The long narrow components of the ecoregion follow the large rivers fed by snowmelt, and provide critical habitat for migratory birds as they travel through the arid region.

The vegetation is referred to as tugai, characterized by low tangles of trees and brush along the edges of the rivers and associated wetlands, and fed by groundwater instead of precipitation.

[5][4] The snowmelt from nearby mountains produces flooding in spring through early summer, which is then followed by extremely arid conditions and an increase in soil salinity.

[1] The woodlands of this ecoregion are a specialized complex of woody-shrubby vegetation known as tugai, which adapts to the extreme continental climate that experiences very hot summers and very cold winters.

Underbrush includes sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), barberry (Berberis), briar roses, honeysuckle, and Cotoneaster.