Systematic Analysis of the Flora of the Western Part of the Kyrgyz Alatau

Abstract

This study compiled and analyzed a list of all plants growing in the Merke, Araltobe, Sandyk, and Shaysandyk gorges, belonging to the western part of the Kyrgyz Alatau. Research of this kind is very important for updating the list of plant species in the territory and for agriculture since livestock walking and other work depend on the diversity of vegetation covered in certain areas. Eight hundred thirty-five species belonging to 78 families and four divisions were analyzed. Most of the species belonged to the division of flowering plants or angiosperms and consisted of 821 species. The most diverse in terms of the number of species was the Cereal family of the Angiosperms, which can be associated with a large percentage of stony, gravel, and sandy slopes and alpine and subalpine fields in the study area. This terrain is unsuitable for more fastidious species of other families, such as, for example, Rosaceae. The second place in terms of species diversity in the western part of the Kyrgyz Alatau is occupied by the legume family, in which many meadow grass species actively grow on the open slopes of the mountains. The dominant life form was perennial plants, followed by annuals, trees, biennial grasses, and shrubs. The predominance of perennial plants is associated with the specificity of the area of the study region. It is caused by low competition due to the relatively poor soil of the gorges.