Русский | | English


The natural environment

The Nuratau Mountains have a range of approximately 180 km. The highest peak is 2169 m high. It is located to the north of Samarkand and south to the Aydarkul lake. The mountains are the last refuge of the highly endangered Severtzov wild sheep (Ovis Ammon Severtzovi). This fact alone indicates the international significance of this territory. The Nuratau Nature Reserve was created in the middle of the 1970s in order to protect Severtsov’s Argali. It is located at the heart of the Nuratau Mountains and for protection reasons inaccessible for visitors. The Nature Reserve will also be the heart of the future Nuratau-Kyzylkum Biosphere Reserve. This new protected area covering a territory of approximately 10,000 square km will include not only the Nuratau Mountains but also part of the Kyzylkum Desert and a large lake system (Aidar and Tuzkan Lakes). The area contains classic Central Asian scenery, from rocky mountains, to fruit and walnut forest valleys, rolling steppe and desert, and wetlands. The biosphere reserve is a new category of protected area in Uzbekistan. It is intended to combine wildlife conservation with sustainable rural development and preservation of culture.

Due to the geographic location and habitat diversity, the future Nuratau –Kyzylkum Biosphere Reserve is remarkable for its biodiversity. Each landscape type has its own specific beauty:

Deciduous forest of Nuratau mountains constitute beautiful oases with distinctive diversity of flora and fauna. As a result of centuries-old gardening, the local population formed a unique landscape of cultivated garden-forest. In the valleys most common trees are walnut, mulberry, apricot, cherry, plum, pear, apple, eastern plane and white poplar. On the mountain slopes other types of trees such as Zeravshan archa, pistachio tree, common buckthorn, maple, apple-tree, hawthorn and Caucasian hackberry are widespread. The Nuratau mountains are home of a variety of bird species such as Black Stork (Ciconia nigra), Lammergeyer (Gypaetus barbatus), Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus), Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus), Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Saker falcon (Falco cherrug), Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni), Little Swift (Apus affinus), Eurasian Crag-Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis), Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius), Chukar ( Alectoris chukar) and different wheatears. The mountain valleys attract Oriole (Oriolus oriolus), Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), Turkestan Tit (Parus bocharensis), Grey-headed Goldfinch ( Carduelis caniceps) and many others.

Stone marten (Martes foina) and porcupine (Hystrix indica) are typical mammals of this type of ecosystem. Different types of bats live in caves and niches. As mentioned above, rocky mountainsides and slide-rocks are feeding and resting place for Severtsov wild sheep (Ovis ammon severtzovi).

Sand desert with its herbaceous vegetation is for many species an important breeding place and in spring and autumn a popular stop over for migratory birds. Birds to be found in this habitat are Great Bustard (Otis tarda), Little Bustard (Otis tetrax), Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata), Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus) and Black Bellied Sand Grouse (Pterocles orientalis), Every spring thousands of Demoiselle Cranes (Anthropoides virgo) gather in the steppe. Rare types of reptiles such as giant lizard (Varanus griseus), Central Asian tortoise (Testudo horsfieldi), Plate-tailed Gecko (Terratoscincus scincus) and Asian Ablepharous (Ablepharus pannonicus) can be found in the desert.

The Aydarkul and Tuzkan lakes are the biggest habitats in the region and important breeding, resting and wintering area for more than a hundred types of birds. Eleven of them are listed in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus), Little Cormorant (Phalacrocoraх pygmaeus), Red-Breasted Goose (Rufibrenta ruficollis), Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erytropus), Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca), Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus), Imperial Eagle (Aquila heIiасa), Pallas" Sea Eagle (Haliaetus leucoryphus), White-tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaetus albicilla), Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus) and Sociable Plover (Chettusia gregaria).

The area also accommodates a wide range of mammals. Approximately 40% of mammal species registered in Uzbekistan live on the territory of the future Nuratau-Kyzylkum Biosphere Reserve. Wolf (Canis lupus), Jackal (Canis aureus), Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Corsac Fox (Vulpes corsak), Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), Central Asian Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) are just few examples of mammals living in the region.