FLORA AND VEGETATION OF BARTANG RIVER BASIN

The large routes have been performed, 13000 herbarium lists have been collected. More than 800 geobotanic descriptions have been given. Two new types have been discovered, one - new type for flora of the formed USSR, three species and one genus for flora of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, 22 species - for territory of the West Pamir and more than 600 species for basin. It has been determined that the flora of the Bartang river basin is the typical mounting-Central-Asian one and at division into districts shall belong to the Afgano-Turkestan mounting province. The materials are used at preparation of the "Red Bool of Badakhshan" at development of the measures on the protection and rational use of the Tadjikistan's vegetable wealths, in lecturing on the florogeography in the higher schools of the Republic, at creation of two protected sections in the Bartang river basin.Available from VNTIC / VNTIC - Scientific & Technical Information Centre of RussiaSIGLERURussian Federatio

Nature's patchwork: How water sources and soil salinity determine the distribution and structure of halophytic plant communities in arid environments of the Eastern Pamir.

The eastern part of the Pamir Mountains, located in Central Asia, is characterized by great climatic continentality and aridity. Wetlands developed in this hostile region are restricted to spring areas, terraces of shallow lakes or floodplains along rivers, and provide diversified ecosystem services e.g. as water reservoirs, refugia for rare species and pastures for domestic cattle. These ecosystems are particularly susceptible to climate changes, that in the Pamir Mountains result in increased temperatures, intense permafrost/glacial melt and alterations of precipitation patterns. Climatic changes affect pasture management in the mountains, causing overutilization of sites located at lower elevations. Thus, both climate and man-induced disturbances may violate the existing ecological equilibrium in high-mountain wetlands of the Eastern Pamir, posing a serious risk to their biodiversity and to food security of the local population. In this context, we sought to assess how environmental drivers (with special focus on soil features and potential water sources) shape the distribution and diversity of halophytic plant communities developed in valleys in the Eastern Pamir. This task was completed by means of a vegetation survey and comprehensive analyses of habitat conditions. The lake terraces and floodplains studied were covered by a repetitive mosaic of plant communities determined by differences in soil moisture and salinity. On lower, wetter sites, this patchwork was formed by Blysmus rufus dominated salt marshes, saline small sedge meadows and saline meadows with Kobresia royleana and Primula pamirica; and on drier, elevated sites, by endemic grasslands with Hordeum brevisubulatum and Puccinellia species and patches of xerohalophytic vegetation. Continuous instability of water sources and summer droughts occurring in the Pamir Mountains may lead to significant structural and functional transformations of described wetland ecosystems. Species more tolerant to decreased soil moisture and/or increased soil salinity will expand, leading to alterations of ecosystem services provided by the Pamirs' wetlands. The described research will help to assess the current state of the wetlands and to predict directions of their future changes

Climatic characteristics of the study area.

<p>(A) Long-term changes in average annual air temperature and total annual precipitation in Murghab (approximately 37 km from lake Rangkul), gaps are caused by the lack of data [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0174496#pone.0174496.ref007" target="_blank">7</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0174496#pone.0174496.ref010" target="_blank">10</a>]. Average monthly air temperatures and total monthly precipitation in 2014: (B) in Bulunkul (unpublished data from the Bulunkul meteorological station of the Tajikistan National Agency for Hydrometeorology), (C) in Murghab; lack of bars means lack of precipitation [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0174496#pone.0174496.ref034" target="_blank">34</a>].</p

Site differences in content of sulfates (A), content of chlorides (B) and content of nitrates (C) among the distinguished plant communities.

<p>H—statistics of Kruskal-Wallis test, p—p value of Kruskal-Wallis test. Letters denote statistically significant (p<0.05) differences between particular plant communities. Blys_ruf: salt marshes dominated by <i>Blysmus rufus</i>; Car_om: saline small sedge meadows dominated by <i>Carex orbicularis</i> and <i>Carex microglochin</i>; Pucc_Hor: grasslands with <i>Hordeum brevisubulatum</i> and <i>Puccinellia</i> species; Kob_Pri: saline meadows with <i>Kobresia royleana</i> and <i>Primula pamirica</i>; Kras_Pol: xerohalophytic vegetation with <i>Krascheninnikovia ceratoides</i> and <i>Polygonum sibiricum var</i>. <i>thomsonii</i>.</p

Differences between observed and expected values in a Chi square test of plant communities’ occurrence on soils characterized by different content of organic matter.

<p>TOC—total organic carbon.</p

Location of watersheds in which the studied areas are located.

<p>Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community.</p

Location and classification of relevès.

<p>(A) general distribution of sampling plots in the watershed of lake Yashilkul. (B-D) Location of relevès with identified plant communities around lakes Bulunkul (B), Sassykul and Tuzkul (C), Shrokul and Rangkul (D). Source: Landsat 8 2014-06-19. Green areas denotes wetland and grassland ecosystems. 1. salt marshes dominated by <i>Blysmus rufus</i>; 2. saline small sedge meadows dominated by <i>Carex orbicularis</i> and <i>Carex microglochin</i>; 3. xerohalophytic vegetation with <i>Krascheninnikovia ceratoides</i> and <i>Polygonum sibiricum var</i>. <i>thomsonii</i>; 4. saline meadows with <i>Kobresia royleana</i> and <i>Primula pamirica</i>; 5. grasslands with <i>Hordeum brevisubulatum</i> and <i>Puccinellia</i> species.</p

Linear discriminant analysis of the studied communities with 15 environmental parameters as independent variables (λ₁ = 0.677, λ₂ = 0.664, λ₃ = 0.477, λ₄ = 0,187).

<p>For the purpose of clarity, only parameters with significant impact on observed variation between the studied communities were included in the graph. ESP–Exchangeable Sodium Percentage. Blys_ruf: salt marshes dominated by <i>Blysmus rufus</i>; Car_om: saline small sedge meadows dominated by <i>Carex orbicularis</i> and <i>Carex microglochin</i>; Pucc_Hor: grasslands with <i>Hordeum brevisubulatum</i> and <i>Puccinellia</i> species; Kob_Pri: saline meadows with <i>Kobresia royleana</i> and <i>Primula pamirica</i>; Kras_Pol: xerohalophytic vegetation with <i>Krascheninnikovia ceratoides</i> and <i>Polygonum sibiricum var</i>. <i>thomsonii</i>.</p

Comparison of biodiversity indices among the distinguished plant communities.

<p>The indices were calculated for standard square sampling plots with the area of 9 m². Letters in superscript denote significant differences in biodiversity indices between the distinguished plant communities.</p