The Paropamisus xeric woodlands stretch about 1,100 kilometres across northern Afghanistan, from the city of Herat in the west to the Wakhan Corridor in the east, with a small extension into Tajikistan, on the northern slopes of the central Afghan mountains and the Hindu Kush. More than 80 percent of the land is dry shrub, but bands of open woodland persist where higher ground catches more rain, with pistachio and wild Bukhara almond forming a belt along the northern mountains at roughly 600 to 1,500 metres and juniper taking over above it, alongside thornbush, Ziziphus, and Acacia. The climate is cold semi-arid (Köppen BSk), with at least one month averaging below freezing. Despite heavy pressure from deforestation, overgrazing, and unregulated hunting, the woodlands still shelter notable wildlife including the snow leopard, while less than one percent of the ecoregion is officially protected. For gardeners, several of its native trees are familiar dryland ornamentals and edibles, among them pistachio, wild almond, juniper, willow, and jujube (Ziziphus).

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