“Halophytes of the Aralkum Saline Desert and Adjacent Drylands
- Apr., 01, 2024
- Notice
The book was published in March 2024 under the supervision of the Arid Land Research Center (ALRC) and the International Platform for Dryland Research and Education (IPDRE), Tottori University, in cooperation with researchers in Uzbekistan.
The Aral Sea in Central Asia used to be the world’s second largest enclosed lake after the Caspian Sea, but it has largely disappeared due to are duction in of river water inflow caused by human activities. This is known as one of the worst man-made environmental disaster. As the lake shrank, the salinity of the lake water increased, and the rich fishing grounds disappeared. Salty dust storms have been generated from the old lakebed, causing health hazards to wildlife and nearby residents.
On the other hand, plants have begun to colonize the old lakebed, creating a new ecosystem called the Aralkum Desert. This book introduces a number of native species of plants called "Halophytes" that grow well on highly saline soils in the Aralkum Desert and adjacent drylands, It describes their use and potential introduction into a saline agriculture production system . We hope that this book will be useful not only for researchers but also for all interested people.
The book was produced with the support of the "BLUE-SATREPS-Uzbekistan Project" (JPMJSA 2001), a joint research project of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Halophytes of the Aralkum Saline Desert and Adjacent Drylands
Kristina TODERICH, Naoko MATSUO, Temur KHUJANAZAROV,
Khabibullo SHOMURODOV and Norikazu YAMANAKA (eds.)
| Part1 | Introduction to the Aralkum Saline Desert and Adjacent Drylands
1. History of the Aralkum Saline Desert Kristina TODERICH
2. Topography, Climate and Water Resources
3. Botanical-Geographical Zones of Uzbekistan Kristina TODERICH and Bekhzod ADILOV
4. Ecology and Physiology of Halophytes
5. Ecological Groups of Halophytes of the Aralkum Saline Desert Kristina TODERICH
6. Domestication of Wild Halophytes into a Halophytic Farming
| Part2 | Botanical Characteristics and Use of Key Halophyte Species
Prof. Toderich (left) and Prof. Yamanaka (right) with the published book.
