%0 Dataset
%T Kazakhstan's low mountains, hills, forests and oases
%J Arid Land Ecology and Resources Science Data Center
%I Arid Land Ecology and Resources Science Data Center(data.dcxjegi.cn)
%U https://data.dcxjegi.cn/portal/metadata/c4d0e858-743a-4ac2-9284-61bfe2fc48be
%W NCDC
%R 10.12389/ariddc.02197
%A Documentation Information Center
%K Remnant flora;Anthropogenic changes
%X Across the flat steppes of central Kazakhstan are scattered forests of varying size composed primarily of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and several associated tree species. These forest islands occupy relatively elevated areas, including low mountain ranges and hills formed from the weathering products of granite (and sometimes metamorphic rocks). Associated with these forest oases is an entire complex of boreal floristic elements and rare plant communities that occur far from their principal distribution areas.The forest vegetation of this region performs important climatic amelioration and soil-protection functions. However, the existence of these boreal-type forest ecosystems within the zonal steppe environment raises a number of phytogeographical and ecological questions. For many centuries they have been subject to economic use and various forms of human activity. In recent decades, anthropogenic pressure has intensified considerably.Picturesque landscapes, abundant freshwater lakes, a pleasant climate, air rich in phytoncides, and opportunities for kumis and mud therapy have made the island pine forests of the Kazakh Uplands ideal locations for health resorts, recreational facilities, tourism, and outdoor recreation. All of these factors, together with other forms of human activity, exert a substantial impact on the ecosystem and its vegetation components. They may seriously disrupt established ecological stability and deplete the genetic resources of the flora, leading to a variety of undesirable consequences.The first scientific investigations of the Kazakh Uplands were carried out in 1816 by Ivan Petrovich Shangin, an official of the Altai mining district (Shangin, 1820). He headed an expedition whose objectives included: (1) examination of known mineral deposits; (2) identification of routes leading to them; and (3) natural-history investigations, or, in the terminology of the period, research into the “three kingdoms of nature.” Shangin’s party numbered a