian deciduous forests (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Slovenia)
\nItalian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests (France, Italy)
\nMediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets (Morocco, Canary Islands (Spain))
\nMediterranean dry woodlands and steppe (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia)
\nMediterranean woodlands and forests (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia)
\nNortheastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests (France, Spain)
\nNorthwest Iberian montane forests (Portugal, Spain)
\nPindus Mountains mixed forests (Albania, Greece, Macedonia)
\nSouth Appenine mixed montane forests (Italy)
\nSoutheastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands (Spain)
\nSouthern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests (Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey)
\nSouthwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests (France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain)
\nTyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests (France, Spain)
\n| \n | | Deserts and Xeric Shrublands ecoregions |
|---|
\n\nAfghan Mountains semi-desert (Afghanistan)
\nAlashan Plateau semi-desert (China, Mongolia)
\nArabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrublands (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen)
\nAtlantic coastal desert (Mauritania, Western Sahara)
\nAzerbaijan shrub desert and steppe (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran)
\nBadkhiz-Karabil semi-desert (Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
\nBaluchistan xeric woodlands (Afghanistan, Pakistan)
\nCaspian lowland desert (Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan)
\nCentral Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands (Afghanistan)
\nCentral Asian northern desert (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan)
\nCentral Asian riparian woodlands (Kazakhstan)
\nCentral Asian southern desert (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
\nCentral Persian desert basins (Afghanistan, Iran)
\nEastern Gobi desert steppe (China, Mongolia)
\nGobi Lakes Valley desert steppe (Mongolia)
\nGreat Lakes Basin desert steppe (Mongolia, Russia)
\nJunggar Basin semi-desert (China, Mongolia)
\nKazakh semi-desert (Kazakhstan)
\nKopet Dag semi-desert (Iran, Turkmenistan)
\nMesopotamian shrub desert (Iraq, Jordan, Syria)
\nNorth Saharan steppe and woodlands (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco Tunisia, Western Sahara)
\nParopamisus xeric woodlands (Afghanistan)
\nPersian Gulf desert and semi-desert (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates)
\nQaidam Basin semi-desert (China)
\nRed Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert (Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen)
\nRigestan-North Pakistan sandy desert (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan)
\nSahara desert (Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia)
\nSouth Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert (Iran, Iraq, Pakistan)
\nSouth Saharan steppe and woodlands (Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan)
\nTaklimakan desert (China)
\nTibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands (Chad, Egypt, Libya, Sudan)
\nWest Saharan montane xeric woodlands' (Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger)
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See also
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