Uzbekistan
Official website of the Republic of Uzbekistan: www.gov.uz/en
Geography
Location of the Republic of Uzbekistan is inter-continental: Eurasia, the middle part of the Central Asian republics, the Aral Sea basin, between the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, N 37°11'-45°36 ', E 37°10'-56°. The total area is 4488 844 sq. km (including the defined area of water of 21,504 sq. km). Relief: 78.7% of the area is plain (the main one is Turan), 21,3% is mountainous. In the south - Western Pamir-Alai (up to 4643 m above sea level), in the East - Western Tien-Shan (up to 4482 m above sea level). In the north and west Uzbekistan borders with Kazakhstan, in the east - with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, in the south - with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. More than 85% of its territory consists of deserts and semi-deserts, including the largest desert in Central Asia - the Kyzyl-Kum. The northwestern part of Uzbekistan is located in the Turan lowland. The main waterways in Uzbekistan are the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers and their inflows, which spring from outside of the country. They are considered as the sources of water for irrigation, drinking and other purposes.
Climate
Main charecteristical features of the climate of Uzbekistan are the aridity, the abundance of warmth and light, continental and intra-annual variability of climatic elements. Uzbekistan is located in the intermediate zone between temperate zone (northern part of the republic) and subtropical zone (southern part of the republic), which is not marked out by climatologists and geographers, and is not separately named. Some of local winter seasons are subtropical, when the winter temperature is kept around 0°C. Along with the subtropical winters there are cold and snowless winters, when the temperature stays below 0°C for a long time or sometimes drops to -30°C. This phenomenon is explained by the intercontinental location of Uzbekistan and its remoteness from the oceans and seas. In addition, the greatest mountain systems of Himalaya and Hindu Kush isolate Uzbekistan from warm and humid air currents from the Indian Ocean. At the same time the territory of Uzbekistan is open to the north and is easily accessible to the invasion of cold arctic air masses from the Arctic Ocean.
Summer temperatures in southern Uzbekistan are close to the temperatures of the Sahara and Arabia. The republic is characterized by high standing of the sun during the whole year and the long duration of sun light. Average temperature in July is 25-30°C in the plains and foothills, and up to 32°C in the south (Termez). The absolute maximum temperatures reach 42-47°C. In the south, during some days the temperature can rise up to 50°C, at the soil surface - up to 60-70°C and on the sand - up to 80°C.
Frost-free period duration ranges from 190 to 210 days in the north and up to 270 days in the south. On the plains the annual average rainfall equals 100-200 mm and crop cultivation is impossible without irrigation. In the foothills there is a higher amount of rainfall which is about 400 mm, while in the mountains – more than 800 mm. From June to October there is almost no rainfall. In summer, humidity is very low. Soil significantly gets dry - sometimes up to one meter in depth.
Population
In the beginning of XXI century the population of Uzbekistan was more than 25 million people, which was approximately equal to 0,4% of the population of the Earth (39th place among countries of the world). In 2010 the population of the Republic of Uzbekistan became 27,5 million people, of which 3/5 are rural habitants and 2/5 are urban habitants. The capital of Uzbekistan is Tashkent. The major cities of the country are Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Namangan, Andijan, Fergana, Nukus, Kokand, Karshi. The population of Uzbekistan is multi-ethnical (there are more than 100 nationalities, which have different civil rights and opportunities).
Agriculture
48 630 sq. km or 10.84% of the land resources of Uzbekistan consist of arable land, 226 300 sq. km or 50.42% - pastures and hayfields. About 69% of the cultivated land area is irrigated.
Share of agriculture in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of Uzbekistan in the period of January-September 2010 amounted 16.2%. Up to 1 July 2010 the number of farms in the country counted 80628. In average, each farm has 62.4 hectares of land. 1.6 million people work on those farms. More than 41,000 farms are specialized in cotton and grain; more than 22,000 – in horticultural crops and grapevine; 4,000 – in vegetables, melons and gourds; more than 6,000 – in stock breeding and over 6,000 – in other directions. To this day share of farms in Gross Agricultural Product equals to 34,5%. This indicator in cotton growing is equal to 100%, in grain growing – 84%, and in cocoon production – 97%. The dominating crop in Uzbekistan is cotton (over 3 million tons of raw cotton per year). In the Republic of Uzbekistan there are cultivated grain, vegetable crops, potatoes, melons and gourds, fruit crops and grapevine.
Biodiversity
In the territory of Uzbekistan there are about 4500 species of wild higher plants and more than 2000 species of mushrooms. Among them there are 400 rare endemic and relic species (10-12% of flora), which require effective measures for their protection. Genetically the flora of Uzbekistan is related with the flora of the Mediterranean and South-Western Asia. Within its flora, there are many tanniferous, food, herbal, industrial and ornamental plants, sustainable use of which gains a high significance. However irresponsible attitude to conservation and unsustainable use of plant resources brought to their poverty. Thereby in 1991 the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan contained 163 species of plants, and in 1999 it included 301 species.
In foothills and mountains of Uzbekistan there are concentrated the greatest species diversity. In the territory of Uzbekistan the following groups of plants are presented: food plants (Rosaceae, Alliaceae, Juglandaceae, Rhamnaceae) – more than 350 species, forage plants (Poaceae, Fabaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Asteraceae) – 1700 species, herbal plants (Ranunculaceae, Papaveraceae, Astcraceae, Peganaceae) – 600 species, essential oil plants (Lamiaceae, Apiaceae) – 650 species, dye plants (Malvaceae, Papaveraceae, Asteraceae) – 150 species, oriental plants (Liliaceae, Asphodelaceae, Iridaceae, Alliaceae, Rosaceae, Asteraceae) – 270 species, spice plants (Lamiaceae) – 200 species, saponin plants (Papilionaceae) – 100 species.
Some of the species have a wide ecological amplitude – from sand and saline to rocky highland flanks. Those are represented by many species of genus Asteraceae, Aplaceae, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Bosaceae, Polygonaceae, etc. However there are more specialized species, which are widespread only in particular zones and types of substrate. For example, species of genera Calligonum L., Ammodendron Fisch, Salsola L. are typical for barchans sands; species Halocnemum strobilaceum, Salicornia europaea – for salines (alkali soil); particular species of genera Rosa, Amygdal – for stony descents; species of families Lamiaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae – for rock fissures; some species of genera Anabasis, Otostegia, Eremostachys, Salsola, Salvia – for earth stratum.
Modern fauna of vertebrates of Uzbekistan includes 676 species, of which: 108 species are mammals, 431 – birds, 58 – reptiles.
Agrobiodiversity
In Uzbekistan, species of genera Juglans, Malus, Amygdalus, Prunus, Pistacia, Crataegus, Berberis, Ribes, Hippophae and others are widely spread. Among those, Juglans, Malus, Amygdalus and Pistacia genera have a wide natural habitat area and polymorphism. N. Vavilov and M. Popov believe that the most likely center of origin of cultivated varieties of certain plants, in particular genera Malus, Pyrus, Ficus, Morus and other fruit trees are mountains and foothill areas of Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya provinces).
Uzbekistan is also rich in species composition of vegetable crops. The country is considered as the origin of onion (Allium cepa), carrot (Daucus carota), radish (Raphanus sativus), spinach (Shpinacia oleraceae), garden cress (Lepidium sativum), coriander (Coreandrum sativum), basil (Ocimum basilicum), turnip (Brassica campestris), etc. In Uzbekistan spice and aromatic plants are highly valued and used by the local population. Those are presented in the country by the species of the following genera: Bunium, Berberis, Ziziphora, Origanum, Mediasia, Mentha.
List of target fruit crops, covered by the project in Uzbekistan
Apple – Malus sp.;
Pear – Pyrus sp.;
Apricot – Armeniaca vulgaris;
Almond - Amigdalus sp.;
Walnut – Juglans regia L.;
Grapes – Vitus sp.;
Pomegranate – Punica granatum L.;
Pistachio – Pistacia vera L.;
Link to the Project website (component of Uzbekistan): www.insitu.uz