The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities
IUCN Not ApplicableWorld Heritage Site (natural or mixed) · 2016
2 114 km²
District · IRQ
Al Khithir
Iraq
BWhArid, desert, hot(100 %)
Species observed
5
Observations
5
Area
1 984,5km²
Partial data for this territory
Few observations recorded here. Real biodiversity is likely richer.
Ecological tissue
Not enough documented interactions to build a meaningful graph for this territory.
Species present
5 distinct species · 5 observations
Source: GBIF Occurrence snapshot 2026-05-01.
Climate
Mean T°
26,3°C
Annual rain
111mm
Warmest m°
45,4°C
Coldest m°
5,9°C
Elevation: 9 m on average (min 5 m, max 28 m)
Bioclimatic details19 BIO + Köppen full + altitude statsExpert
Annual mean temp.
26,3°C
Annual rain
111mm
Warmest month
45,4°C
Coldest month
5,9°C
Mean alt.
9m
Min
5m
Max
28m
Std. dev.
3m
Köppen-Geiger (dominant)
BWhArid, desert, hot(100 %)Arid
CHELSA BIO 1-19 v2.1 · ETOPO DEM 60s · Köppen-Geiger 1991-2020 (Beck et al. 2018)
Soil & lithology
pH H₂O
7,9
Org. C
5,2g/kg
Clay
34,5%
Sand
22,2%
Silt
43,3%
Average over 0-30 cm. Per-depth details in expert panel.
Dominant lithology: suGLiM
3 soil depths detailed0-5cm / 5-15cm / 15-30cm × 5 propsExpert
0–5 cm
pH H₂O
7,9
Org. C
5,8g/kg
Clay
33,4%
Sand
22,7%
Silt
43,9%
5–15 cm
pH H₂O
7,9
Org. C
5,9g/kg
Clay
34,4%
Sand
21,9%
Silt
43,6%
15–30 cm
pH H₂O
7,9
Org. C
4,1g/kg
Clay
35,6%
Sand
22,1%
Silt
42,3%
SoilGrids 250m (ISRIC, 2017) · GLiM v1.0 (Hartmann & Moosdorf 2012)
Land cover
Forest1.0%
Crops19.4%
Built-up0.2%
Bare soil62.4%
Other (grassland, water…)17.1%
Copernicus Global Land Cover 100m (Buchhorn et al. 2020)
Hydrology13 basins · 0 lakes · 15 rivers
Hydrology metrics for this exact territory
Stream length here
173,3km
Basins crossed
13
Max stream order
8
Max drainage
411 508km²
Discharge in basins
1 541,1m³/s
Mean precip.
101mm/an
Mean T°
23,9°C
Moisture idx
-0,95
Mean runoff
22mm/an
Mean elev. (basins)
26m
Watersheds crossing here
- Bassin de المصب العامsub-area2 179,1 km²overlap427.07 km²22%
- Bassin de المصب العامsub-area754,8 km²overlap411.69 km²21%
- Bassin de الفراتsub-area815,2 km²overlap385.12 km²19%
- Bassin de شط العتيكsub-area256 km²overlap133.10 km²7%
- Bassin de المصب العامsub-area816,8 km²overlap115.27 km²6%
- Bassin de نهر الكريمsub-area116,3 km²overlap112.51 km²6%
- Bassin de شعيب ابو جلبsub-area2 147 km²overlap108.94 km²5%
- Bassin de الفراتsub-area105,6 km²overlap105.55 km²5%
- Bassin de الفراتsub-area331,9 km²overlap72.26 km²4%
Rivers / streams (15, ord ≥ 4)
- الفراتord 8len here54.24 km2%total3005 km
- المصب العامord 8len here30.45 km6%total496 km
- نهر الحوليةord 1len here19.98 km100%total20 km
- شط الحاصيord 1len here9.82 km53%total19 km
- شط العتيكord 2len here9.01 km87%total10 km
- نهر الظريفيةord 1len here6.29 km100%total6 km
- نهر الدقديريord 2len here6.25 km100%total6 km
- نهر الكريمord 2len here6.23 km100%total6 km
- طبر الديرord 1len here5.98 km100%total6 km
- دوب الزجريةord 1len here5.21 km100%total5 km
- شعيب الاشعليord 3len here5.15 km17%total31 km
- نهر العبيدord 1len here4.37 km40%total11 km
3 more river segmentssorted by Strahler order + length
Live spatial overlap (cached after first hit) · HydroBASINS lev08 × HydroLAKES × HydroRIVERS v10
Human pressure
Pop. density
0hab/km²
Night light
1,1nW
Built-up
16,0%
Pesticides
9,9kg/km²
GHSL POP/Built 2020 · VIIRS lumière nocturne · PEST-CHEMGRIDS 2020 (Maggi et al.)
Protected areas1
IUCN Not Applicable · 1
WDPA (World Database on Protected Areas) — UNEP-WCMC & IUCN