Vegetation of Middle Asia with a special reference to Tajikistan

Abstract

Middle Asia, which includes countries such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, is one of the world’s richest floristic regions. More than 10,000 species of vascular plants can be found here. At the same time, it is a very diverse region in terms of habitats and rich in a variety of vegetation types that were of little interest to geobotanists in the 20th century. In 2006, a team of Polish researchers began a long term programme of geobotanical exploration in Tajikistan and neighbouring countries. After conducting some56 expeditions and collecting about 6,000 records of almost all vegetation types, the research was summarised and the first comprehensive catalogue of vegetation communities for this area is presented in a hierarchical system. A total of 552 vegetation types (297 associations, 16 subassociations and 239 plant communities) were distinguished, grouped into 45 vegetation classes, 51 orders and 87 alliances. A schematic geobotanical map was also prepared with 29 main zonal vegetation types. The results of the work are the basis for further research in the field of vegetation ecology and syntaxonomy of Tajikistan and Middle Asia, and also form the foundation for planning a conservation system of the phytocoenotic diversity of this unique region.