The Kazakh upland steppe occupies three separate hilly areas within central and northern Kazakhstan: the Kokchetau Uplands in the north, the Aktau-Ortau-Karkaraly range in the central-east, and the Chingiztau mountains farther east, all part of the broad Saryarka peneplain. Rather than uniform grassland, it forms a mosaic of habitats, with feathergrass and fescue steppe and Artemisia interspersed with pine forests, shallow lakes, and rocky screes; characteristic woody plants include the birch Betula kirghisorum and the locally endemic barberry Berberis karkaralensis. Winters here are long and cold, and precipitation is modest and concentrated in the warmer months. The ecoregion supports an endemic flagship, the Kazakh pika, alongside argali sheep, goitered gazelle, steppe eagles, and marbled polecats, yet remains very poorly protected and faces pressures from poaching, mining pollution, and fire. For gardeners, its native flora includes cold-hardy ornamentals such as Berberis and Betula adapted to dry, continental conditions.

At a glance

About the temperate grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome

Temperate prairies, steppes, and pampas of grasses and forbs with few trees, under continental climates of hot summers and cold winters. Their deep, fertile soils have made them among the most extensively converted biomes for agriculture.

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