Overgrazing by livestock has put pressure on the grasses and the wild animals dependent on them.

[1][2][3][4] The valleys of this ecoregion lie along the central mountain range of Afghanistan, the Koh-i-Baba, a western extension of the Hindu Kush.

The western sector of this ecoregion is on the valley of the Hari River around the town of Chaghcharan.

[4] The easternmost sector is in Badakhshan Province on the northern slope of the mountains 100 km north of Jalalabad.

The vegetation is mostly open cover thorny shrub, the height of which is generally under 1.5 metres (4.9 ft).