Country

Iraq: 8 ecoregions. Each with its climate now and toward 2050, and its conservation tier.

Aridity defines Iraq: four of its eight ecoregions are deserts and xeric shrublands, including the Arabian desert, North Arabian desert, Mesopotamian shrub desert, and the South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert. Around that core sit the Syrian xeric grasslands and shrublands, a reach of Eastern Mediterranean conifer-broadleaf forests, the Zagros Mountains forest steppe along the northeastern highlands, and the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh, a flooded grassland ecoregion between the two rivers. The gradient runs from hot lowland desert through steppe to oak-country mountain forest steppe in the Kurdish north. For planting, drought tolerance is the default requirement across most of the country, the river corridor supports moisture-loving and salt-tolerant vegetation, and the Zagros foothills open the only genuinely woodland-friendly window. Half of these ecoregions rank Nature Imperiled.