Included here are the deserts and semi-deserts of eastern Transcaucasia, the precaspian lowlands including the lower reaches of the Volga and Ural rivers, the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea to the basin of Lake Ala Kul, the Ust Urt Plateau, the Turan lowland around the Aral Sea, the Karakum and Kyzyl Kum deserts, the Muyunkum Sands, Bet-Pak-Dola and the Sary-Ishikotrau sands, the footshills of the Piedmont Plains along the Kopet Dagh and extending along the Pamiro-Alai and along the western Tien Shan, the intermontane valleys of the Mirzachcul, the Karshingsky Steppe and other plains of southern Uzbekistan.

Turanian Gypsophilic (gypsum-loving) Sagebrush

Gypsum, which is composed of calcium sulphate, occurs in abundance in the weathered products of local mountains. Altogether it is estimated that there are some 400 gypsophilic species in the area and including many of the endemic genera.  Most are dwarf shrubs of various species of sagebursh such as the endemic Artemisia terrae-albae and A. turanica (Asteraceae), and usually bloom and fruit in autumn after summer dormancy. The former is the dominant over much of central Kazakhstan. There are also many thorny or spiny species like Acanthophyllum pungens, Atraphaxis spinosa, Noaea spinosissima and Sisymbrium subspinescens, and an unusual large number of tall Apiaceae often growing to heights of over 2 m. Most are perennial species and include Ferula assa-foetida, F. ferulaeoides, Hyalolena turcomanica, Munetia oeroilanica and endemic or near endemic Oedibasis apiculata (Apiaceae). Other significant species include Caragana grandiflora, Convolvulus frutescens, Ephedra distachya and Sophora griffithii. Another type of gypsophilic sagebrush is characterized by Artemisia kemrudica (kemrud). This occupies large parts of northwest Turkmenistan on the Beltau, Krasnovodsk and Ustyurt plateaus and also occurs in the delta of the Amudarya River. It is fairly uniform with an upper layer reaching heights of 100 cm. These larger shrubs include various Calligonum species, such as the endemic Calligonum alatum (Polygonaceae) and Haloxylon aphyllum (Chenopodiaceae). However, most of the species occur in the second tier with heights of between 20-40 cm. Here the dominant shrubs is Artemisia kemrudica, while other common species include Salsola arbuscula, S. gemmascens and the endemic Astragalus turcomanicus (Fabaceae). The lower (third) layer mainly consists of herbaceous elements such as Ceratocarpus utriculosus, Climacoptera lanata, Goldbachia laevigata, Tetracme quadricorus and various endemic or near endemic species like Gagea reticulata (Liliaceae), Iris longiscapa (Iridaceae), Nonea caspica (Boraginaceae) and Tulipa sogdiana (Liliaceae).  

References

Anon. 2004. Central Asia Mountain Ecosystems. Seminar on the role of ecosystems as waster suppliers. Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

Chemonics International Inc. Washington, DC. 2001. Biodiversity Assessment for Turkmenistan. Submitted to USAID Central Asian Republics Mission, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Fet, V. & Atamuradov, K. I. 1994. Biogeography and Ecology of Turkmenistan. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Paulsen, O. 1913. Transcaspian Vegetation. Journal of Ecology, 1: 133-134.

Walter, H. & Box, E. O. 1983. Central Kazakhstan. In: Ecosystems of the World 5 - Temperate Deserts and Semi-Deserts. Ed. N. E. West. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

Walter, H. & Box, E. O. 1983. Middle Asian Deserts. In: Ecosystems of the World 5 - Temperate Deserts and Semi-Deserts. Ed. N. E. West. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

Walter, H. & Box, E. O. 1983. The Karakum Desert. In: Ecosystems of the World 5 - Temperate Deserts and Semi-Deserts. Ed. N. E. West. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

Walter, H. & Box, E. O. 1983. Orobiomes of Middle Asia. In: Ecosystems of the World 5 - Temperate Deserts and Semi-Deserts. Ed. N. E. West. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

Walter, H. & Box, E. O. 1983. Caspian Lowland Biome. In: Ecosystems of the World 5 - Temperate Deserts and Semi-Deserts. Ed. N. E. West. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

Wendelbo, P. 1971. Some distributional patterns within the flora Iranica area. In: Plant Life of South-West Asia. Eds. P. H. Davies, P. C. Harper & I. C. Hedge. The Botanical Society of Edinburgh.