Country

United Arab Emirates: 4 ecoregions. Each with its climate now and toward 2050, and its conservation tier.

Four desert-belt ecoregions reach the United Arab Emirates. The Arabian sand desert dominates the interior, the Arabian-Persian Gulf coastal plain desert runs along the shore, and the South Arabian plains and plateau desert enters from the south, all classic deserts and xeric shrublands. The exception is the east, where the Al-Hajar foothill xeric woodlands and shrublands climb toward the mountains and are classed with the temperate grasslands and shrublands biome, a hint of the slightly cooler, better-watered conditions there. The planting reality is hyper-arid: native flora is sparse and drought-built, and gardens depend on irrigation. Choosing salt-tolerant species near the Gulf coast, true desert natives inland, and taking advantage of the Hajar foothills' milder microclimates is the workable pattern.