Ecological restoration of fodder productivity of degraded pastures in the foothill desert zone of Central Asia

Irrational, ecologically unregulated economic activity in the vast deserts of Central Asia has led to biodiversity depletion, decrease in the fodder productivity of natural pastures and, as a result, deterioration in the fodder base of grassland farming. Forage production of these degraded pastures requires ecological restoration. To enrich the species composition and to increase the fodder productivity of degraded pastures we conducted strip sowing of black saxaul. Restorative succession on degraded pastures led to the formation of a long-term halophytic shrub-ephemeral pasture community consisting of two layers: upper (I) layer represented by black saxaul and lower (II) layer composed of ephemeroids, ephemerals and annual saltwort. Ephemerals are short-growing fodder plants (March–April); Haloxylon aphyllum refers to long-growing (226–242 days) fodder plants, which sprout in the period from late March to early December. Annual salsolas Salsola carinata and Halocharis hispida develop well under the crown of Haloxylon aphyllum. Here they are much larger than between the crowns. The shrub-ephemeral pasture community is dominated by annual grasses and Poa bulbosa. They are mainly concentrated on the outer border of the undercrown ring and are characterized by lush development. In the halophytic semi-shrub-ephemeroid pasture community, the total yield of forage mass of ephemera was 0.90 t/ha; the total yield of forage mass of annual saltwort was 0.14 t/ha; the total yield of forage mass of Haloxylon aphyllum was 0.89 t/ha; the total yield of forage mass was 1.93 t/ha.

Two new species of Dzhanokmenia (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) from China, with first report on a host association for the genus

Two new species of Dzhanokmenia Kostjukov (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae), D. stefaniolae Li, Wang & Hu, sp. nov. and D. yuxuannis Li, Wang & Hu, sp. nov., are described and illustrated from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. D. stefaniolae was reared from stem-galls made by Stefaniola sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on black saxaul, Haloxylon ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae); D. yuxuannis was collected by sweeping from both black saxaul and white saxaul, H. persicum, in Beishawo Desert near Fukang. A key to females of all known species of Dzhanokmenia is provided.

Diversity of beetles (Coleoptera) in natural and planted saxaul forests (Haloxylon ammodendron) in the South Gobi Desert, Mongolia

We investigated species composition and diversity parameters of beetle communities in two planted saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron, black saxaul) forests in Southern Mongolia. We also studied nearby natural areas for comparison. Beetles were mainly collected by pitfall traps. 1064 individuals of 38 species of 22 genera in 4 beetle families were identified from planted plots. In comparison, a total of 1395 beetles belonging to 40 species of 24 genera in seven families were collected and identified from the natural saxaul plots. The most diverse beetle families were darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae, 18 species) and snout beetles (Curculionidae, 15 species) in planted and natural saxaul plots. We recorded several species (Apatophysis serricornis, Cephogenia chinensis, and Eumylada punctifera punctifera) which are associated with the saxaul tree. A darkling beetle, Anatolica potanini, was the dominant species in both natural and planted plots of the Nariin Zag forest. There were significant differences in the species richness and abundance between the planted and natural plots of the Ukhaa Zag forest. It is possible that the age of the plantation drove the differences. The higher values of diversity indices and species richness in the planted plots can be explained by the presence of rare species, represented by only one or two individuals. The planted plots and corresponding natural plots within each forest were more similar to each other in species composition and abundance than between forests.

State of Saxaul Plantations in Kazakhstan’s Section of the Aral Sea Region

The article aims to assess the survival rate of saxaul plantations on the dry seabed of the Aral Sea (DSAS) and these close to the villages along the original seacoast. Protective black saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) plantations on the DSAS were established in the course of 2009-2019 with the grant support of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), Japan’s environmental funds, UNDP Kazakhstan, as well as under the Grass-Roots Program of the Embassy of Japan in Kazakhstan. During September 1-14, 2020, the target plantation plots at 24 sites adjacent to the villages of Aralkum and Karateren underwent examination, including forest surveying, projected species cover determination, as well as seed regeneration and survival rate assessment. The findings of 2020 revealed the varying condition of target saxaul plantations. Thus, the survival rate of saxaul inside forest plantations ranged between 0.12 and 78.0%. The actual number of saxaul trees varied from 1 (one) to 1,000 per ha on the DSAS and from 888 to 2,633 per ha in Aralkum village. The novelty of the obtained results is due to the fact that they clearly demonstrate that the survival rate and development of forest plantations, as well as saxaul seed self-renewal, above all, depend on the overall ecological conditions at specific sites. Saxaul demonstrated the best survival rate and growth at the sites with sandy loam and saline light loamy soils with sandy cover, and the worst – at the sites with crusty and takyr (dry-type playa) saline soils.

The environmental forming and productional functions of the haloxylon aphyllum in the Karnabchul desert

We have conducted investigation of the environmental function of the desert tree of black saxaul (Haloxylon aphyllum) in the Karnabchul desert. As a result, it was found that different age plants of black saxaul had different effects on the degree of illumination. The greatest influence on the intensity of solar radiation was exerted by the saxaul plant of the black middle-aged state, the least the old generative individuals. Saxaul black had a significant impact on the temperature of the air: in the daytime, especially in the period 13-16 h, reducing the temperature under the crown and on the edge of the crown, and at night increasing it in the same areas. It also had a noticeable effect on the temperature of the soil. The temperature of the soil surface under the crown at night is higher, and during the day the warming was slower than in the outer part of the saxaul crown. Under the influence of black saxaul and soil moisture changed. Under the saxaul crown soil moisture is significantly higher compared to the control (open natural pastures). The highest soil moisture was observed in the upper soil layers at the base of the saxaul trunk. As a result, under the environmental action of black saxaul more favorable hydrothermal conditions for the growth and development of natural wormwood-ephemeral vegetation under the protection of strips and adjacent areas of pastures are formed. The result of production activities chemotaxonomic postbestowal bands consists of two following components: production of fodder mass of the Haloxylon and fodder productivity of wormwood-ephemeral vegetation of natural pastures. By increasing the yield of natural pastures under the protection of pasture protection strips and the harvest of the black saxaul fodder productivity of desert pastures increases more than twice.

The phytogenic effect of different-aged black saxaul plants on the productivity of wormwood-ephemeral vegetation under the conditions of Karnabchul

The aim of the study is to determine the effect of different-age black saxaul plants on the productivity of wormwood-ephemeral vegetation through the study of the phytogenic field of this ephemeroid species. The phytogenic field of black saxaul has been studied by the phytomer method in the desert Karnabchul. The study showed that its influence in the minimum phytogenic field on the productivity of wormwood-ephemeral vegetation is negative, in the external part of the phytogenic field on bluegrass and forbs is positive, and on wormwood and sedge remains negative. The highest productivity indices are observed in them between the outer and inner and outer parts of the phytogenic field of the middle-aged generative plants of the edificator.