Country

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

Deserts and xeric shrublands account for six of Turkmenistan's eight ecoregions, and they set the country's whole character. The Central Asian northern and southern deserts cover the great interior, flanked by the Caspian lowland desert, the Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert, and the Kopet Dag semi-desert along the southern mountains. Relief comes in two forms: the Central Asian riparian woodlands, tree corridors threading the desert along watercourses, and the Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe plus Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe at higher ground. The climate signal is stark continental aridity - hot summers, cold winters, little rain - so unirrigated planting leans entirely on drought-hardy steppe and desert species, while anything thirstier depends on riverine or irrigated ground.