nCa Report
As mentioned in the previous Part Seven of this series, we are now presenting a research paper authored by Professor Pavlenko of the Astrakhan University (Russia).
He presented this paper at the International Cold Winter Desert Conference in the framework of CADI (Central Asia Desert Initiative) was held 2-3 December 2021 in Tashkent.
Flora and vegetation of the Bereketli Garagum nature reserve
Pavlenko, A. – Astrakhan State University
The Bereketli-Garagum Nature Reserve, established on 18 July 2013, is currently the youngest protected area in Turkmenistan to cover the unique sandy-desert complexes of the Karakum desert.
Introduction, scope, and main objectives
Being at the junction of landscapes, the protected area is geographically confined to both the Central Lowland and Zaunguz Karakums. In addition, the reserve partially includes the chain of Unguz saline drawdown – remnants of the ancient Amu Darya riverbed, which crosses the Karakum Desert from east to west along its entire width. The diversity of landscapes impacts the composition of flora and vegetation of the region.
It should be noted that no study of flora has been conducted since the establishment of the reserve, so our data is the first material on plant and floristic biodiversity. Undoubtedly, further studies of biodiversity will bring some additions to the flora composition of the area.
Methodology
This work describes the plant communities and characterises the species composition of the reserve’s flora.
The material is based on data from the 2019-2020 expeditions carried out during the spring and autumn periods as part of the CADI project. A large amount of herbarium material (over 400 leaves) and photographic material was collected during the work. The trial plots of 1 to 4 acres were used to describe the vegetation (Yaroshenko, 1969; Mirkin and Rosenberg, 1978). Ten trial plots (transects) were established, and an ecological profile from the Unguz Depression deep into the sand massif was laid (Yunatov, 1964). All plants were identified to species and presented according to modern nomenclature (IPNI).
Results and discussion
In the course of the research, 181 species of higher vascular plants were recorded on expeditions to the territory of Bereketli Garagum Nature Reserve. All species belonging to 33 families.
As in most parts of Asian deserts, the predominant family by species composition is Amaranthaceae, with 27 species in 17 genera. The Halimocnemis genus has the highest number of representatives (four species) in this family. The second most numerous is the family Asteraceae (25 species from 12 genera). In the family Brassicaceae, there are 13 general and 24 species. The legumes include 19 species in six genera, and the genus Astragalus is the most representative of the reserve’s flora (14 species). In addition to Astragalus, the most representative genera are Isatis, Strigosella, Ferula, Artemisia and Convolvulus. The above families with 95 species represent 52.5 percent of the reserve’s flora.
According to the ecological and morphological system of life forms of desert plants (Nechaeva, 1973), there are representatives of 47 life forms on the territory of SPNR. The tree type includes four subdivisions, with one representative in each of them. Microphyllous deciduous are represented by Ammodendron conollyi; deciduous with non-deciduous twigs- Eremosparton flaccidum; deciduous with succulent twigs – Calligonum eriopodum; multistemmed and bushy with succulent articulate twigs – Haloxylon ammodendron. The next group, shrubs, is divided into eight subgroups: with cylindrical, early falling leaves (four species of the genus Calligonum); leafless, not forming adventitious roots – Haloxylon persicum; with cylindrical leaves, 1 – 3 m high – Xylosalsola richteri; with salt-producing small leaves – Tamarix ramosissima; with succulent leaves that persist until autumn – Xylosalsola arbuscula and Reaumuria oxiana; with cylindrical, quickly dropping leaves – Calligonum setosum; with compound leaves with leaflets dropping by the summer – Astragalus paucijugus; geoxy plants 1 to 2 m tall with erect stems – Ephedra strobilacea.
No representatives of shrubs were observed.
Semishrubs in five groups: small-leaved, particulate with vegetative and generative shoots – Artemisia eriocarpa and A. dimoana; all shoots generative, close to shrubs – Astragalus ammodendron and A. squarrosus; with cylindrical leaves – Halothamnus subaphyllus; largeleaved, root-shaped shoots – Smirnowia turkestana; bark of one-year shoots is photosynthesised, and leaves fall off at flowering – Convolvulus erinaceus.
We divide the semi-shrubs into four groups: close to shrubs with succulent cylindrical or scaly leaves – Halocnemum strobilaceum, Caroxylon orientale and Arthrophytum lehmannianum; with narrow prickly leaves – Acanthophyllum elatius; with buds of regrowth at the height of 5-10 cm, particulating – three species of the wormwood subgenus Seriphidium; buds of regrowth at the height of 0-5 cm, not particulating – two species of Acanthophyllum; buds of regrowth at soil level, transitional to herbs – Convolvulus eremophilus, C. divaricatus and Zygophyllum eichwaldii.
Perennial grasses are divided into two series of groups: monocotyledons and dicotyledons.
The monocotyledons, in turn, are divided into seven groups: dense-bush, turfy – Stipa hohenackerana; loose-bush, turfy – Centropodia forskalii and three species of Stipagrostis;
with polycyclic, above-ground shoot tops – Phragmites australis; with polycyclic underground shoots -Carex physodes and Convolvulus arvensis; with short vertical rhizomes – Iris, Asparagus and Eremurus; with tuberous thickening – Eminium lehmannii and Leontice ewersmannii; onion plants – six species of Gagea, Tulipa and Allium.
The dicotyledonous perennial herbs are divided into 11 groups: polycarps with unbranched main root – Peganum harmala and Heliotropium dasycarpum; non-crowned small-headed polycarps – Glycyrrhiza glabra and five species of the genus Astragalus; rosette polycarbines – Astragalus flexus; tuber polycarbines – Scorzonera sericeolanata and Takhtajaniantha pusilla; one-headed polycarbines with a considerably thickened root – Rheum turkestanicum; one-headed spindle-shaped polycarps – Prangos ammophila; monocarpics with thickened roots -four species of the genus Ferula and Dorema sabulosum; vegetatively motile, root-sprouting polycarps – Alhagi pseudalhagi; roots thin, unstemmed, sprouting at shallow depth – two species of Haplophyllum, Heliotropium arguzioides and Argusia sogdiana; roots succulent – Jurinea derderioides; grasses parasitic – genus Cistanche.
Monocarpic biennials include Cousinia oxiana and C.schistoptera.
The annuals are divided according to their phenological characteristics and include six groups: winter-spring (six species) – Ranunculus falcatus, two species of Alyssum, Meniocus linifolius, Streptoloma desertorum and Veronica campylopoda; Early spring includes 35 species of the families Poaceae (5), Caryophyllaceae (1), (3), Brassicaceae (15), Fabaceae (2), Geraniaceae (1), Boraginaceae (6) and Asteraceae (two species). Mid-season includes 18 species – Poaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Ranunculaceae, Boraginaceae, Caprifoliaceae one species each, Asteraceae 8, Fabaceae 3 and Brassicaceae 2. Early summer annuals include 20 species from eight families. Summer annuals include seven species, five representing Amaranthaceae, Chrozophora gracilis and Tribulus terrestris. The group of summer-fall annuals includes 12 species, ten of which are from the family Amaranthaceae and Euphorbia cheirolepis and Polygonum aviculare.
Simplifying the system of life forms, we present the following figures: a total of four species of trees (2.2 percent), 12 species of shrubs (6.6 percent), no shrubs, seven species of semishrubs (3.9 percent), 12 species of semi-shrubs (6.6 percent), 46 species of perennial grass (25.4 percent), two species of biennials (1.1 percent) and 98 species of an annual grass (54.2 percent) are found in the PA. Early spring annuals are the largest group and account for 19.3 percent of the floristic composition of the surveyed PAs.
According to geobotanical zoning, this protected area belongs to two districts: Zaunguz and Central Karakum within the Karakum group of districts of the West South Turan subprovince of the South Turan province of the Turan-Gobi subregion of the Ancient Mediterranean subkingdom of the Holarctic (Kamelin, 2018; Geobotanical zoning, 1947).
The species occurring in the reserve’s flora have diverse ranges – from spreading over the entire land (Convolvulus arvensis, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Phragmites australis, etc.) to being limited to the Karakum territory (Artemisia dimoana, Crucianella sabulosum, Ferula karakumica). We have identified nine types of habitats for the Berketley-Garagum Reserve.
According to the number of species, the most representative is Iranian-Turanian, with 57 species (31.5 percent). Rheum turkestanicum, Climacoptera lanata, Strigosella grandiflora, Papaver pavonium, etc., are included in this group. Turanian is represented by 52 species (28.7 percent), including such outstanding representatives as Eminium lehmannii, Delphinium camptocarpum, six species of Calligonum, Ferula foetida, F.litwinowiana and Dorema sabulosum. The southern Turanian range includes 20 species (11.0 percent), e.g. Asparagus turkestanicus, Acanthophyllum korolkowii, Cithareloma lehmannii and Ferula karakumica. Iranian-Turanian-Jungarian and Turan-Jungarian each have four species (2.2 percent each). The first includes Xylosalsola arbuscula, Arthrophytum lehmannii, Horaninovia ulicina and H.anomala. To the second: Astragalus petunnikowii, Euphorbia
turczaninowii, Turania sogdiana and T.aperta. There are 25 Mediterranean species (13.8 percent). These include Cutandia memphitica, Valerianella leiocarpa, Koelpinia linearis, Epilasia hemilasia, Carthamus oxyacanthus and several others. There are 13 species (7.2 percent) from the Nearctic, such as Eremopyrum orientale, Stipagrostis plumosa, Diarthron vesiculosum, Peganum harmala and Erodium oxyrhynchum. Holarctic range with only one species, Stipa hohenackeriana. five pluregional species (2.8 percent) are Phragmites australis, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Polygonum aviculare, Descurainia sophia, Atriplex tatarica and Convolvulus arvensis.
Thus, taking Turanian supraprovince as the core, it includes 72 species (together with South Turan). The number of Turanian species in the adjacent ranges (Iranian and Dzungarian) is 65. Hence, there are 137 (75.7 percent) species associated with Turan. The range is wider for 13 Fore-Asian species, and 25 species are distributed throughout the AncientMediterranean subkingdom of the Holarctic. The pluri-regional ones are mainly weeds distributed all over the globe. /// nCa, 15 May 2024 [to be continued]