Important plant areas (IPAs) in the Fergana Valley (Central Asia): The badlands of the northern foothills

By

Tojibayev, Komiljon
Karimov, Farkhod
Khushbaht, Xoshimov
Jang, Changgee
Na, Nu-Ree
Park, Min-Su
Chang, Kae Sun
Gil, Hee-Young
Baasanmunkh, Shukherdorj
Choi, Hyeok Jae

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022

Original Publication

Nature conservation

Volume

49

Pages

1--30

Subjects

Central Asia , Endemic plants , Fergana Valley , Important Plant Areas

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2012-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.49.84834

 

Abstract

Here, we aimed to identify important plant areas (IPAs) in the Fergana Valley, one of the most densely human-populated regions in Central Asia with a diverse array of endemic and endangered species. The IPA programme in FV aims to identify and protect a global network of plant conservation sites. We conducted a field survey from 2018 to 2021 to re-identify specimens collected from Fergana Valley and stored at the National Herbarium of Uzbekistan (TASH). An analysis of the floristic, geobotanical and collected data allowed for the identification of the badlands in the northern foothills (Chap tract and surrounding areas) as an IPA site. We modified the interpretation of criterion A for IPAs to suit the circumstances of Mountainous Central Asia and documented the distribution of 29 species in the IPAs under these sub-criteria. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify an IPA in Uzbekistan and provide geographic coordinates with locations for the herbarium specimens used to create the IPA set for Central Asia. Our study provides a foundation for applying future IPAs in this region, addressing specific conservation challenges, such as conserving rare and endangered species that grow outside protected areas and GIS mapping of endemic species.