The Kazakh semi-desert runs in a broad band across central Kazakhstan, forming a transitional ecotone between the Kazakh Steppe to the north and the Central Asian deserts to the south, stretching from the Ural River in the west to the Kazakh Uplands in the east. Because it straddles two biomes, it supports a mix of steppe and desert plants: grasses dominate, particularly feather grasses in the genus Stipa along with Festuca valesiaca, interspersed with sagebrush shrubs in the genus Artemisia, while saline flats carry salt-tolerant Atriplex and Anabasis. The climate is semi-arid and sharply continental, with low annual precipitation and a wide swing from cold winters around minus 15 degrees Celsius in January to hot summers near 23 degrees Celsius in July. The plain is a stronghold for the critically endangered saiga antelope, which once roamed here in the millions before poaching for meat and horn drove steep declines; the Pallas's fish-eagle serves as the ecoregion's flagship species. Agriculture, overgrazing, and habitat fragmentation remain the chief threats, though reduced livestock numbers in recent years have given native vegetation a greater chance to regenerate.

At a glance

About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome

Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions