Tajikistan

Asia

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Tajikistan is the most mountainous country in Central Asia: close to ninety-three per cent of its surface is mountain and half of it lies above three thousand metres. The Pamir, known as the roof of the world, occupies the east with high desert plateaux, salt lakes and the Fedchenko glacier, the longest outside the polar regions. Those cold uplands hold the Marco Polo argali, the wild sheep with the longest horns in the world, and a significant snow leopard population. In the west, the valleys of the Zeravshan and the Vakhsh drop away towards the desert and keep gallery forests of poplar and tamarisk. The walnut and maple forests of the Hisor mountains complete a country of extreme vertical contrasts.

The nature of Tajikistan

National animal: No official national animal; the snow leopard and the Marco Polo argali are the country's faunal symbols

Did you know?

The Tigrovaya Balka reserve, in the riverside forests of the south of the country, means literally tiger ravine. That name is not decorative: the last Caspian tigers in the whole of the former Soviet Union were recorded there, in the 1950s, before the subspecies became extinct. The reserve keeps the place name and the habitat, today occupied by Bukhara deer, wild boar and jungle cats.

Biodiversity profile

Asia Central (pais mas montañoso de la region, sin litoral)Dato no disponible con precision agregada nacional en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Climate

•Continental de montaña, con fuerte variacion altitudinal; clima subtropical en los valles bajos y polar/tundra en las cumbres del Pamir

Main biomes

•Cordillera del Pamir ("techo del mundo", con glaciares extensos)
•Bosque y estepa de montaña
•Semidesierto en valles bajos (Fergana, Vakhsh)
•Altiplano desértico de altura
•Glaciar de montaña
•Bosque de ribera tugai
•Bosque de nogales de montaña
•Lago salado de altitud
•Estepa de montaña
•Roquedo alpino

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•No aplica (pais sin litoral)

Flagship wildlife

•Leopardo de las nieves
•Argali de Marco Polo (icono del Pamir)
•Oso pardo
•Lince de Asia Central
•Ciervo de Bujará
•Íbice siberiano
•Markhor
•Oso pardo del Himalaya
•Gato de Pallas
•Quebrantahuesos
•Lobo gris
•Águila real

Notable endemic species

•Mayor densidad de especies y mayor tasa de endemismo de toda Asia Central: 4.542 especies de plantas vasculares con 505 taxones endemicos (11,12% de endemismo, la mas alta de la region), concentrada en las montañas del Pamir y el Tian Shan

Notable threatened species

•Argali de Marco Polo (Casi Amenazado, icono del Pamir, cazado historicamente por sus cuernos en espiral de gran tamaño)
•Leopardo de las nieves (Vulnerable)

Notable protected areas

•Reserva Natural del Pamir Nacional (Patrimonio Mundial Tajik National Park, mayor area protegida del pais)
•Parque Nacional Tayiko
•Reserva de Tigrovaya Balka
•Reserva de Zorkul
•Reserva de Dashtijum
•Glaciar Fedchenko
•Lago Karakul

Main conservation threats

•Caza furtiva de argali de Marco Polo por sus trofeos
•Sobrepastoreo en praderas alpinas
•Retroceso glaciar por cambio climatico, con impacto directo en la disponibilidad de agua regional

Notable natural phenomena

•Tayikistan concentra la mayor superficie montañosa de Asia Central, siendo la region de mayor densidad y endemismo floristico de las cinco republicas centroasiaticas

Conservation

Tajik National Park is a World Heritage Site and covers almost a fifth of the country's territory. Community conservation programmes for markhor and argali have made it possible to recover populations that were on the brink of disappearing through poaching.

Where and when to watch wildlife

The Pamir in summer for argali and ibex on the high plateaux. Dashtijum in spring for markhor. Tigrovaya Balka in the dry season for Bukhara deer.

Sources: PMC - Regionwide and Nationwide Floristic Richness Central Asia | MDPI Diversity - Vascular Plant Diversity Kazakhstan (comparativa) | CEPF - From the Roof of the World to the Desert's Edge

Desert Mountain Grassland