Wildlife of Syria

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The wildlife of Syria is the flora and fauna of Syria, a country at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Besides its coastline, the country has a coastal plain, mountain ranges in the west, a semi-arid steppe area in the centre occupying most of the country, and a desert area in the east. Each of these zones has its own characteristic animals and plants.

Contents

Geography

Topographical map of Syria Syria Topography.png
Topographical map of Syria

Syria is located in the Middle East at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west, Jordan to the south and Iraq to the east. The topography consists of a narrow coastal plain in the west which rises up to the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range which runs parallel with the coast. South of this is the Homs Gap, beyond which are Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains which separate Syria from Lebanon. Further east is a large area of steppe or Badia in the centre of the country. This is divided by the Euphrates river, on which a dam was built in 1973 creating a reservoir, Lake Assad, which is the largest lake in Syria. In the east and south of the country is the Syrian Desert and in the far south is the Jabal al-Druze Mountain Range. [1]

The coastal mountains and the coast have a Mediterranean climate. Here the winter is mild and wet, with up to 1,000 mm (40 in) of annual precipitation, and the summer, from May to October, hot and dry. Further inland, the rainfall levels decrease rapidly, being 250 to 500 mm (10 to 20 in) on the steppes and less than 130 mm (5 in) in the desert. There is also a much greater variation between maximum and minimum temperature inland, with frosts sometimes occurring at night and temperatures rising as high as 45 °C (113 °F) by day in summer. [2]

Flora

Al-Batar forest near Tartous lbTr Gb@ 2.JPG
Al-Batar forest near Tartous

Around 3,100 species of flowering plant have been recorded in Syria as well as about 112 gymnosperms. [3] The country can be considered to be at a crossroads between various vegetation zones and the flora shows influences from three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. The ice ages pushed Palearctic species further south, and when the climate ameliorated, some species clung on in mountainous regions of Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. The prevailing westerly winds bring greater precipitation near the coast and the vegetation on the western side of the coastal mountain ranges differs from that on the eastern side, which differs again from inland mountain ranges and once again from the drought-resistant plants that grow on the eastern plateau. [4]

The terebinth, a tree of semi-arid plains Pistacia palaestina.JPG
The terebinth, a tree of semi-arid plains

In the west of the country, mild wet winters and hot dry summers provide ideal conditions for the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests of the region which include evergreen oaks, Aleppo pines and other conifers. Where the trees have been removed for timber, sclerophyllous scrub predominates, such as maquis shrubland, and garrigue in calcareous areas. [5] At the beginning of the twentieth century, forests covered about one third of the country, but a hundred years later, this had reduced to about 3%. [3] The remaining forest cover is mostly in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range and consists of thorny and glossy-leaved trees such as common box, Myrtus communis , broom, terebinth, strawberry tree and wild olive. [5]

Plants found in the semi-arid and arid regions include bulbous plants such as tulips, fritillaries, Asphodeline damascena , Asphodeline lutea , crocus, iris, Drimia maritima , Colchicum hierosolymitanum and Asphodelus aestivus , and other plants such as Papaver dubium , Papaver rhoeas , Malva parviflora , Plantago ovata , Plantago coronopus , Paliurus spina-christi , Ziziphus lotus , Adonis aleppica , Adonis palaestina and Eryngium maritimum . [6] The terebinth tree (Pistacia palaestina) grows in semi-arid areas and is a traditional source of turpentine, [7] and the shrub Caroxylon vermiculatum , which regenerates with as little as 70 mm (2.8 in) of rainfall, provides good fodder for livestock. [8]

Fauna

Syria has a diverse fauna with 125 species of mammal, 394 of bird, 127 of reptile, 16 of amphibian and 157 of freshwater fishes recorded in the country. [3] Human activities have affected the biodiversity of the fauna. The Asiatic lion and cheetah, Caspian tiger and leopard (subspecies P. p. nimr and P. p. tulliana ) used to be present, but they have died out in the country, and so the brown bear and the gray wolf are the largest carnivores remaining. Also present are the red fox, striped hyena, golden jackal, Egyptian mongoose, least weasel, marbled polecat, honey badger, Caucasian badger and European otter. The cat family are represented by the caracal, jungle cat, sand cat and wildcat. Grazing animals include the mountain gazelle and the goitered gazelle, the roe deer, wild goat, Nubian ibex and Arabian oryx. There are also rock hyrax, hedgehogs, hares, shrews and bats. The many species of rodents include squirrels, dormice, jerboas, gerbils, hamsters, mole-rats, jirds, voles, rats, mice and spiny mice. [9] [10]

Ten species of whale have been recorded off the coast as well as the endangered Mediterranean monk seal. Four species of turtle are sometimes seen, the most common being the loggerhead sea turtle, and about 295 species of marine fish have been recorded in Syria. [3]

Of the nearly four hundred species of bird recorded in the country, many are migrants, particularly visiting the coastal mountain range, the Euphrates valley and seasonal salt lakes that form in arid regions. Sabkhat al-Jabbul is a nature reserve at one of these salt lakes and is visited by migrating greater flamingoes. Endangered breeding birds include a few pairs of northern bald ibis in the north of the country, the lesser kestrel and the great bustard. Rare visiting species include the corn crake, Dalmatian pelican, white-headed duck and eastern imperial eagle. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Syria</span> Geographical features of Syria

Syria is located in West Asia, north of the Arabian Peninsula, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west and southwest, Iraq to the east, and Jordan to the south. It consists of mountain ranges in the west and a steep area inland. In the east is the Syrian Desert and in the south is the Jabal al-Druze Range. The former is bisected by the Euphrates valley. A dam built in 1973 on the Euphrates created a reservoir named Lake Assad, the largest lake in Syria. The highest point in Syria is Mount Hermon on the Lebanese border at 2,814 metres or 9,232 feet. Between the humid Mediterranean coast and the arid desert regions lies a semiarid steep zone extending across three-quarters of the country, which receives hot, dry winds blowing across the desert. Syria is extensively depleted, with 28 percent of the land arable, 4 percent dedicated to permanent crops, 46 percent utilized as meadows and pastures, and only 3 percent forest and woodland.

<i>Pistacia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the sumac family Anacardiaceae

Pistacia is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It contains 10 to 20 species that are native to Africa and Eurasia from the Canary Islands, all of Africa, and southern Europe, warm and semidesert areas across Asia, and North America from Guatemala to Mexico, as well as southern Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sclerophyll</span> Type of plant

Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct sunlight. The word comes from the Greek sklēros (hard) and phyllon (leaf). The term was coined by A.F.W. Schimper in 1898, originally as a synonym of xeromorph, but the two words were later differentiated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilad al-Sham</span> Provincial region of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates

Bilad al-Sham, often referred to as Islamic Syria or simply Syria in English-language sources, was a province of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates. It roughly corresponded with the Byzantine Diocese of the East, conquered by the Muslims in 634–647. Under the Umayyads (661–750) Bilad al-Sham was the metropolitan province of the Caliphate and different localities throughout the province served as the seats of the Umayyad caliphs and princes.

<i>Pistacia terebinthus</i> Species of flowering plants in the sumac family Anacardiaceae

Pistacia terebinthus also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous shrub species of the genus Pistacia, native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and southeastern Turkey. At one time terebinths growing on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea were regarded as a separate species, Pistacia palaestina, but these are now considered to be a synonym of P. terebinthus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean Basin</span> Region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate

In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin, also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation. It was a very important part of Mediterranean civilizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Mediterranean conifer–sclerophyllous–broadleaf forests</span> Ecoregion in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin

The Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-forests, also known as the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-forests, is an ecoregion in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. It covers portions of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean Region, Turkey</span> Region in Turkey

The Mediterranean Region is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Antalya. Other big cities are Adana, Mersin, Isparta, Antakya and Kahramanmaraş.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian garden dormouse</span> Species of rodent

The Asian garden dormouse or large-eared garden dormouse, is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae. It is found in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas and gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Morocco</span>

The wildlife of Morocco is composed of its flora and fauna. The country has a wide range of terrains and climate types and a correspondingly large diversity of plants and animals. The coastal areas have a Mediterranean climate and vegetation while inland the Atlas Mountains is forested. Further south, the borders of the Sahara Desert are increasingly arid. Large mammals are not particularly abundant in Morocco, but rodents, bats, and other small mammals are more plentiful. Four hundred and ninety species of birds have been recorded here.

<i>Asphodeline</i> Genus of flowering plants

Asphodeline is a genus of perennial plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1830. It is native to the eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East from Italy and Algeria east to Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora of Turkey</span> Plants that grow in the Eurasian country

As of 2000 about 9300 species of vascular plant were known to grow in Turkey. By comparison, Europe as a whole contains only about 24% more species, despite having thirteen times the area.

The wildlife of Turkey is abundant and diverse. Turkey is a large country with many geographic and climatic regions and a great diversity of plants and animals, each suited to its own particular habitat. About 1,500 species of vertebrates and 19,000 species of invertebrates have been recorded in the country. Some of the world's staple crops were first cultivated in this area and many of their wild relatives are still found here. The country acts as a crossroads for many birds during migration, connecting Europe, Asia, and the Near East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests</span> Ecoregion in Southern Anatolia, Turkey

The Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests ecoregion, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is in the eastern Mediterranean Basin.

The wildlife of Lebanon refers to the flora and fauna of Lebanon, a country in Asia located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. The country has four main geographical areas: the coastal plain, Mount Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The climate is Mediterranean, with the coastal regions experiencing hot, humid summers and cool, wet winters, and the elevated areas inland experiencing colder winters with snow that lingers on into the summer. The country offers a variety of habitats for wildlife, including mountains, valleys, marshes, coastal plains, salt marshes and sea coasts.

<i>Caroxylon vermiculatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Caroxylon vermiculatum, commonly known as Mediterranean saltwort, is a perennial plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It has many synonyms, including Salsola vermiculata and Nitrosalsola vermiculata. It is native to arid and semi-arid regions of the Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe where it is used as a fodder plant for livestock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Spain</span> Flora and fauna of Spain

The wildlife of Spain includes the diverse flora and fauna of Spain. The country located at the south of France has two long coastlines, one on the north on the Cantabrian Sea, another on the East and South East on the Mediterranean Sea, and a smaller one on the west and south west on the Atlantic Ocean, its territory includes a big part of the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and two enclaves in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla. and the different climate zones, Spain is one of the countries in Europe with the greatest biodiversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Greece</span> Flora and fauna of Greece

The wildlife of Greece includes the diverse flora, fauna, and funga of Greece, a country in southern Europe. The country is mostly mountainous with a very long, convoluted coastline, consisting of peninsulas and many islands. The climate ranges from Mediterranean through temperate to alpine, and the habitats include mountains, hills, forests, rivers, lakes, coasts and cultivated land.

References

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