The Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica), can be found in the arid regions of the Negev highlands, the Judean desert, and the northern Arava in a number of clustered populations located near permanent water sources. The trees' distribution in the desert regions is not continuous, being disconnected from its major area of distribution along the Jordan River, where its distribution is uninterrupted. It is unclear how and when this disjunctive distribution occurred, and what were the initial ecological conditions for this poplar's original establishment and success. In this article we present a study of the current distribution of these trees within an arid environment, and of their various traditional uses. A strong relationship is demonstrated between the present location of the trees and settlements from the Roman and Byzantine periods (between the 1st century BCE to 7th century CE). Euphrates poplars are abundant today near early Christian monasteries, which could have been the main factor responsible for their present-day distribution.

幼发拉底杨（Populus euphratica）)，可以在内盖夫高地、朱迪亚沙漠和阿拉瓦北部的干旱地区在位于永久水源附近的许多聚集种群中找到。树木在沙漠地区的分布不是连续的，与其沿约旦河的主要分布区脱节，在那里分布是不间断的。目前尚不清楚这种分离分布是如何以及何时发生的，以及这种杨树最初建立和成功的初始生态条件是什么。在本文中，我们对这些树木在干旱环境中的当前分布及其各种传统用途进行了研究。从罗马和拜占庭时期（公元前 1 世纪到公元 7 世纪），树木的当前位置与定居点之间表现出很强的关系。今天，早期基督教修道院附近的幼发拉底杨树很丰富，这可能是造成它们今天分布的主要因素。