| Forest Resources |
Pressure
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The indicators for this section:
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Kazakhstan | |
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| F or the last years there was a widespread consumer attitude to forests. It led to a sharp reduction of its operational reserves and a considerable loss of its protective and nature protective functions. As a result of intensive development of natural resources and decreased anthropogenic loads, the process of desertification of the territories strengthened. Wild fruit and flood-land forests are subject to a particularly strong degradation. Only throughout the Kyzylorda oblast for the last 35 years more than 100 thousand hectares were destructed. |
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Felling and fires exhaust the best forests of the Pre-Irtysh area and the Kazakhstan Altai. Dense felling only in river basins of the Bukhtarma and Uba stipulated loss of the Irtysh river flow (more than a billion of cubic metres a year). Under existing conditions of power deficit wood procurement by population considerably increased. The felling areas increased accordingly. Throughout the Southern Kazakhstan region for 3 years they increased by 3,000 hectares. |
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During the last decades the area of turangai, oleaster and willow in the flood-lands of the SyrDarya, Ili, Karatal and other rivers decreased 3 times.! |
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In 1996, 1003 forest fires were registered. They damaged 10.7 thousand hectares of forest area. 86.7 thousand m³ of standing timber were damaged and destroyed. Fires had particular disastrous effects on coniferous forests.
For the last years damage caused by forest fires increased 6 times. Total damage sums to forestry caused by fires estimated 23.9 million tenge*. The largest forest fires are registered in Semipalatinsk (4,504 hectares), Pavlodar (2,750), Kustanai (1,134) forestries. |
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713 fires were caused by population fault on the lands of forest fund that accounts for 71.5% of their total area. In 1997 the forests occupying the area over 200 thousand hectares were destructed by fires. More than 12 thousand hectares of forests of the Bayan-Aul national natural park were burnt down, a larger part of unique man grown pine forests of the Kalbin upland was destructed by fire. Suburbs of Semipalatinsk earlier covered by famous winding pine forests have been deforested. Large fires occurred in mountainous forests of the North Tien-Shan, on the territory of the Ile-Alatau national natural park.
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Kyrgyzstan | |
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udging by climatic conditions and data of soil composition and also by studying historical documents it can be supposed that long ago forests occupied much larger country's area. The most important reason for exhaustion and disappearance of forests was availability of millions of grazing cattle, chiefly sheep.
At present all forest ecosystems are in extremely dangerous situation. For the last 50 years their area decreased by a half. Non-systematic and unwarranted fellings, cattle grazing, conventionally dense felling for procurements of burl and high quality nut wood led to such situation. |
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There is a great concern about the decision of felling of aged trees in fir-woods. This phenomenon will lead to an irreversible loss of their mature composition and further degradation. |
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Among forest ecosystems, nut forests are of the greatest importance as a source of profits for forestries and partially for the population due to walnut, fruit and berry yields. These territories are unique due to their compactness and genetic variety. |
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These forests have valuable nut wood and last years the cases of illegal felling of nut forests for the purpose of sale and its utilisation, as a kind of fuel became more frequent. The struggle measures do not give a proper result. Annually grown planting material of arboreal species in the number of 20 million units is supposed to provide forest increase by 10-15 thousand hectares. However, violation of growing technology, damages caused by cattle grazing and other factors of anthropogenic pressure promote an insignificant forest reproduction.
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Juniper forests suffered greatly. Their forest reproduction is only 300 hectares a year, but there are 161 thousand hectares on the list, which means that only 0.2% of the planted forests is reproduced. |
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Decrease of forest covered areas is stipulated by fires both of natural and anthropogenic factors. For the period from 1990 to 1997, 116 cases of forest fires have been observed. Forest area damaged by fires, accounts for approximately 0.57 hectares and the volume of burnt and damaged standing timber is 1.4 thousand m³. Decrease of forest areas, chemical treatment of forest plantations, forest fires, economic cultivation of mountainous forests and wild berry plantations led to infringement of their natural reproduction, decrease a number of insects, birds and many species of animals and plants. |
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Decrease of forest covered area is accompanied by soil erosion, destruction of mountain slopes and increase of landslides.
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Tadjikistan | |
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| F orests on the territory of modern Tajikistan are subject to a considerable anthropogenic pressure. Numerous investigations of geographical, botanical and other scientific expeditions proved that forests had covered larger areas of the republic territory not long ago. From year to year pressure on forests increased considerably. Unique tugai thickets which were spread in many corners of the republic river valleys, at present are practically destroyed and account not more than 0.6% of the total area. But at the beginning of the 20th century tugai forests (riparian) accounted for 4.9% of the total forest area of last period. |
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Two main factors are considered to be the reasons for decrease of tugai forests: fires, partial felling aiming at using empty areas as arable lands, and utilisation of water for irrigation. Valuable species of pistachio forests were cut down, to use empty areas for growing vine yards. Many of them are neglected at present. At present many of sparse growth of pistachio trees suffered from cattle and collectors of pistachios. Reduction of gas and coal delivery caused increase of illegal felling of forest near densely populated regions, including felling within settlements. As a whole, there is a tendency for mountain forests and shrub plants to disappear. Deforestation and forest degradation exceed natural forest increase not less than 1.5 times. |
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In some regions, deforestation exceeds a natural increase and man-made forest planting more than 2.4 times. Such situation can be explained by 2 factors: firstly - economic difficulties and population poverty have a direct effect on forest state, secondly - low natural reproduction of forests doesn't promote stabilisation and improvement of forest state. There is a great concern about arboreal-shrubs cover of the Pamir due to exceeding exploitation of pastures and shortage of different kinds of fuel especially coal.
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Turkmenistan |  |
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onsiderable changes took place in Turkmenistan state forest fund. For the period from 1983 to 1988 the total area of forests decreased by 74 thousand hectares at the expense of transition of forestlands to enterprises and different organisations. Forest covered land areas decreased by 993.9 thousand hectares. The decrease of these areas took place in the Dyshkhovuz and Lebap veloyats (regions). Decrease of forest covered area became possible due to its transference to over-shrubbed zones, pastures, and planting of semi-shrubs. Due to the utilisation of arboreal-shrubs as a source of fuel, food and root products, there has been a degradation.
Utilisation of juniper and its conifer as fuel and also in medicine decreased their resources. At present juniper forests preserved in almost inaccessible mountain slopes (more than 1000 meters above the sea level). There is an analogous situation with arboreal-shrub vegetation of deserts. Irrational use of white saksaul (haloxylon) pastures for many years (over- pasturing, felling for fuel) led to the replacement by kandymnik (colligonum murex). Willow and oleaster formations, relating to arboreal-shrub vegetation of river valleys preserved in small areas (fragments) as a result of intensive felling. There are only small groups of trees (up to 15 meters height) remained from turangai reparians. Dwarfish shrubs of verdure origin represent tamarisk plantations. At the same time degradation of tamarisk reparians and their replacement by communities of chigil is being observed. This process is being observed in the lowlands of the Atrek River. Disastrous reduction of reparian community occurred for the last 40-50 years. It is connected with flow regulation of the Atrek River and irrigation in the valleys of its tributaries.
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Uzbekistan | |
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s a result of rooting out of reparians, the area of flood-land forests was reduced more than 10 times. Rooting out of forests for converting them into arable lands became a reason for the second salinisation of adjoining lands, increase water and wind erosion.
In valleys and on mountain slopes, arboreal plantations continue to fell down. As a result of a groundless ploughing up of foot-hills and semi-desert pastures, felling of saksaul (haloxylon), juniper and other trees and shrubs, excessive procurement of wormwood (absinth), the pasture area decreased by 6.5 million hectares as compared to 1950s. |
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Rooting out of mountain and reparian forest, over-pasturing, non-observance of water regime of protected zones, water pollution in rivers and reservoirs and also catastrophic drying off of the Aral Sea led to destruction of wild fauna habitat, loss of species composition, number decrease, worsening of their reproduction in natural conditions. Reduction of forest covered areas is going on, efforts of the State Committee on forestry to stop it by forest rehabilitation activity, were not successful because forest making species take roots very slowly.
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