Iran targets planting 40
million saplings in deserts, xeric shrublands

 The Forests, Rangelands, and Watershed
Management Organization plans to produce and plant 40 million saplings in
deserts and xeric shrublands across Iran this year. 

 The Organization has plans underway to plant
40 million saplings across the country in the six months of 1402 (March
2021-March 2022), Vahid Jafarian, an official with the Forests, Range, and
Watershed Management Organization said.  

The saplings will be
planted across deserts and xeric shrublands, he added. 

 Deserts and xeric shrublands are biome defined
by the World-Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric shrublands form the
largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area.
Ecoregions in this habitat type vary greatly in the amount of annual rainfall
they receive, usually less than 250 millimeters (10 in) annually except in the
margins. Generally, evaporation exceeds rainfall in these ecoregions.

 Temperature variability is also diverse in
these lands. Many deserts, such as the Sahara, are hot year-round, but others,
such as East Asia's Gobi, become quite cold during the winter.