Khar Yamaat Nature Reserve: Biodiversity, Ecosystem Features, Threats and Conservation Management

Abstract

This paper addresses the ecosystem characteristics, biodiversity, conservation priorities, current threats and sustainable management of Khar Yamaat Nature Reserve, which lies in northeastern Mongolia. The formation of Khar Yamaat’s ecosystem and its biological diversity are unique in eastern Mongolia. Biogeographically, this nature reserve is located at the intersection between different phytogeographical regions, specifically the Central-Khalkh dry steppe, Mongol-Dahurian forest-steppe, and Eastern-Mongolian tall-grass steppe. As such, this nature reserve is home to a diverse complement of plants and animals representing the various ecoregions, was established in 1998 to protect 50,691 hectares of rocky-mountains surrounded by vast steppes. Khar Yamaat’s unique geological formation and assemblage of ecosystems have, since then, become an area of focus for environmental restoration and a center for research and monitoring. In general, the habitats of the nature reserve were found to be largely intact, if stressed to varying degrees, but wildlife populations appeared to be low. Anthropogenic influences, particularly heavy grazing by livestock, have threatened some species of vascular plants with extinction and reduced the abundance and distributions of a few other species. Serious threats included excessive or illegal take of plants and animals, overgrazing by livestock, human caused wildfires, climate change and associated drought, and mining in the buffer zone. In this paper, we discuss issues of conservation and sustainable management of Khar Yamaat Nature Reserve.

Communities of Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in the Steppe of Mongolia

“…Additionally, a few wild herbivores graze the reserve, including Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), wapiti (Cervus canadensis), and Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa). Even more herder families inhabit the immediate vicinity of the nature reserve, and intensive livestock grazing represents a conservation threat, especially during the winter and spring (Bayartogtokh et al, 2021). An area like the Khar Yamaat Nature Reserve, where signifi cant numbers of both wild and domestic herbivores still occur, provides an ideal region for studying dung beetle communities.…”

“…Our study region was located in the Central Asian steppe, which has an extreme and highly variability climate by seasonal. Pastoral livestock husbandry has occurred on these grasslands at least since the Bronze Age, and nomadic animal husbandry has represented the dominant form of agriculture for thousands of years (Orlando, 2018;Bayartogtokh et al, 2021). Dung beetles are among the most prominent insects in both domestic and wild large herbivore dung in terms of their body size, diversity, abundance, and role in dung degradation.…”

Variation in Dung Removal Rates by Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in a Temperate, Dry Steppe Ecosystem

“…), eastern Mongolia, which has year-round grazing. This nature reserve is located at the junction between Central-Khalkh dry steppe, Mongol-Dahurian foreststeppe, and Eastern-Mongolian tall-grass steppe [45]. The climate is arid and continental, characterized by relatively hot summers (mean summer temperature in July: 19.5 • C), cold winters (mean winter temperature in January: −22.5 • C), dry and windy springs, and cool autumns with low humidity.…”

Conservation of Rare and Endangered Algae in Mongolia

“…Algae are one of the largest representatives of biodiversity and more than 2,200 species have been recorded in Mongolia (Bukhchuluun, 2019a). Mongolia has a wide range of relatively intact ecosystems, with sizeable natural habitat and native structure (Bayartogtokh et al, 2021). Preservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity are essential measures in determining balance within an ecosystem and giving returns in ecological and economic signifi cance.…”

“…Each country evaluates the biodiversity in their region according to the Red List categories and criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Schipmann, 2019), and more than 20 countries include algae species in their biodiversity evaluation (Azam et al, 2016). For example, 592 species of algae (Rhodophyta 39, Bacillariophyta 349, Phaeophyta four, Dinophyta 22, chlorophyte 144, Charophyta 34 species) are in Poland's Red List of algae (Sieminska et al, 2006), and 83 species are in the Bulgarian Red List (Temniskova et al, 2008), but only one species in the Korean Red List (Kim et al, 2014).…”