Bukhara deer pair, extremely endangered Central Asian deer
The wildlife of Turkmenistan is the flora and fauna of Turkmenistan, and the natural habitats in which they live. Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia to the east of the Caspian Sea. Two thirds of the country is hot dry plains and desert, and the rest is more mountainous. Very little rain falls in summer and the chief precipitation occurs in the southern part of the country in the winter and spring. The Caspian coast has milder winters.
The desert sees limited plant growth in the winter, with grasses and xeric plants and shrubs sprouting, and with the arrival of spring, the rains encourage the growth and flowering of ephemeral plants. The mountains in the south of the country are covered in shrublike and juniper woodlands, and larger trees grow in the gullies and river valleys.
A wide range of animals are found in Turkmenistan, including 91 species of mammal, 82 species of reptile and nearly 400 species of bird. A number of nature reserves and sanctuaries have been created for the preservation of the natural landscapes and the conservation of the wildlife.
Geography
Topography of TurkmenistanWhite saxaul widespread in Karakum
Turkmenistan has an area of nearly 500,000km2 (193,100sqmi). Iran and Afghanistan lie to the south, Uzbekistan lies to the north-east and Kazakhstan to the north-west, and it has a long coastline on the Caspian Sea to the west. Most of the surface is flat, rolling, sandy terrain forming the Karakum Desert. To the southwest of the country, on the border with Iran, lies the Kopet Dag Range of mountains. This region is characterized by foothills, dry and sandy slopes, mountain plateaus and steep ravines; here the highest point is Mount Şahşah2,912m (9,554ft). The land also rises in the southeastern corner of the country towards the mountain ranges of Afghanistan. At the extreme east of Turkmenistan is the Köýtendag Range with the highest mountain in the country, Mount Aýrybaba (3,138m (10,295ft)).[1]
The Murghab River and the Tejen River flow from Afghanistan but peter out in the Karakum Desert. The Atrek River is a shorter river flowing from Iran, but only reaching the Caspian Sea in time of flood. The Amudarya River flows northwestwards near the border with Uzbekistan before emptying into the remnants of the Aral Sea. Garabogazköl gulf is a large shallow lagoon that is sometimes connected to the Caspian Sea and has a much higher salinity,[1] surpassing the far-famed hypersaline lake of the Dead Sea.[2]
With the exception of the Caspian coast, the climate of Turkmenistan is continental, with hot dry summers with the average July temperatures exceeding 30°C (86°F). In the Karakum Desert, summer temperatures can reach 50°C (122°F), while on the coast they are a little less hot, but it is more humid.[3] In the winter, the north is cold and moist, with a mean January temperature of −10 to 0°C (14 to 32°F), while the south is slightly less cold and also moist, with the temperature averaging above 0°C (32°F). The daily temperature range is large. The highest precipitation is in the mountains, mostly falling in the winter and spring, while elsewhere the precipitation is low, and over most of the country, water is in short supply.[4]
Ecoregions
Ecoregions in Turkmenistan include the Central Asian southern desert covering much of the central and northern part of the country, and the Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe in the southwestern portion.[5] This hilly and mountainous ecoregion has a mixed character, showing the influence of the Mediterranean and Turanian biogeographical regions.[6]
Flora
Over 2,000 species of vascular plant have been recorded in Turkmenistan including 462 relic and endemic species. The greatest diversity is in the mountains of the south, with many economically important fruit-bearing trees being found there, including persimmon, almond, cherry, pomegranate and fig.[7]
Much of the rest of the country makes up the Central Asian Southern Desert ecoregion, which includes the Karakum Desert, the southern part of the Kyzylkum Desert and other areas with rolling dunes, sandy plateaus and alluvial plains. This area receives practically no rain during the summer and the extreme heat means that little grows at this time of year. In the winter, some precipitation with much cooler temperatures occurs, and grasses such as Bromus and vascular plants such as Malcolmia, Koelpinia and Amberboa sprout. In March and April, ephemeral plants appear, including fox-tail lilies, Rheums, tulips and stars of Bethlehem, but by the end of May these have given way to the summer drought. Communities of Salsola grow on the alluvial flats along with asafoetida, Ephedra strobilacea, black saxaul and white saxaul. The sand acacia and several species of Calligonum grow among the dunes.[9]
The coastal strip consists of sandy and clayey salt deserts recently exposed by the retreating shoreline. It has unconsolidated dunes and is sparsely vegetated with salt-loving plants.[10] This area, with its milder climate and the mists that sometimes roll in from the Caspian Sea, is home to many of the 90 species of lichen found in the country. Another lichen-rich environment is the takirs that form as flaking crusts on drying clayey plains.[11]
Turkmenistan has a range of habitats and these support a wide range of animal life. There are 83 species of mammal recorded in the country, some of which are threatened.[12] There are bats in the caves, leopards, bears, mountain sheep, wild ass and goitered gazelles in the mountains, and seals in the Caspian Sea. In the deserts are long-eared hedgehog, Brandt's hedgehog and tolai hare, as well as gerbils, jerboas and other rodents.[13]
Nearly four hundred species of bird have been recorded in the country. Many of them are resident species but others are migratory and just passing through, while still others overwinter in Turkmenistan. Some of these are the ducks, geese, and swans that inhabit the shores of the Caspian at this time of year.[7] The largest lake in the country is Sarygamysh Lake, on the border with Uzbekistan; this is now a nature reserve and attracts wildfowl including pelicans, coots and cormorants. Yeroylanduz is a 300 square kilometres (120sqmi) natural depression which floods each year and attracts pelicans, flamingoes and other birds.[12]
There are 29 species of endangered or critically endangered mammal, 40 species of bird, 20 species of reptile and 14 species of fish listed in the 2011 edition of the Red Data Book of Turkmenistan.[14] The mountainous area of Kopet Dag is under threat from overgrazing by cattle with much of the forest having been cleared for firewood. Soil erosion creates mud flows when heavy rains occur, damaging woodland lower down the slopes and riverside habitats. Conversely, particularly dry summers have created conditions where wild fires are frequent, and this puts at risk the unique communities of fruiting trees and the rare mammals.[8]
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea to the west, Iran and Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the north-east, and Kazakhstan to the north-west. It is the southernmost republic of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the loose federation created at the end of 1991 by most of the Post-Soviet states.
The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum, is a desert in Central Asia. Its name in Turkic languages means "black sand": "kum" means sand; "kara" is a contraction of garaňky: "dark" or may pre-date that in this language family. This refers to the shale-rich sand generally beneath the sand of much of the desert. It occupies about 70 percent, 350,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi), of Turkmenistan.
The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh, also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about 650 kilometres (400 mi) along the border southeast of the Caspian Sea, stretching northwest-southeast from near the Caspian Sea in the northwest to the Harirud River in the southeast. In the southwest it borders on the parallel eastern endings of the Alborz mountains being together part of the much larger Alpide belt. The highest peak of the range in Turkmenistan is the Mount Rizeh, located at the southwest of the capital Ashgabat and stands at 2,940 metres (9,646 ft). The highest Iranian summit is Mount Quchan with 3,191 metres (10,469 ft).
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Turkmenistan:
Bereket, formerly Gazanjyk or Kazandzhik, is a city in Balkan Province in western Turkmenistan. Bereket is the administrative centre of Bereket District.
Repetek Biosphere State Reserve, often referred to as Repetek Nature or Desert Reserve, is a desert nature reserve (zapovednik) of Turkmenistan, located in Lebap Province, East Karakum Desert, near Amu Darya. It is located approximately 70 km (43 mi) south from Türkmenabat and is known for its zemzen. Established in 1928 for the study and preservation of a sand-desert ecosystem, it covers an area of 346 km2 (134 sq mi).
The list of Turkmenistan-related articles is below
The Central Asian northern desert is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The annual precipitation ranges from 100 to 150 mm, the winters are cold at −10 to −15 °C and the summers hot at around 25 °C (77 °F). There are a range of habitat types including salt flats, clay desert, rocky desert and some sand desert. The vegetation consists of scanty xeric shrubs including Artemisia and Salsola. The fauna is varied, as well as mammals and birds, there are a large number of reptiles and many species of invertebrate. Some protected areas are included in this ecoregion but other parts are being degraded by conversion to farmland, overgrazing and poaching.
The wildlife of Yemen is substantial and varied. Yemen is a large country in the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula with several geographic regions, each with a diversity of plants and animals adapted to their own particular habitats. As well as high mountains and deserts, there is a coastal plain and long coastline. The country has links with Europe and Asia, and the continent of Africa is close at hand. The flora and fauna have influences from all these regions and the country also serves as a staging post for migratory birds.
The Caspian lowland desert ecoregion covers the north and southeast coasts of the Caspian Sea, including the deltas of the Volga River and Ural River in the northern region. While the region gets relatively low amounts of precipitation, wildlife is supported by the river estuaries and the sea itself. The wetlands are an internationally important area for bird nesting and migratory resting. The ecoregion is in the Palearctic realm, and the deserts and xeric shrublands biome. It has an area of 267,300 square kilometres (103,200 sq mi).
The Central Asian riparian woodlands ecoregion is spread out across the deserts and plains of central Asia between the Aral Sea and the mountains 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) to the east. The long narrow components of the ecoregion follow the large rivers fed by snowmelt, and provide critical habitat for migratory birds as they travel through the arid region. The vegetation is referred to as tugai, characterized by low tangles of trees and brush along the edges of the rivers and associated wetlands, and fed by groundwater instead of precipitation.
The Central Asian southern desert ecoregion is an arid but ecologically active region between the east coast of the Caspian Sea and steppes at the base of the mountains of central Asia. Most of Turkmenistan and eastern Uzbekistan is in this ecoregion. The winters are milder than in the cold desert to the north, and a large number of endemic species have adapted to living in the particular climate and soil of the region. As with sandy deserts in general, the region is notable for high numbers of endemic species of reptiles and insects.
The Kopet Dag semi-desert ecoregion is a small ecoregion that crosses the border of southwestern Turkmenistan into northeastern Iran. It covers a transition zone between the deserts to the north and west, and the foothill steppes and woodlands in the higher Kopet Dag mountains to the east and the Alborz Mountains to the south. The terrain is mostly barren semi-desert and widespread 'takir', a type of seasonal salt flat or dried clay deposit in an interdune depression.
The Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe ecoregion coincides with the Kopet Dag mountains, straddling the southern border of Turkmenistan and the northeastern border of Iran. The region is one of high biodiversity, as it includes a full range of altitude zones, and variety of habitats included juniper-wooded slopes, montane grasslands, and tugay.
The Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert ecoregion covers the hills north of the central mountain ranges of Afghanistan, southeast Turkmenistan, and portions of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The landscape has been described as "savannah-like" and reminiscent of Africa, with desert sedges (Carex) and stands of wild pistachio trees. The area supports high biodiversity and a number of rare and endemic species, such as the endangered Turkmenian kulan (Equus hemionus kulan).
The Central Persian desert basins ecoregion covers the arid steppe and desert basins of central Iran, stretching into northwestern Afghanistan. The ecoregion extends over the Central Iranian Plateau, which is surrounded by mountain ranges and has no outlets to the sea. Much of the terrain is hot sand-and-gravel desert and large salt flats. The vegetation includes many specialized species of halophytes (salt-tolerant), xerophytes (drought-tolerant), and psammophile (sand-loving) plants.
The Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in western Asia. It lies in the lowlands west of the Caspian Sea, and covers portions of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Iran.
1 2 Annabayramov, B., ed. (2011). "Volume 2: Invertebrate and Vertebrate Animals"(PDF). The Red Book of Turkmenistan (third edition). Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
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