Kazakhstan

Asia

133

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country on the planet and holds the greatest continuous expanse of dry steppe left in the world, a sea of grass that runs for thousands of kilometres and that is one of the most threatened and least known ecosystems in Eurasia. To the north appear birch woods and salt lakes such as Tengiz, where the northernmost flamingo colony on the planet breeds. To the south stretch the Kyzylkum and Betpak-Dala deserts, and to the southeast rise the Tian Shan mountains, covered by wild apple forests from which every cultivated apple variety in the world descends. The Aral Sea, dried out by the diversion of its rivers for cotton, is the symbol of the greatest human-caused environmental disaster on the continent.

The nature of Kazakhstan

National animal: The golden eagle, represented on the national flag; the snow leopard is the country's faunal emblem

Did you know?

The saiga antelope, with its bulbous trunk-like muzzle that filters dust and warms the freezing winter air, was at the centre in May 2015 of one of the fastest mass die-offs ever documented: more than two hundred thousand animals died within a few weeks from a bacterium triggered by a wave of humid heat. Ten years later, and after strict protection, the species has not only recovered but has passed two million animals and has been taken off the critically endangered list.

Biodiversity profile

Asia Central (noveno pais mas extenso del mundo, sin litoral oceanico)Dato no disponible con precision agregada nacional en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Climate

•Continental extremo semiarido y arido (BSk/BWk), con inviernos muy frios y veranos calidos

Main biomes

•Desierto (44% del territorio)
•Semidesierto (14%)
•Estepa (26%, mayor extension de estepa seca del mundo)
•Bosque (5,5%, concentrado en zonas montañosas)
•Estepa seca continental
•Semidesierto salino
•Lago alcalino
•Bosque silvestre de manzanos
•Alta montaña del Tian Shan
•Bosque de abedules
•Delta fluvial interior

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Costa del Mar Caspio (mayor lago del mundo) al oeste; el Mar de Aral, en el sur, se ha reducido drasticamente por desviacion de rios para riego

Flagship wildlife

•Saiga (antilope migratorio de la estepa, en fuerte recuperacion poblacional reciente)
•Leopardo de las nieves
•Argali o carnero de Marco Polo
•Aguila real
•Antílope saiga
•Flamenco común
•Kulan
•Gacela de Persia
•Oso pardo del Tian Shan
•Lobo gris
•Grulla damisela
•Foca del Caspio

Notable endemic species

•Mayor diversidad de plantas vasculares de Asia Central: 6.035 especies, con 485 taxones endemicos, concentrados principalmente en las montañas de Karatau, Dzungaria y las cordilleras Trans-Ili y Kungey Alatau
•20% de endemismo regional en el conjunto de la flora de Asia Central
•Manzano silvestre del Tian Shan
•Foca del Caspio

Notable threatened species

•Saiga (Casi Amenazado tras fuerte recuperacion desde un colapso poblacional historico por caza furtiva)
•Leopardo de las nieves (Vulnerable, presente en el sureste montañoso)

Notable protected areas

•Sitio Patrimonio Mundial transfronterizo del Tian Shan Occidental (compartido con Kirguistan y Uzbekistan)
•Desiertos de Inviernos Frios de Turan (Patrimonio Mundial, compartido con Uzbekistan y Turkmenistan)
•Reserva de Korgalzhyn
•Reserva de Naurzum
•Parque Nacional de Altyn-Emel
•Reserva de Barsakelmes
•Parque Nacional de Ile-Alatau
•Meseta de Ustyurt

Main conservation threats

•Caza furtiva historica de la saiga (para cuernos usados en medicina tradicional)
•Degradacion de estepas por sobrepastoreo
•Contaminacion y reduccion critica del Mar de Aral

Notable natural phenomena

•Migraciones masivas estacionales de la saiga a traves de la estepa, uno de los fenomenos de migracion de mamiferos mas espectaculares de Eurasia

Conservation

The recovery of the saiga is one of the greatest recent conservation successes in the world, although its growth has generated conflict with agriculture. The northern part of the Aral Sea has partly recovered thanks to a dyke that holds back the water of the Syr Darya.

Where and when to watch wildlife

The Betpak-Dala steppes in spring for the mass calving of the saiga. Korgalzhyn between May and August for flamingos. Altyn-Emel in spring for kulans and gazelles.

Sources: MDPI Diversity - Vascular Plant Diversity Kazakhstan | UNEP-WCMC - Stronger protected areas Central Asia | Global Waste Cleaning Network - Multifaceted Threats Biodiversity Central Asia

Desert Mountain Grassland