Highlights

Website page in the construction phase

Different parts of Tian Shan mountain system (translated as Celestial/ Heavenly Mountains) – one the largest and highest on the planet, combination of mountain ranges and intervening valleys and basins trending generally from east to west.
A characteristic feature of the Tian Shan ranges is the tiered/layered topography with a wide distribution of ancient leveling surfaces at different altitudes.
The massive strata of carbonate loess typical of Central Asia is a common soil-forming substrate for Central Asian soils.
The formation of soil & loess deposits is an archive that records cycles of climatic change in the Pleistocene, changing glacial and interglacial periods.
Hydropower is the main focus of Kyrgyzstan's energy sector development.
The role of Toktogul HPP in maintaining the water-energy balance in Central Asia.
The dynamism of the development of slope processes on mountain ranges as an indicator of the high rates of modern mountain building in Tian Shan.
Exceptionally high mudflow activity of river valleys.
Destructive mudflows, landslides, and rockfalls - traces of strong earthquakes in the region.
Adyrs - elevated sub-mountain eroded plains in the form of barren hills and ridges along the foothills of the Tian Shan.
Anticlinal folds of the foothills - shaft-shaped bulges and deflections of the flattened Paleozoic folded basement, seismogenic structures of the Tian Shan.
Marble quarry; high-quality decorative white marble is a product of endogenous processes at the contact of granite and calcareous strata.
The mining industry is one of the backbones of the economy of modern Kyrgyzstan.
The red beds - a complex of terrigenous rocks of the submontane plains and intermountain basins; they reflect the type of lithogenesis under Neogene dry palaeo-climatic conditions.
Red-coloured sediments from the perspective of their landscape-forming role (forming semi-desert landscapes among the steppe one) and their recreational attractiveness.
Occurrence of nitrogen low-mineralized thermal springs as a reflection of the general features of groundwater distribution and variability of chemical composition in the Tian Shan.
Typical mountain-glacial alpine relief of the Tian Shan ranges, combining the usual forms (troughs, kars, cirques, peaks) for glaciated mountains and peculiar narrow and deep troughs of Turkestan-type glaciers with moraine terraces with a hilly-ridgy relief.
Syrts (Kyrgyz syrt - highland) - a type of upland in the Tian Shan, widely used as high-altitude pastures for yaks; flat, weakly dissected relief of ancient leveled surfaces at altitudes of 3100-3800 m, treated by Pleistocene glaciers.
The landscape diversity of the Syrts from steppes and alpine meadows to cold deserts. Geological processes of the cryolithozone (permafrost area) in central Central Asia (frozen peatlands, frost mounds).

Well-developed mountain zones (desert, steppe, forest, subalpine, alpine and high-mountain deserts) and mixture of boreal, Middle and Central Asian plant species and vegetation types.
Kyrgysian steppe – the most diverse zone with many varieties from meadow-steppe to desert steppe.
Special savannoid vegetation type – one of steppe-like communities which are typical only for Middle Asia.
Cushion-like plants – another unique vegetation type developed in steppe zone on steep slopes and stony soils.
Syrts (Kyrgyz syrt - highland) – high-mountain steppe, located at the altitudes of 3,100-3,800 m above sea level (a.s.l.), often used as pastures for yaks.
A great variety of shrub communities located mainly in the steppe and subalpine zones; among them there are endemic communities with Caragana species and especially with Caragana jubata (local name "camel's tail"), one of the most powerful medicinal plants in Tibetan medicine.
Different types of forest vegetations located at different altitudes from the foothills to 3,000 m a.s.l.
Coniferous forests, presented by spruce forests with Tian Shan spruce, a local endemic.They have a typical boreal appearance with a “carpet” of green mosses on the ground surface and dwarf “evergreen” shrubs.
Broadleaved forests, composed of maples and hawthorns (Crataegus species), sometimes with wild apple trees. Mosses are absent, but the layer of grasses and herbs is well developed and diverse.
The natural pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) forests in the vicinity of the almond plantations in a near desert environment are very striking.
A unique natural walnut (Juglans regia L.) forest - a remnant of the subtropical forests of Tertiary Central Asia, located on the northern slopes of the Fergana and Chatkal mountain ranges of the western Tian Shan.
Desert vegetation on the terraces of the western part of Issyk-Kul lake, similar to the Central Asian deserts of Mongolia and China.
The vegetation of the periglacial zone contains many endemic species with special adaptations to the harsh environment at altitudes close to 4,000 m.
Stromatolites - coral-like sedimentary carbonate formations of warm, shallow waters, representing the life products of cyanobacteria, the oldest macroscopic evidence of life on Earth; very rare modern processes of stromatolite formation observed in the coastal strip of the Issyk-Kul lake.

The most common soils are various soil units within the Reference Soil Groups of Leptosols and Cambisols, formed on very diverse parent materials: various kinds of rock or unconsolidated substrates derived from a wide range of rocks, mostly in colluvial, alluvial or aeolian deposits.
Some soil units of the Reference Soil Groups of Kastanozems formed on carbonate loess substrate.
Specific Phaeozems under walnut forest vegetation.
Permafrost affected soils (Cryosols) of periglacial landscapes including palsas - peat mounds with a permanently frozen core of peat and mineral soil, and sometimes ice lenses inside.

Note. Soil names are given according to WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources, 2015).

Arable farming is the most widespread form of land use. Among the crops, one can find those common in Europe, such as cereals and corn, to rice, a typical crop in Southeast Asia.
Pasturing is incredibly important land use form in the rural areas in all altitudinal belts and parts of the Tian Shan mountains, except in the periglacial and glacial zones.
Environmental problems coursed by overgrazing.
Syrts - a specific pasture mainly for yaks, located at an altitude of 3,100-3,800 m above sea level.
Management of natural walnut and pistachio forests, as well as almond and pistachio plantations.
Apricot plantations are a new form of land use that has become increasingly widespread in the desert environment over the past decade.
Comprehensive management of river resources for agriculture; the complete redistribution of small and even medium-sized rivers (i.e. entire water withdrawals from these rivers) across the fields so that these rivers dry up totally during the growing season.

Different parts of Tian Shan mountain system (translated as Celestial/ Heavenly Mountains) – one the largest and highest on the planet, combination of mountain ranges and intervening valleys and basins trending generally from east to west.

A characteristic feature of the Tian Shan ranges is the tiered/layered topography with a wide distribution of ancient leveling surfaces at different altitudes.

The massive strata of carbonate loess typical of Central Asia is a common soil-forming substrate for Central Asian soils.

The formation of soil & loess deposits is an archive that records cycles of climatic change in the Pleistocene, changing glacial and interglacial periods.

Hydropower is the main focus of Kyrgyzstan's energy sector development.

The role of Toktogul HPP in maintaining the water-energy balance in Central Asia.

The dynamism of the development of slope processes on mountain ranges as an indicator of the high rates of modern mountain building in Tian Shan.

Exceptionally high mudflow activity of river valleys.

Destructive mudflows, landslides, and rockfalls - traces of strong earthquakes in the region.

Adyrs - elevated sub-mountain eroded plains in the form of barren hills and ridges along the foothills of the Tian Shan.

Anticlinal folds of the foothills - shaft-shaped bulges and deflections of the flattened Paleozoic folded basement, seismogenic structures of the Tian Shan.

Marble quarry; high-quality decorative white marble is a product of endogenous processes at the contact of granite and calcareous strata.

The mining industry is one of the backbones of the economy of modern Kyrgyzstan.

The red beds - a complex of terrigenous rocks of the submontane plains and intermountain basins; they reflect the type of lithogenesis under Neogene dry palaeo-climatic conditions.

Red-coloured sediments from the perspective of their landscape-forming role (forming semi-desert landscapes among the steppe one) and their recreational attractiveness.

Occurrence of nitrogen low-mineralized thermal springs as a reflection of the general features of groundwater distribution and variability of chemical composition in the Tian Shan.

Typical mountain-glacial alpine relief of the Tian Shan ranges, combining the usual forms (troughs, kars, cirques, peaks) for glaciated mountains and peculiar narrow and deep troughs of Turkestan-type glaciers with moraine terraces with a hilly-ridgy relief.

Syrts (Kyrgyz syrt - highland) - a type of upland in the Tian Shan, widely used as high-altitude pastures for yaks; flat, weakly dissected relief of ancient leveled surfaces at altitudes of 3100-3800 m, treated by Pleistocene glaciers.

The landscape diversity of the Syrts from steppes and alpine meadows to cold deserts. Geological processes of the cryolithozone (permafrost area) in central Central Asia (frozen peatlands, frost mounds).

Well-developed mountain zones (desert, steppe, forest, subalpine, alpine and high-mountain deserts) and mixture of boreal, Middle and Central Asian plant species and vegetation types.

Kyrgysian steppe – the most diverse zone with many varieties from meadow-steppe to desert steppe.

Special savannoid vegetation type – one of steppe-like communities which are typical only for Middle Asia.

Cushion-like plants – another unique vegetation type developed in steppe zone on steep slopes and stony soils.

Syrts (Kyrgyz syrt - highland) – high-mountain steppe, located at the altitudes of 3,100-3,800 m above sea level (a.s.l.), often used as pastures for yaks.

A great variety of shrub communities located mainly in the steppe and subalpine zones; among them there are endemic communities with Caragana species and especially with Caragana jubata (local name "camel's tail"), one of the most powerful medicinal plants in Tibetan medicine.

Different types of forest vegetations located at different altitudes from the foothills to 3,000 m a.s.l.

Coniferous forests, presented by spruce forests with Tian Shan spruce, a local endemic.They have a typical boreal appearance with a “carpet” of green mosses on the ground surface and dwarf “evergreen” shrubs.

Broadleaved forests, composed of maples and hawthorns (Crataegus species), sometimes with wild apple trees. Mosses are absent, but the layer of grasses and herbs is well developed and diverse.

The natural pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) forests in the vicinity of the almond plantations in a near desert environment are very striking.

A unique natural walnut (Juglans regia L.) forest - a remnant of the subtropical forests of Tertiary Central Asia, located on the northern slopes of the Fergana and Chatkal mountain ranges of the western Tian Shan.

Desert vegetation on the terraces of the western part of Issyk-Kul lake, similar to the Central Asian deserts of Mongolia and China.

The vegetation of the periglacial zone contains many endemic species with special adaptations to the harsh environment at altitudes close to 4,000 m.

Stromatolites - coral-like sedimentary carbonate formations of warm, shallow waters, representing the life products of cyanobacteria, the oldest macroscopic evidence of life on Earth; very rare modern processes of stromatolite formation observed in the coastal strip of the Issyk-Kul lake.

The most common soils are various soil units within the Reference Soil Groups of Leptosols and Cambisols, formed on very diverse parent materials: various kinds of rock or unconsolidated substrates derived from a wide range of rocks, mostly in colluvial, alluvial or aeolian deposits.

Some soil units of the Reference Soil Groups of Kastanozems formed on carbonate loess substrate.

Specific Phaeozems under walnut forest vegetation.

Permafrost affected soils (Cryosols) of periglacial landscapes including palsas - peat mounds with a permanently frozen core of peat and mineral soil, and sometimes ice lenses inside.

Note. Soil names are given according to WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources, 2015).

Arable farming is the most widespread form of land use. Among the crops, one can find those common in Europe, such as cereals and corn, to rice, a typical crop in Southeast Asia.

Pasturing is incredibly important land use form in the rural areas in all altitudinal belts and parts of the Tian Shan mountains, except in the periglacial and glacial zones.

Environmental problems coursed by overgrazing.

Syrts - a specific pasture mainly for yaks, located at an altitude of 3,100-3,800 m above sea level.

Management of natural walnut and pistachio forests, as well as almond and pistachio plantations.

Apricot plantations are a new form of land use that has become increasingly widespread in the desert environment over the past decade.

Comprehensive management of river resources for agriculture; the complete redistribution of small and even medium-sized rivers (i.e. entire water withdrawals from these rivers) across the fields so that these rivers dry up totally during the growing season.