Flora and Plant Formations Distributed in At-Bashy Valleys–Internal Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan and Interactions with Climate

Abstract

In this chapter, the flora and vegetation of Kyrgyzstan’s At-Bashy valley and inner Tien Shan, together with the vegetational changes due to climatic impacts, are presented. The data presented covers the period between 2000 and 2014. More than 50 % of the higher plants in Kyrgyzstan grow on a very small territory. There are more than 4100 species distributed in the country and 1600 of these possess economic and practical value. Flora in At-Bashy valleys is represented by 222 species of higher plants belonging to 130 genera and 35 families. Steppes are a dominant vegetation type in the study area. The pasture degradation is observed more intensively in the vegetation cover of Tien Shan than in the plain. High anthropogenic pressures exclude the possibility for natural recovery of indigenous vegetation. Intense solar radiation and high wind velocity, combined with low air humidity, lead to high evaporation, which ends up in the lack of moisture. Therefore, inner Tien Shan and hence At-Bashy valley are dominated by xerophytic vegetation and gray desert soils. The plants start their phenological cycle in late April–early May and end in late August–early September. The main vegetation types at At-Bashy valleys are subnival, cryophyte low grass (alpine) meadows, cryophyte herbal (subalpine) meadows, cryophyte steppe, cryophyte bunchgrass steppe of middle mountains, dark coniferous forests, tall grasslands, mountain bunch gramineous and herb-bunchgrass steppe, cheegrass (Achnatherum splendens) steppe, and floodplain forests. Original vegetation of the middle and high mountains of Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan is of great scientific interest. It is of great national economic importance for animal husbandry. However, expected climate change scenarios are presenting a dark picture for the future plant diversity in the republic. The glaciers are melting and thus water will become a much bigger problem in future. All these developments are evaluated in this chapter.