Karakum and Taklamakan: Scientists to Compare Asia’s Two Largest Deserts
Scientists from Turkmenistan and China have completed a joint expedition to the Karakum Desert, where they studied local ecosystems and the impacts of desertification.
The study involved specialists from the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna of Turkmenistan and the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
During the expedition, researchers visited the central Karakum Desert, the Bokurdak and Yerbent areas, the Darvaza gas crater, as well as the Kaplankyr State Nature Reserve and the Repetek Biosphere Reserve. They monitored plant and animal species, collected soil samples, and conducted research related to land degradation.
The materials gathered during the expedition will be used in the preparation of a new edition of Turkmenistan’s Red Data Book and an atlas of desert plants.
Chinese scientists also plan to compare data collected in the Karakum Desert with information from the Taklamakan Desert in China. The comparison is expected to provide a better understanding of how climate change affects desert ecosystems and what measures may help preserve them in the future.
Desertification remains one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing Central Asia. Rising temperatures and increasing water scarcity continue to accelerate land degradation, making joint scientific research across the region increasingly important.
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