The Yarlung Zanbo (Yarlung Tsangpo) arid steppe follows the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley across the southern edge of Tibet in China, with a portion reaching into Bhutan, running parallel to the northern borders of Nepal, Bhutan and India between the Himalayas to the south and the Tibetan Plateau to the north. Its potential vegetation is steppe grassland with scattered shrubs and forbs, featuring shrub genera such as Sophora, Leptodermis and Ceratostigma along with abundant Artemisia, while higher slopes carry feather grasses of the genus Stipa alongside shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) in the east and the spiny legume Caragana in the west. The climate is dry and continental, with mean annual temperatures of roughly 4 to 8 degrees Celsius, annual precipitation of about 200 to 500 millimetres concentrated in summer, and warming foehn winds that descend the north slope of the Himalaya. The ecoregion is a principal wintering ground for the black-necked crane, its flagship species, with about two-thirds of the global population overwintering in the Yarlung Zanbo valley, and it also supports wild ungulates including argali, Tibetan gazelle and blue sheep. Gardeners may recognize cold-hardy ornamentals native here, including Potentilla fruticosa (shrubby cinquefoil) and honeysuckles of the genus Lonicera.

At a glance

About the montane grasslands & shrublands biome

High-elevation grasslands, meadows, and shrublands above the treeline or in mountain basins, including alpine and páramo systems. Cool temperatures, intense sunlight, and specialized, often endemic flora characterize them.

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