Zagros Mountains Forest Steppe

"Zagros Mountains forest steppe . . . is located primarily in Iran, ranging northwest to southeast and roughly paralleling the country's western border. The forests constitute 40 percent of the country’s forested area and [stretches] over 12 provinces. These forests have also been called western oak forests, due to the dominancy of oak species . . . A wide variety of wildlife, including wolves, leopards, and even the Persian fallow deer which was once thought extinct have made their homes in the mountains . . . Zagros Mountains forest’s importance lies with its capability to be a barrier against sand and dust storms to [central Iran] and 40 percent of the country’s water reservoir exist[s] in the region. Over previous decades of drought spells, tree diseases and wildfires have threatened the forest, but now illegal logging is a bigger danger to the precious ecosystem."