thorn forest
{{Short description|Area with dense, scrublike vegetation}}
A thorn forest is a dense scrubland with vegetation characteristic of dry subtropical and warm temperate areas with a seasonal rainfall averaging {{convert|250|to|500|mm|in|abbr=on}}.
Regions
=Africa=
Is present in the southwest of Africa with smaller areas in other places of Africa.
- Thornveld often referred to as "acacia thornveld"
- Madagascar spiny forests
=North America=
Thorn forests cover a large part of southwestern North America.
- Pinyon–juniper woodland in Utah and the Canyonlands region.Damian Fagan, Canyon Country Wildflowers, p. 3
=South America=
In South America, the thorn forest is called Caatinga, and consists primarily of small, thorny trees that shed their leaves seasonally. Trees typically do not exceed {{convert|10|m|ft}} in height, usually averaging between {{convert|7|and|8|m|}} tall.
Caatinga is considered a xeric shrubland and thorn forest,{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Caatinga of North-Eastern Brazil|encyclopedia=Centres of Plant Diversity|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|url=http://botany.si.edu/projects/cpd/sa/sa19.htm|last=Lleras|first=Eduardo|volume=3: The Americas|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172623/http://botany.si.edu/projects/cpd/sa/sa19.htm|archive-date=3 March 2016}} but contains the ecoregion Caatinga Enclaves moist forests that is considered Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests.
=Asia=
- Deccan thorn scrub forests in India and Sri Lanka. Deccan is included in the Indomalayan biorealm, on the deserts and xeric shrublands biome.{{WWF ecoregion|name=Deccan thorn scrub forests|id=im1301}}
- Northwestern thorn scrub forests in India and Pakistan
=Australia=
- Mulga forests in Australia.{{cite web |last1=Maslin |first1=Bruce |last2=Reid |first2=Jordan |year=2009 |title=Understanding Mulga |publisher=Science Division, Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia |url=https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/about/science/pubs/infosheets/sdis025.pdf |accessdate=3 September 2019}}
Transition
Thorn forests blend into savanna woodlands as the rainfall increases and into deserts as the climate becomes drier.{{cite journal |author=Shreve F. |year=1934 |title=Vegetation of the Northwestern Coast of Mexico |journal=Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club |volume=61 |issue=7 |pages=373–380 |jstor=2481022 }}