Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert

Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert
Ras al-Jinz, Oman
Map of the ecoregion
Ecology
Realm	Afrotropical
Biome	deserts and xeric shrublands
Borders	Al Hajar montane woodlands Arabian Desert Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert Indus River Delta–Arabian Sea mangroves
Geography
Area	62,420 km2 (24,100 sq mi)
Countries	Oman United Arab Emirates
Conservation
Conservation status	Critical/endangered[1]
Protected	1.58%[2]

The Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert is a coastal ecoregion on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in Oman and the United Arab Emirates at the northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The climate is hot and dry, with gravelly plains and savanna with thorny acacia trees inland from the coast. Along the coast there are mixture of habitats that include mangrove swamps, lagoons and mudflats. The mangrove areas are dominated by Avicennia marina and the savanna by Prosopis cineraria and Vachellia tortilis. Masirah Island is an important breeding area for the loggerhead sea turtle and other sea turtles also occur here, as well as a great variety of birds, some resident and some migratory. There are some protected areas, but in general the habitats have been degraded by the grazing of livestock, especially camels and goats; they are also at risk from oil spills, off-road driving and poaching.^[3]