There are five geographical zones and the climate varies from semi-arid to temperate to subtropical. The region is home to a variety of plants and animals; at least 47,000 living species have been identified, with another 4,000 assumed to exist. At least 116 mammal species are native to Palestine/Israel, as well as 511 bird species, 97 reptile species, and 7 amphibian species. There are also an estimated 2,780 plant species.
Theregion of Palestine with the Gaza Strip, Israel, and the West Bank are located at the eastern end of theMediterranean Sea, traditionally called theLevant. Israel is bounded on the north by Lebanon and on the northeast by Syria. Jordan lies to the east and southeast of the West Bank and Israel; Israel and the Gaza Strip are bordered on the southwest by the EgyptianSinai Peninsula and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea.
The region is divided into three major climate zones, and one microclimate zone:
TheMediterranean climate zone, characterized by long, hot, rainless summers and relatively short, cool, rainy winters. The rainfall may go from as much as 400 mm for a year (in the south around Gaza), to 1,200 mm for a year (in the northernmost end of Israel). The Mediterranean landscapes include several kinds of forest,garrigue,scrubland,marsh andsavanna-like-grassland. The fauna and flora are mostly of European origin.
TheSteppe climate zone. It is a narrow strip (no wider than 60 km, and mostly, much narrower) between the Mediterranean zone and the Desert zone. The rainfall varies from 400 mm for year to 200 mm for year. This climate zone includes mostly low-grasslands and hardy forms ofscrub. The fauna and flora are mostly of Asian and Saharan origin.
TheDesert climate zone, which is the largest climate zone of Israel and Palestine, covers the country's southern half as theNegev, while theJudean Desert extends to the Dead Sea region through the West Bank and into the southernJordan Valley. Rainfall is as low as 32 mm per year in the southernmost tip of Palestine/Israel in theArabah valley. This dry climate zone grows scattered shrub vegetation or desert-grassland in its wetter parts. In the more arid regions, the vegetation is confined to dry riverbeds and gullies, known aswadis and in some places it is almost absent. In some of the greater valleys, desert-scrub andacacia-woodland are to be found. The fauna and flora are mostly of Saharan origin. Sudanese flora is present as well.
TheTropical (Sudanese) Microclimate[clarification needed] by the springs of the Judean Desert. Refers mostly toEin Gedi spring andArugot creek. Due to the highaquifer in the region, and the steady, hot climate of the Judean Desert, a tropical savanna-related flora (not rainforest, as many think) of East-African origin has established in the area of the springs. The fauna is that of the Desert zone.
The climate is determined by the location between the subtropical aridity of theSahara and theArabian deserts, and the subtropical humidity of theLevant or eastern Mediterranean. The climate conditions are highly variable within the area and modified locally by altitude, latitude, and the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
Recent hardening of Israel's borders, including construction offences and walls in the West Bank beginning in 2003 in response to theSecond Intifada, have impeded movement of large vertebrates such as gazelles and contributed to overgrazing by Palestinians in the West Bank by limiting the land area available to herders.[1][2][3] Walls have also changed the flow of water, harming amphibian populations.[4]
The population of former Mandatory Palestine has increased since the1922 census from 757,000 to more than 15 million today. With this population growth came massive urban, agricultural, and industrial development, along with afforestation[5], transforming much of the landscape and polluting the environment. These processes continue to this day, with numerous development projects increasing urban area and straining local ecosystems.[6]Israel's world-leading water conservation and desalination programs have reduced pressure on the Jordan River, seasonal streams, and aquifers over the last few decades, though overexploitation remains a problem.[7][8]
Several large vertebrate species were extirpated by hunters during theBritish Mandate era, including four ungulates: theroe deerCapreolus capreolus, thefallow deerDama dama mesopotamica, theArabian oryxOryx leucoryx and theonager (wild ass)Equus hemionus; two predators: theSyrian bearUrsus arctos syriacus and thecheetahAcinonyx jubatus), but also one species of bird (theostrich,Strutio camelus) and one reptile (theNile crocodile,Crocodilus niloticus). Four of these species (roe and fallow deer, wild ass, and Arabian oryx) were returned to the wild in Israel by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) in the 1980s and 1990s. Many other species were severely reduced in number by hunting and have rebounded since the late 1970s.[9]
^Yom-Tov, Yoram (2012). "Human impact on wildlife in Israel since the nineteenth century". In Orenstein, Daniel E.; Tal, Alon; Miller, Char (eds.).Between Ruin and Restoration: An Environmental History of Israel. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 53–81.ISBN978-0-8229-6222-9.
