Equatorial Shrublands

The shrublands are among the more liveable areas on the surface of Mars. Their mean annual temperature is above freezing point, in some areas dipping below only for 67 sols of the Martian year (though in most areas the winters are more prolonged), while, unlike the deserts, they receive enough moisture from the thawing highlands to support a sizeable flora.

That does not mean life is easy here. Most of the flora, coming in form of fractarians and spongisporians, consists of low-growing species, which are adapted to long periods of dryness, as the shrublands know only two seasons: inundation and drought. During southern winter, when most of the ice masses in the highlands remain frozen, life in the shrublands enters brumation, wherein most flora and fauna becomes static and lowers down metabolic activity, trying to survive the hardship. Conditions worsen significantly once dust storms from the North reach down. In some regions, winters may even shut down photosynthesis completely, creating anoxic conditions, which most dormant animals survive by switching to their secondary methanogenic metabolism. Once southern summer melts the glacier-fringes, the meltwater flows down the slopes and canyons and passes through the equator, bringing the shrublands back to life. In some areas the resulting ponds and streams might even accumulate into larger bodies, forming watering holes for various animals. In some of these might even gather amphibious animals and flora, which lied dormant underground throughout the dry season.

The mysterious canals of Mars are most often found in these regions.