Botanical Geography of Uzbekistan

Plant Diversity of Central Asia, 2022

Surkhondaryo province is one of the largest and richest in vascular plant species diversity administrative units of Uzbekistan, which also has an extremely high concentration of species endemic to Mountainous Central Asia and Uzbekistan in particular. A characteristic geological feature of this area is the wide spread of variegated outcrops formed during the Cretaceous and partly Paleogene age. Using the botanical-geographical zonation of Uzbekistan and 5x5 km grid cells, we analyzed the distribution of 63 Surkhondaryo province endemics to identify the hotspots of endemic species richness. The Boysun phytogeographic region, located in the southwest spurs of the Hissar ridge, had the largest number of species-rich grid cells. The Surkhon-Sherobod and Bobotog phytogeographic regions, located mainly in the piedmonts, foothills and low mountain belt of the Kugitang and Bobotog mountains, turned out to be poor in endemic species. The extent of occurrence and area of occupancy of 63 provincial endemic species were estimated for the first time. Based on the analysis of available data and long-term field observations, the extinction of one of the narrow endemics of the Surkhondaryo province-Dipcadi turkestanicum Vved. appears to be a sad reality.

沙漠研究 Journal of Arid Land Studies 日本沙漠学会誌, 2014

Phytotaxa, 2016

Nature and Conservation, 2023

Nature and Conservation, 2022

The aim of this review is to analyze the data published on Kazakhstan's endemic species in different botanical issues. In the Kazakhstan flora there are 775-710 endemic species (some of which are now defined as subendemics). The rate of endemism in the territory is relatively low and estimated at approximately 12% of total species. However, endemics are not evenly distributed throughout the country's territory. Kazakhstan's floristic subprovinces (botanical-geographic regionalization by Takhtadzhian 1978) have a significantly different amount of endemics; some of them include only 10-15 endemic species while others contribute up to 150 species, including endemic species growing in two or more floristic subprovinces. The number of endemics found in only the floristic subprovinces account for more than 60% of the total number of Karatau endemics, almost 50% in each Zailisky Alatau and Jungar Alatau, ~40% in Western Tien-Shan, and ~30% in Tarbagatai (all mountain zones), ~40% in Betpak Dala, and ~30% in each Balkhash-Alacol and Chu-Ili Mountains (desert zones). Although a considerable number of endemic species occur in the mountainous floristic subprovinces and their neighboring subprovinces, most endemic species inhabit dry, hot locations, even in the mountains on rocky dry steppes or deserted slopes, conical shaped hills and piedmonts. The current safety of Kazakhstan endemics is discussed in relation to habitat destruction.

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity

Austrian Journal of Technical and Natural Sciences, 2019