Kaplankyr Nature Reserve

Kaplankyr Nature Reserve is located on the southern edge of the Ustyurt plateau in the Dashoguz velayat in northern Turkmenistan. It occupies an area of 2822 km², and together with 2 reserves, which are part of its protective zone, 8210 km².

The reserve was created in 1979 for the protection and restoration of local flora and fauna (gazelle and other representatives), it is located on the Kaplankyr plateau, which is on the southern spurs of the Ustyurt plateau, on the border with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the north-west of the Dashoguz region.

In the 1980s, a study of the ecosystems of the Zaunguz Karakum, Sarykamysh depression and South-East Ustyurt was carried out in order to develop a scientific basis for the preservation and restoration of ecosystems in the region. As in other reserves, the Chronicle of Nature is kept here, and together with the staff of the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Wildlife, field trips are conducted to study the current state of biodiversity of this interesting region in the north of Turkmenistan.

It is sharply continental and very dry, with less than 100 mm of precipitation per year. Spring is short and fleeting. Dry weather usually sets in from mid-May. Herbaceous vegetation burns out. Summer is hot and long. In winter, the weather is not stable, thaws are frequent, and snow lasts 20-25 days.

Botanically and geographically, the protected area is located at the junction of the northern and southern desert subzones of the Turan lowland of the Turan province of the Asian desert region. The flora of the reserve includes 377 species of higher vascular plants from 178 genera and 46 families. More than half of the species diversity is made up of five families’ characteristic of deserts: hamsters, crucifers, asteraceae, legumes, and cereals.

26 species of mammals and 147 species of birds are registered in the Kaplankyr reserve. The protected rare species of mammals living in the reserve are gazelle, Ustyurt urial, and honey badger. In winter, herds of saigas migrate to the reserve from neighboring Karakappakia. In the 1980s, the kulan was re-acclimatized. A characteristic feature of the wildlife of the reserve is also due to the geographic location of the reserve in the zone of transition from northern to southern types of deserts. With regard to insects, in general, it can be said that beetles, locusts and termites are common on clay plains, and in sandy habitats, mosquitoes, ants, and lepidoptera; from beetles, darkling beetles and weevils.