Geography and Geology of the United Arab Emirates: A Naturalist’s Introduction

Abstract

The main geographical divisions of the UAE include many sub-environments that nurture the country’s diverse plant and animal life. The UAE’s biogeographical position enhances its potential natural biodiversity. The beaches and sabkha of the Coastal Plains are punctuated by lagoons, mangroves, and even rocky headlands. The Sand Deserts grade from quartz sand megadunes inland to white carbonate sands along the Gulf. To the northeast, where they merge with the Alluvial Plain, they are increasingly well-vegetated. The Mountain Regions feature great diversity along many parameters. The Hajar Mountains are composed primarily of a suite of rocks, collectively called ‘ophiolite’, that once formed part of the ocean crust and upper mantle. Ophiolite rocks are associated elsewhere with low botanical diversity and high endemism. Hajar Mountain wadis sustain discrete freshwater habitats with a diverse array of life. The carbonate mountains of the Ru’us Al Jibal range (the Musandam mountains) and Jebel Hafeet differ significantly—physiographically, geochemically, hydrologically and floristically—from the Hajar Mountains. The tectonic collision of Arabia with Eurasia, commencing ca. 30 mya, enabled the extensive exchange of terrestrial and freshwater organisms. The Arabian Gulf is a shallow continental depression that has been emergent repeatedly during glacially lowered sea stands.

High-throughput sequencing reveals the structure and metabolic resilience of desert microbiome confronting climate change

“…Notable among these are the Sahara in North Africa ( Goudie, 2009 ), the Gobi in North China ( Rosen et al., 2019 ), the Thar in North India ( Rao et al., 2016 ), and the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East ( Edgell, 2006 ). Part of the Arabian Peninsula is the UAE desert which represents a rich, diverse ecosystem that has not received adequate attention regarding its microbiome ( Feulner, 2023 ; Alyammahi et al., 2023 ). The UAE desert is exposed to harsh weather conditions such as intense solar radiation, strong winds, enrichment in salts, sacrality of nitrogen and organic matter, and drought ( Feulner, 2023 ).…”

“…Part of the Arabian Peninsula is the UAE desert which represents a rich, diverse ecosystem that has not received adequate attention regarding its microbiome ( Feulner, 2023 ; Alyammahi et al., 2023 ). The UAE desert is exposed to harsh weather conditions such as intense solar radiation, strong winds, enrichment in salts, sacrality of nitrogen and organic matter, and drought ( Feulner, 2023 ). These conditions exert selection pressure on the microbial communities to select traits required to adapt and support the growth of their host plants.…”