The ribbon-like pine forests of North Kazakhstan represent the principal territorial intrazonal and azonal biotopes. Integrated bio-geographic studies of the pine forests’ status were performed in the Beskaragai and Chaldai Nature Reserves in the Pri-Irtysh River basin within, at present, the climate–change most susceptible transitional parkland-steppe zone of Central Asia, adjoining the West Siberian Lowland. The investigations followed the regional topographic gradient with a series of mapped sites characterizing the spatial relief patterns of the pristine forest distribution and the associated phytocenoses. The results revealed marked natural arboreal cover restoration differences between the geographically close upland and lowland forest ecosystems. The regional tree growth dynamics show the varying intensity of the pine seedlings’ succession, the tree stands’ biomass productivity and the environmental stability, weakened by the extreme continentality and progressing aridification along with adverse anthropogenic ecological impacts. The specific geomorphic, soil and hydrological conditions are the principal determining factors. The more vital plain and lowland pine forests host the floristically richer fescue-dominated communities compared to the more fragile and precipitation-poorer upland pine settings. The latter forest ecosystems display a higher vulnerability to the current climate change, generating tree drying, forest fires, and to modern human activities such as logging, herding and recreation. The research conclusions provide new insights on the natural ribbon-like pine forests’ sustainability and adaptation to the ongoing continental warming triggering fundamental environmental transformations in Central Asia’s parklands.
This article contains the preliminary study of Betula pendula Roth research in the forest steppe of East Kazakhstan. During a scientific expedition was collected research material for the study of birch plantations, as dendrochronological research of the Betula pendula Roth in the study area has not yet been carried out. Tree-ring chronologies are widely used in the reconstruction, the forecast of the environment, in the dating of historical events, and in recent years in monitoring studies. Their use fundamentally alters the normal monitoring procedure, practically at the same time giving many years material for versatile objective analysis of environmental changes.
External anthropogenic factors of influence are: industry, agriculture, hunting and forestry, recreation and other factors, which are responsible for the increasing insularity of most nature reserves. In addition, rural areas have expanded in the last 15 years more than in previous years, indicating a further deterioration of the forest structure and biodiversity of Kazakhstan's important island forests.The study provides a review of research on the study of anthropogenic impact on the components of the forest ecosystem of the Bayanaul forest of Kazakhstan. The degradation of phytocenoses due to the impact of anthropogenic factors has been established. It is shown that the main source of anthropogenic factors is atmospheric air pollution near the highway, forest recreation and the expansion of settlements. In the anthropogenically disturbed areas, soil contamination with heavy metals, a decrease in species diversity, a decrease in projective coverage, and annual growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L), as well as a decrease in renewable forests over the past 50 years, are noted. The average disturbance of the forest was revealed. Further influence of anthropogenic factors may lead to further deterioration of the forest structure and biodiversity of important natural pine forests of the Kazakh Uplands.
Abstract. Due to the increasing negative impact of anthropogenic factors on the state of the environment in man-made regions, the possibility of using Agropyron cristatum (L.) Beauv. to detect contamination of industrial areas Ti, Mn, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Sr is being considered. To achieve the research goal the authors have analyzed the content of these metals in vegetable (A. cristatum) and soil samples, taken in the suburbs of Pavlodar (the Pavlodar Region, Kazakhstan) at various distances from the operating industrial enterprises with application of the standard techniques. Geobotanic studies have been carried out using classical methods. Agropyron cristatum, being a digressive-active species, under human-induced conditions mostly becomes a dominant or subdominant in plant communities, including areas where it has historically been represented in little abundance. The underground organs of A. cristatum are characterized by high values of Zn biological absorption coefficient at most points; very high values of АCr and АPb at multiple points. For the above-ground organs of A. cristatum, Zn biological absorption coefficient is also quite high; it is appreciably lower for Mn, but higher than for Ni, Cu, Sr, Ti and Fe. A. cristatum can be used as an indicator of environmental pollution by Zn, Cr, Pb and Mn for the area under investigation and in similar conditions for other regions, especially those in the area of metallurgical enterprises.
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