Kazakh Steppe

• Category: Grassland, Tundra, and Human Biomes.
• Geographic Location: Asia.
• Summary: This transition area between deserts and forests contains many closed basins used by migratory waterfowl. The biome has been damaged by ill-conceived irrigation projects and nuclear bomb testing, leaving a harsh legacy for plants and animals.

Set squarely in the center of Asia, the Kazakh Steppes biome extends from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east, and includes areas of both Russia and Kazakhstan along the border between the two countries. This area constitutes the world’s largest continuous grassland. Much of the region has been plowed. Thousands of lakes and wetlands dot the terrain, however, providing vital habitat for waterfowl in a dry region. In the flat expanse of the southern Kazakh steppe, the Irghyz and Turgay Rivers flow for more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) before evaporating.

The steppes are the transition from the central Asian desert to the vast boreal spruce-fir forest that covers northern Europe and Asia. They spread across an area of extreme weather that has hot, windy summers with periodic droughts and very cold winters. The steppes contain patches of forests, called koloks, both in the northern reaches and in upland areas, that include aspen, birch, and pine.

The Kazakh steppes are believed to be where horse domestication took place about 6,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence indicates that horses were first bridled here, and that a secondary activity was related to processing mares' milk and carcass products, such as leather.

Biodiversity

Wilder regions of the steppes support diverse populations of rodents, including ground squirrels, hamsters, voles, and lemmings. They also support herds of deerlike saigas, boars, lynx, and badgers. Millions of waterfowl nest and use the wetlands and lakes for migration. Notable waterfowl sites are the Naurzum Nature Reserve in Kostanay Oblast (Province) and the Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve in Akmola Oblast, both of which are part of the Saryarka World Heritage area; the lakes of the lower Turgay and Irgiz Rivers in Aktobe Oblast; the Tobol-Ishim forest steppe of Tyumen Oblast and North Kazakhstan Oblast; and Chany Lake, Shchuchy Lake, and the Lower Bagan wetlands in Novisibirsk Oblast. These areas are designated as Wetlands of International Importance and somewhat protected under the Ramsar protocol of 1971.

Wetlands in the steppe region typically are composed of mixtures of saline, brackish, and freshwater lakes covered with reeds. The Tengiz-Korgalzhyn lakes contain the northernmost breeding area for greater flamingoes, along with breeding Dalmatian pelicans. Both species migrate south for the winter.

Scientists estimate that 800 species of plants can be found in the Kazakh Steppe biome, but there has been little concerted research review. Some of its unique species are xerophytes, plants that have adapted to water-deprived environments, and halophytes, plants that adapted to salty environments, such as in saline soils and saltwater lakes. Among the area’s grasses are Stipa zalesskii and furrowed fescue (Festuca rupicola), and sagebrushes such as Artemisia marschalliana. The most dominant vegetation is compact turf or cushion-like plants, plus lilies (Liliaceae), the bulb-generated flowering herbs of family Amaryllidaceae, and the genera Tulipa, Ornithogalum, Gagea, Ixiolirion, and Eremurus. The area is also home to varieties of Russian thistle or tumbleweed.

Water Use

On the south edge of the steppe is the Aral Sea, which is rapidly shrinking from the diversion of its two water sources: the Syr and Amu Rivers. The area of the formerly freshwater-to-brackish inland sea shown on most maps is inaccurate because most of the water has been diverted for irrigation. The drainage from agricultural land is collected in a series of canals that ultimately flow to the site of the former Kara Salt Lake or to Sarykamish Lake in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan began construction of the manmade Golden Age Lake in the Karakum Desert in 1999 to collect this drainage water. Water began flowing into the Karashor depression from newly dug canals in 2009. In the 2020s, the lake remained small and shallow, most of the water evaporating in the heat.

One side effect of the diverted water is that irrigation has saturated the ground and brought salt to the surface throughout the region. Numerous saline lakes have formed from the saturated ground, but it is hoped that a new drainage scheme will cause the water table to drop, allowing for the reclamation of saline soils. Meanwhile, the Kok-Aral Dam diverts water from the Syr River into the North Aral Sea in an effort to reestablish a smaller, more stabilized lake and return the fishing industry to the area. In 2011, carp, pike, flounder, and perch were at last caught again after a long hiatus in what is now called the Northern Aral Sea.

Vozrozhdeniya Island in the Aral Sea was used as a bioweapons laboratory. There, the former Soviet Union tested anthrax, plague, and other bacteria for weapons use. Other research was on vaccines and how long microorganisms would survive in the soil. The anthrax-contaminated area was neutralized in 2002.

Land Use

Kazakhstan’s Bayan-Aul National Park in Pavlodar Oblast contains eroded rock formations that resemble toadstools and pillars, as well as freshwater lakes in the grassland-forest patches of the steppe. On the south edge of the steppe, where it grades into the central Asian desert, is the Baykonur Cosmodrome. The former Soviet Union built it as a space center in the 1950s, and Russia now rents it from Kazakhstan under an agreement that will continue through 2050. A new alternative facility in Amur Oblast, Russia, is under construction to replace the current site.

Environmental Challenges

The human impact on the Kazakh Steppe biome continues to pose environmental challenges, ranging from fallout from the nuclear testing programs that caused many areas to deal with significant radioactive pollution to the huge irrigation projects that caused the Aral Sea level to drop so substantially that its diminished size has changed the climate in the area and left wide swaths of land subject to erosion. Acid rain from petrochemical industry sites, too, has damaged the environment within Kazakhstan and affected neighboring countries. Pollution from industrial and agricultural sources has compromised the underground water supply to an unknown extent.

Some types of wildlife here are in danger of extinction due to overall pollution levels, and the shape and dynamics of the ecosystem are expected to change with global warming pressing the drying trend further. The changing climate increases droughts and the frequency of fires in the region, stressing an already vulnerable environment. The rising temperatures also contribute to the degradation of the ecosystem, disrupting the steppe's delicate environmental balance. These habitat stresses will be a continuing challenge throughout the 21st century.

Bibliography

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Outram, Alan K., et al. “The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking.” Science 323 (2009).

Pala, Christopher. “In Northern Aral Sea, Rebound Comes with a Big Catch.” Science 334 (2011).

Shaw, Sacha. “Can Kazakhstan Meet Its Climate Goals?” New Security Beat, 29 Apr. 2024, www.newsecuritybeat.org/2024/04/can-kazakhstan-meet-its-climate-goals/#:~:text=The%20landlocked%20country%20is%20warming,on%20record%20in%20this%20century. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

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Tukhbatullin, Farid. "Turkmenistan Fails to Create Vast Lake in Karakum Desert." The Third Pole, 12 Nov. 2020, www.thethirdpole.net/en/regional-cooperation/turkmenistan-fails-to-create-vast-lake-in-karakum-desert/. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.