Rangelands of the Arid and Semi-arid Zones in Uzbekistan

Forewords 9

Preface 11

Introduction 15

The pastoral system 16

A brief physico-geographical and ecological presentation of Uzbekistan 21

The environment 22

Geology and geomorphology 22

Climatology and bioclimatology 26

Arid and semi-arid soils 35

Phytogeography 40

Current changes in land use, crop yield and livestock numbers 45

The flora and main vegetation types of the arid and semi-arid zones 50

Plant family contribution to the vegetation 50

Main vegetation types of the arid and semi-arid zones 53

Plant descriptions 87

Ecology, biology and economic importance of arid and semi-arid rangeland plants 275

Biological and life forms 276

Small trees and shrubs (microphanerophytes and nanophanerophytes) 276

Small shrubs (chamaephytes) 276

Herbaceous plants (perennials and biannuals) 277

Chemical composition, fodder value and palatability 278

Toxic and medicinal plants 280

Plants that may cause mechanical injuries to livestock 283

Seed characteristics and germination ecology 283

Seed morphology and germination conditions 283

Seed viability 286

Seed dormancy 287

Range improvement and rehabilitation in Uzbekistan 295

Collecting and evaluating the phytogenetic resources 297

Range improvement operations/establishmentand regeneration techniques 300

Land preparation and disturbance 301

Seeding time 302

Depth of seeding 303

Seeding rate 303

Expected improvement and production 305

Nature reserves in Uzbekistan 313

Reserves in desert ecosystems 315

The Kyzylkum reserve (sandy part) 315

The Karakul reserve (’zakaznik’) 320

The Ecological Breeding Centre ‘Dzheiran’ 320

Reserves of riparian forests and wetland ecosystems 322

The Kyzylkum reserve (tugaï part) 323

The relict riparian forest fragments of the Badai-Tugaï nature reserve 325

The Aral-Paigambar reserve 326

The Zerafshan reserve 327

Reserves in the mountain ecosystem 329

The Nuratau mountains walnut-fruit forests biosphere reserve 329

The Gissar reserve 330

The Chatkal biosphere reserve 332

The Kitab geological reserve 333

The Zaamin forest reserve 334

General conclusions 337

Maps 339

Bibliography 351

Uzbek glossary 368

Appendix 377

Index 405