Terrestrial Ecosystems

Apart from a narrow fertile strip extending along the northern and north western coastline, the desert environment dominates the terrestrial landscape in Bahrain. Despite the barren appearance of the desert of Bahrain, it supports recognizable diversity of vascular plants providing food and shelter for many animals such as mammals, birds, reptiles, arachnids and insects.

The northern and western coastal areas have been heavily cultivated with date palms plantations for thousands of years forming a biologically important habitat. Indeed, the agricultural lands are the most diverse terrestrial habitats in the country supporting a wide range of introduced and native species, including vascular plants and algae, insects, brackish water fish, amphibians as well as resident and migratory birds. These farms were once watered by numerous freshwater springs, which, in turn, represented the most biologically diverse inland water ecosystem. Sadly, however, the freshwater springs have vanished due to over-exploitation of underground water.