The Complex of Experimental Facilities for the Cosmic Ray Investigation at the Tien Shan Mountain Station

The study describes the experimental complex of the station located in the Tien Shan mountains at an elevation of 3340 m above sea level. The complex consists of detectors of different types scattered across the station area, such as scintillation particles detectors, Cherenkov detectors, radio emission detectors for the measurement of the electron component of extensive air showers (EAS) created by the (1–1000) PeV cosmic ray particles, an ionization calorimeter and neutron detectors for the study of the nuclear-active component of EAS cores, and the underground particle detectors for the detection of cosmic ray muons. The data acquisition system allows the simultaneous recording of parameters from various stand-alone detectors registering an EAS, and storage of the acquired data in the database. As an illustration of research capability, the results of the EAS study are presented here which were obtained during the last few years at the different experimental set-ups constituting the Tien Shan complex.

Taxonomy and phylogenetic appraisal of Leptosphaeria chatkalica sp. nov. (Leptosphaeriaceae, Pleosporales) from Uzbekistan

Leptosphaeria chatkalica, found on dead stems of dicotyledon from Chatkal ridge of Western Tien Shan Mountains in Uzbekistan, is presented as a novel species based on morphological details and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic relationships of the novel species were established by analyzing the combined sequence data of LSU, ITS, SSU and tef1-α in Maximum parsimony, Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses. Leptosphaeria chatkalica is characterized by perithecial ascomata, club-like pedicel asci and yellowish-brown, 3-septate, fusiform ascospores with a mucilaginous sheath. A comprehensive characterization and micro-graphs, together with a comparison with other Leptosphaeria species are given.

Review of the current state and prospects of studying Kazakh species of the genus Allium L.

Onions Allium L. are promising economically valuable plants of Kazakhstan’s flora which are found almosteverywhere and distinguished by a large species diversity. In the Tien Shan mountains genus Allium is represented by 56Tien Shan endemics and 25 of which grow in Kazakhstan. Five new endemic species are described in 2021 for Kazakhstan’sflora. The results included analysis of the state of studied Kazakhstan’s species of this genus where were determined speciescomposition and status, degree of introduction research, application and prospects of 134 species of onions of Kazakhstan’sflora including 47 endemic and 12 rare species. Almost half of onions have been tested in culture including 15 endemicand 8 rare species. Introduction studies on decorative, food, medicinal and melliferous properties was relatively high. Incurrent time, the collection of Kazakhstan natural flora is represented by 16 species of onions.

AMINO ACID AND VITAMIN COMPOSITION OF CRATAEGUS ORIENTALIS PALL

The genus hawthorn (Crataegus) belongs to the apple subfamily (Maloideae Focke) of the Rosaceae Juss family. The hawthorn genus includes about 1500 species distributed in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the northern hemisphere, mainly in North America. Over 80 wild and 90 introduced species grow on the territory of the CIS. Kazakhstan belongs to the forest-deficient regions; the forest cover of the territory is 3.87%. The hawthorn, which grows in flat areas, at the foot of the mountains, in the mountains, in the steppe and forest-steppe, is quite common here, is part of the undergrowth of deciduous forests, forms thickets with other shrubs. 7 wild-growing species are found in Kazakhstan: Crataegus almatensis A. Pojark., Crataegus pontica A. Koch, Crataegus turkestanica A. Pojark., Crataegus sanguinea Pall., Crataegus altaica Lge., Crataegus transkaspica A. Kocharus., Crataegus transkaspica A. Kocharus., The range of arboretums in Kazakhstan includes up to 40 - 50 species of hawthorn. In various elements of landscaping, hawthorns of various origins found; in particular, at least 20 species grow in urban plantings of Almaty. The hawthorn is widespread in the Northern Tien Shan Mountains: Zailiyskiy, Dzhungarskiy and Kungey Alatau. Plants of the genus Crataegus are rich in vitamins A, C, E, K and group B, and also contain sugars, flavonoids, saponins, phytosterols, glycosides, tannins, organic acids, amygdalin, essential oils. Thus, hawthorn is a promising raw material for the creation of domestic medicines. This article examines the study of the quantitative composition of amino acids and vitamins in the fruits of the species of the genus Crataegus widespread in Kazakhstan in a supercritical extract isolated and the fruits of the Crataegus orientalis Pall plant, in order to establish the possibility of using and with subsequent cultivation of the selected species.

Changes in the End-of-Summer Snow Line Altitude of Summer-Accumulation-Type Glaciers in the Eastern Tien Shan Mountains from 1994 to 2016

For summer-accumulation-type glaciers, the glaciological literature is lacking studies on determining the snow line altitude (SLA) from optical images at the end of the summer as an indicator of the equilibrium line altitude (ELA). This paper presents a workflow for extracting the SLA from Landsat images based on the variation in the albedo with the altitude in the central line area of glaciers. The correlation of >0.8 at the 99% confidence level between the retrieved SLAs with ELAs derived from the interpolation of ground-based, mass balance measurements indicated that the workflow can be applied to derive the SLA from end-of-summer satellite data as an indicator of ELA. The ELA was under-estimated by the calculated SLA. The relationship between the end-of-summer SLA and the ELA depends on the intensity of glacier melting. Subsequently, the workflow was applied to the seven glaciers in the Eastern Tien Shan Mountains, and a time series of the SLA was obtained using 12 end-of-summer Landsat scenes from 1994 to 2016. Over the whole study period, a mean SLA of 4011.6 ± 20.7 m above sea level (a.s.l.) was derived for the seven investigated glaciers, and an increasing SLA was demonstrated. The increase in SLAs was consistent for the seven glaciers from 1994 to 2016. Concerning the spatial variability, the east–west difference was prominent, and these differences exhibited a decreasing trend. The average SLA of each glacier is more influenced by its morpho-topographic variables. The interannual variations in the average SLA are mainly driven by the increasing summer air temperature, and the high correlation with the cumulative summer solid precipitation reflects the characteristics of the summer-accumulation-type glaciers.

Genetic Admixture in the Population of Wild Apple (Malus sieversii) from the Tien Shan Mountains, Kazakhstan

There is growing attention given to gene flow between crops and the wild relatives as global landscapes have been rapidly converted into agricultural farm fields over the past century. Crop-to-wild introgression may advance the extinction risks of rare plants through demographic swamping and/or genetic swamping. Malus sieversii, the progenitor of the apple, is exclusively distributed along the Tien Shan mountains. Habitat fragmentation and hybridization between M. sieversii and the cultivated apples have been proposed to be the causal mechanism of the accelerated extinction risk. We examined the genetic diversity pattern of eleven wild and domesticated apple populations and assessed the gene flow between M. sieversii and the cultivated apples in Kazakhstan using thirteen nuclear microsatellite loci. On average, apple populations harbored fairly high within-population diversity, whereas population divergences were very low suggesting likely influence of human-mediated dispersal. Assignment results showed a split pattern between the cultivated and wild apples and frequent admixture among the apple populations. Coupled with the inflated contemporary migration rates, the admixture pattern might be the signature of increased human intervention within the recent past. Our study highlighted the prevalent crop to wild gene flow of apples occurring in Kazakhstan, proposing an accelerated risk of genetic swamping.

Measuring and inferring the ice thickness distribution of four glaciers in the Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan

Glaciers in the Tien Shan mountains contribute considerably to the fresh water used for irrigation, households and energy supply in the dry lowland areas of Kyrgyzstan and its neighbouring countries. To date, reconstructions of the current ice volume and ice thickness distribution remain scarce, and accurate data are largely lacking at the local scale. Here, we present a detailed ice thickness distribution of Ashu-Tor, Bordu, Golubin and Kara-Batkak glaciers derived from radio-echo sounding measurements and modelling. All the ice thickness measurements are used to calibrate three individual models to estimate the ice thickness in inaccessible areas. A cross-validation between modelled and measured ice thickness for a subset of the data is performed to attribute a weight to every model and to assemble a final composite ice thickness distribution for every glacier. Results reveal the thickest ice on Ashu-Tor glacier with values up to 201 ± 12 m. The ice thickness measurements and distributions are also compared with estimates composed without the use of in situ data. These estimates approach the total ice volume well, but local ice thicknesses vary substantially.

Understanding population baselines: status of mountain ungulate populations in the Central Tien Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan

We assessed the density of argali (Ovis ammon) and ibex (Capra sibirica) in Sarychat-Ertash Nature Reserve and its neighbouring Koiluu valley. Sarychat is a protected area, while Koiluu is a human-use landscape which is a partly licenced hunting concession for mountain ungulates and has several livestock herders and their permanent residential structures. Population monitoring of mountain ungulates can help in setting measurable conservation targets such as appropriate trophy hunting quotas and to assess habitat suitability for predators like snow leopards (Panthera uncia). We employed the double-observer method to survey 573 km2 of mountain ungulate habitat inside Sarychat and 407 km2 inside Koiluu. The estimated densities of ibex and argali in Sarychat were 2.26 (95% CI 1.47–3.52) individuals km−2 and 1.54 (95% CI 1.01–2.20) individuals km−2, respectively. Total ungulate density in Sarychat was 3.80 (95% CI 2.47–5.72) individuals km−2. We did not record argali in Koiluu, whereas the density of ibex was 0.75 (95% CI 0.50–1.27) individuals km−2. While strictly protected areas can achieve high densities of mountain ungulates, multi-use areas can harbour meaningful though suppressed populations. Conservation of mountain ungulates and their predators can be enhanced by maintaining Sarychat-like “pristine” areas interspersed within a matrix of multi-use areas like Koiluu.

Taxonomy of some Boreoheptagyiini Brundin (Diptera: Chironomidae: Diamesinae) from the mountains of Central Asia and the Middle East, with description and DNA barcoding of new taxa

Chironomids of the tribe Boreoheptagyiini from the mountains of Iran, China and East Kazakhstan are revised using both morphological characters and partial DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. Using adult males, Palatovia lorestanica gen. nov. sp. nov., as well as Boreoheptagyia iranica sp. nov. both from Iran (Lorestan Province, Zagros Mountains), B. joeli sp. nov. from China (Tien Shan Mountains), and B. sarymsactyensis sp. nov. from Eastern Kazakhstan (Kazakh Mountain Altai), are described and figured. A brief redescription of the rare species B. brevitarsis (Tokunaga) from Iran (Mazandaran Province), previously known only from Japan, is also given. The DNA barcoding analysis shows well-supported genetic divergence between all studied taxa (four species of the genus Boreoheptagyia and one of Palatovia). Combining DNA barcodes obtained in this study with available sequences in GenBank, the phylogenetic relationships of the tribe Boreoheptagyiini are reconstructed. In the resulting Bayesian and maximum likelihood (ML) tree the polyphyly of the genus Boreoheptagyia is recognized. B. iranica is placed as a sister species to P. lorestanica, despite the lack of confirmation of their morphological similarity.