Ecological conservation and reclamation of arid/saline lands under agricultural system development in Kyzylkum deserts of Uzbekistan

Abstract

An effort has been made to correlate the reproductive features and special morphological characteristics of and plants with the ecological conditions of Kyzylkum Deserts. High concentration of various salts, organic pollutants, trace metals both (in soils and water) and vegetation indicates environmental problems in the whole of the Buchara oasis and reveals that serious efforts must be made in order to avoid further deterioration of Zerafshan water quality and degradation of plant communities. Reproductive structural mechanism of salt/drought tolerance of some Asiatic Salsola species under Kyzylkum desert conditions has been analyzed. Screening trials were performed and computer data base on botanical and economical potential of more than 120 native salt tolerant plants ranging from polymorphic annual and perennial species taxa, belonging to 80 gencra and 27 families, of Kyzylkum flora. It was suggested that a knowledge of reproductive tissues offers the potential to develop new plant material and re-vegetation techniques for restoration of arid/saline lands both in Uzbekistan and different areas of Central Asian deserts.