The third area lies in the middle valleys of the Sakarya and Porsuk rivers northwest of Lake Tuz, as they curve around the eastern end of the Sündiken Mountains.

The Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests ecoregion covers the Pontic Mountains, which enclose Central Anatolia on the north.

Some scientists suggested that characteristics of some parts of the Central Anatolian steppe could have been antropogenic by regarding historical and botanical clues.

Moreover, weak clusters of trees (Quercus, Pinus nigra, Pyrus pyraster) have been spotted on the hillsides in Ankara, Konya and Aksaray, so tree line in the Central Anatolia was determined on 1090-1300 m. In short, it was determined that steppe advanced against forests in the Central Anatolia while forests in this region was degraded gradually from Antiquity to present.

[1] Lake Tuz is surrounded by salt steppe, composed of salt-tolerant (halophytic) low shrubs and herbaceous plants, including many from the Chenopodiaceae and Plumbaginaceae families.

[1] The Karapınar Plain includes areas of salt steppe around smaller saline lakes, seasonal freshwater wetlands, and upland steppes characterized by Limonium anatolicum, with Petrosimonia brachiata, Alhagi pseudoalhagi, Salsola crassa, Petrosimonia nigeensis, and Frankenia hirsuta.