Alaudinskie Lakes, Chapdara Mountain, Tajikistan Photograph by O. Kosterin   Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   64,900 square miles (168,000 square kilometers) -- about the size of Washington Critical/Endangered

· Nuts and Fruit
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Nuts and Fruit

The plant life of this ecoregion is as appetizing as it is diverse. A variety of fruit and nut trees grows here, surrounded by animals of all shapes and sizes.

Special Features

The steppe grasses of this ecoregion grow alongside wild fruit and nut trees, while at the highest altitudes of the Turkistan, Alai, and Chatkal mountains, juniper forests dominate. A separate population of wild pistachio and almond trees can be found in south Tajikistan.

	Pikas are not known to hibernate, so they have to save up food for the winter. They gather fresh grasses, sedges, weeds, and other plants and then spread their collection out on exposed rocks to dry in the sun.

Wild Side

Wild stands of almond, maple, walnut, and apple trees, as well as three species of juniper, can be found in this ecoregion. The most common mammals of this ecoregion’s fruit and nut forests include wood mice, red foxes, least weasels, lynx, and wild pigs. This is also one of the few places in the world where brown bears can be found feeding on pistachios. Birds include northern goshawks, spotted flycatchers, and nightingales. Species more common to the juniper forests include Tolai hares, Turkistan red pikas, wolves, and Siberian roe deer. At higher altitudes, you can also spot cuckoos, spotted nutcrackers, white-winged grosbeaks, and black redstarts.

Cause for Concern

Agriculture, grazing, forestry, extractive industries, building construction, and recreation have caused the greatest impact on these low mountain ecosystems. Many foothill ecosystems have shown a marked decline in biodiversity.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.