Uzbekistan
Asia
Uzbekistan is one of only two countries in the world surrounded exclusively by landlocked countries, and its natural life is dominated by the Kyzylkum desert and by the two great rivers that cross it, the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. Along their banks grow the tugai, gallery forests of poplar, tamarisk and reedbeds that once formed continuous corridors and that make up the richest habitat in the country. To the east, the foothills of the Tian Shan and the Pamir-Alay bring altitude, snow and juniper forest, with snow leopards at the higher levels. In the west, the dry bed of the Aral Sea has become a new desert, the Aralkum, strewn with salt and stranded ships, on which saxaul is planted to hold back the dust storms.
The nature of Uzbekistan
National animal: No official national animal; the Bukhara deer and the mythical bird Simurgh are the country's emblems
Did you know?
The Bukhara deer, a pale, slender deer adapted to the riverside forests of the desert, was reduced to a few hundred animals when the tugai were felled and the rivers diverted. The protection of the last gallery forests and breeding in reserves have multiplied its numbers, and today there are once again thousands of animals spread across Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
Biodiversity profile
Climate
- •Continental arido y semiarido (BWk/BSk), veranos muy calurosos e inviernos frios
Main biomes
- •Desierto (parte del Desierto de Kyzylkum)
- •Estepa y semidesierto
- •Bosques de ribera (tugai) a lo largo de los rios Amu Daria y Sir Daria
- •Montañas del Tian Shan Occidental (sureste)
- •Bosque de ribera tugai
- •Desierto de Kizilkum
- •Estepa arbustiva
- •Alta montaña del Tian Shan
- •Bosque de enebro
- •Desierto salino de Aralkum
- •Río de llanura
Marine and coastal ecosystems
- •El Mar de Aral, compartido con Kazajistan, se ha reducido drasticamente por desviacion de sus rios tributarios para riego agricola, generando una de las mayores catastrofes ambientales del siglo XX
Flagship wildlife
- •Ciervo de Bujara (endemico de los bosques de ribera tugai)
- •Leopardo de las nieves (Tian Shan)
- •Argali
- •Tortuga esteparia centroasiatica
- •Kulan
- •Gacela de Persia
- •Íbice siberiano
- •Águila esteparia
- •Faisán común
- •Tortuga esteparia
- •Lobo gris
- •Pelícano ceñudo
Notable endemic species
- •4.222 especies de plantas vasculares registradas, con 301 taxones endemicos
- •Ciervo de Bujara, endemico de los relictos de bosque de ribera (tugai) del valle del Amu Daria, con programas de reintroduccion en marcha
- •Muflón de Severtzov
- •Salamandra del Turkestán
Notable threatened species
- •Ciervo de Bujara (En Peligro, poblacion historica muy reducida por perdida de habitat de ribera)
- •Leopardo de las nieves (Vulnerable)
Notable protected areas
- •Sitio Patrimonio Mundial de los Desiertos de Inviernos Frios de Turan (compartido con Kazajistan y Turkmenistan)
- •Reserva de Surkhan, en proceso de nominacion como Patrimonio Mundial transfronterizo con la Reserva Koytendag de Turkmenistan
- •Reserva de Bajaria
- •Reserva de la Biosfera de Nuratau-Kizilkum
- •Parque Nacional de Ugam-Chatkal
- •Reserva de Zarafshán
- •Reserva de Kitab
- •Lecho seco del mar de Aral
Main conservation threats
- •Desecacion del Mar de Aral y sus impactos en cascada sobre ecosistemas de ribera y estepa
- •Sobreexplotacion de agua para riego agricola (algodon)
- •Perdida de bosques tugai por desvio de cursos fluviales
Notable natural phenomena
- •El colapso del Mar de Aral es uno de los desastres ecologicos mas documentados del siglo XX, con perdida de mas del 90% de su volumen historico
Conservation
The drying up of the Aral destroyed an entire fishery and brought on salt storms that affect health and agriculture across the whole region. The restoration of the tugai forests is the main strategy for recovering the biodiversity of the rivers.
Where and when to watch wildlife
The Bajaria reserve in spring for Bukhara deer. Nuratau between April and June for mouflon and steppe flora. The Chatkal mountains in summer for high-altitude wildlife.
Sources: CEPF - From the Roof of the World to the Desert's Edge | ScienceDirect - Characteristics plant diversity Central Asia | Wikipedia - Central Asian southern desert
Parks and reserves
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Especies documentadas en Uzbekistan
87 species found
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Based on what we already know about Uzbekistan.