DOMINANT SPECIES OF PLANTS OF THE DRAINED BOTTOM OF THE ARAL SEA AND THEIR HALOTOLERANCE
KHOLIDA MATJANOVA *
Karakalpak Research Institute of Natural Sciences, Karakalpak Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Nukus, Uzbekistan
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Changing the natural environment over the past 50 years is due to increasing anthropogenic impacts. As a result of these changes, there is a degradation of ecosystems, which is expressed in the simplification of the structure of natural systems and a decrease in their regenerative capacity. A vivid and large-scale example of anthropogenic changes in nature is the drying up of the Aral Sea, which had a disastrous effect on the ecosystems of the sea, and is accompanied by disturbance of all ecological parameters. As a result of climate aridization, soil salinization and desertification occurred, reduction of water availability of territories led to increased winds, higher air temperature, and increased degree of erosion. Researches were conducted during the last 20 years on the dried bottom of the Aral Sea. The species belonging of the dominant plants were determined according to the determinants [1,2,3]. As a result of the authors' studies, new data on the modern species composition and dominant plants of the dried Aral Sea bed and their halotolerance were obtained.
Keywords: Dried bottom of the Aral sea, ecological changes, dominant plants, halophytes, xerophytes, haloadaptation, halotholerance