Tarim River
A 2017 assessment found that 4,051 km², or 7%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Very little habitat remains outside protected areas. Tarim Huyanglin Nature Reserve, established in 1983, protects the largest remaining block of habitat on the Tarim River, including an un-dyked stretch of river in the western portion of the reserve where natural river processes still prevail.