List of ecoregions in Pakistan

Pakistan has a wide variety of landscapes, having Riparian forest along the Indus, dry mountain ranges along the border with Afghanistan (like Safed Koh and Hindu Kush) and the Thar Desert shared with India. Much of the land is dry but there are humid areas especially along the lower Himalayas.[1] This also gives Pakistan a high variety of ecoregions, both Palearctic and Indomalayan.[2] Pakistan encompasses two Biodiversity hotspots: the Mountains of Central Asia and Himalayas.

This is a list of ecoregions of Pakistan.

Picture Realm Biome Ecoregion Region
Indomalayan Temperate coniferous forests Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests West Himalaya[3]
(Azad Kashmir, north Punjab, north Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Indomalayan Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Western Himalayan broadleaf forests West Himalaya[4]
(Azad Kashmir, north Punjab, north Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Indomalayan Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests Himalayan subtropical pine forests West Himalaya[5]
(Azad Kashmir, north Punjab, north Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Indomalayan Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest Margalla hills Siwalik hills, West Himalaya

(Islamabad Capital Territory)

Indomalayan Deserts and xeric shrublands Aravalli West Thorn Scrub Forests Along the Indus throughout central Punjab, Sindh and eastern Balochistan
Indomalayan Deserts and xeric shrublands Indus Valley desert Punjab[6] (between Chenab and Indus rivers)
Indomalayan Deserts and xeric shrublands Thar desert East and south-east Sindh[7]
Indomalayan Flooded grasslands and savannas Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh East of coastal range of Sindh[8]
Indomalayan Mangrove Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves West of coastal range of Sindh[9]
Palearctic Temperate coniferous forests East Afghan montane conifer forests Hindu Kush and Sulaiman ranges[10]
(north Balochistan, FATA, west Punjab and south Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Palearctic Montane grasslands and shrublands Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe Karakoram, Pamir Mountains and North Himalaya[11]


(Gilgit–Baltistan)

Palearctic Montane grasslands and shrublands Kuh Rud and Eastern Iran montane woodlands West Balochistan[12]
Palearctic Montane grasslands and shrublands Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows West Himalaya[13]
(Azad Kashmir, north Punjab, north Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Palearctic Montane grasslands and shrublands Sulaiman Range alpine meadows Parts of Northwestern Balochistan and West Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Palearctic Montane grasslands and shrublands Pamir alpine desert and tundra Northern tip of Hunza District

(north Gilgit-Baltistan)

Palearctic Deserts and xeric shrublands Baluchistan xeric woodlands Xeric deserts of Balochistan[14]
Palearctic Deserts and xeric shrublands Registan-North Pakistan sandy desert Sandy deserts of Balochistan[15]
Palearctic Deserts and xeric shrublands South Iran Nubo–Sindian desert and semi-desert Southwest Balochistan
Palearctic Deserts and xeric shrublands Central Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands Northern Musakhel District and surrounding areas

(Far North-West Balochistan)

References

  1. ^ Unit, Biosafety. "Main Details". www.cbd.int. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
  2. ^ Shah, M.; Baig, K.J. (1999). "Threatened Species Listing in Pakistan: status, issues and prospects". In IUCN (ed.). Using IUCN Red List Criteria at National Level: A Regional Consultative Workshop for South and Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka. IUCN Regional Biodiversity Program, Asia. pp. 70–81.
  3. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  4. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Western Himalayan broadleaf forests". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  5. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Himalayan subtropical pine forests". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  6. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Indus Valley desert". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  7. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Thar Desert". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  8. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  9. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  10. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "East Afghan montane conifer forests". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  11. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  12. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Kuhrud-Kohbanan Mountains forest steppe". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  13. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  14. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Baluchistan xeric woodlands". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
  15. ^ World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Registan-North Pakistan sandy desert". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.