Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands

The ecoregion covers an area of 86,900 square kilometers (33,600 sq mi), lying above 2000 meters elevations in the Asir Mountains of southwestern Saudi Arabia and the Western Highlands of Yemen.

The flora changes with elevation. Evergreen woodland and scrub lies between 2000 and 2500 meters elevation, with Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata and Tarchonanthus camphoratus the predominant trees. Above 2500 meters elevation, cloud forests, composed of large shrubs and small trees, can be found on wetter north-facing slopes, mostly made up of Juniperus procera and Euryops arabicus, covered with the lichen Usnea articulata. On the drier south-facing slopes dwarf-shrub forests of Rubus petitianus, Rosa abyssinica, Alchemilla crytantha, Senecio spp., Helichrysum abyssinicum, Aloe sabae, and Euphorbia ssp. are common.

The Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus ssp. nimr) and Arabian wolf (Canis lupus ssp. arabs) are critically endangered. Other mammals include the hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas), caracal (Caracal caracal ssp. schmitzi), rock hyrax (Procavia capensis ssp. jayakari), and striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena).

Several species of birds are endemic to the mountains of southwestern Arabia. They include Philby's partridge (Alectoris philbyi), Yemen warbler (Curruca buryi), Yemen thrush (Turdus menachensis), Arabian accentor (Prunella fagani), Arabian waxbill (Estrilda rufibarba), Yemen serin (Crithagra menachensis), and Yemen linnet (Linaria yemenensis). Other native bird species with a wider range include the Arabian woodpecker (Dendrocopos dorae), Arabian wheatear (Oenanthe lugentoides), Arabian serin (Crithagra rothschildi), and Arabian golden-winged grosbeak (Rhynchostruthus percivali).[1]

0.43% of the ecoregion is in protected areas.[2]

• "Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.