Turkmenistan - Repetek Biosphere State Reserve

The Repetek State Biosphere Reserve is situated in the south-eastern Karakum desert, near the Repetek railway station. Its typical landscape is arid, with large, hummocky, ridged, fixed sand dunes in some areas, large areas of sand dune and valley-like depressions. The ridges are 15-20m in height and 8-10km in length. The depressions, which lie adjacent to the slopes of the ridges, are as much as several hundred metres wide and stretch for 3-7 km. Depressions are characterised by lower elevations and gradually pass into small hummocky ridges of geologically older sandy areas. This is one of the hottest regions in Central Asia and the climate is typical for southern (extra-tropical) deserts. The soils have sandy subsoils, and soil-formation ere is very slow. The flora consists of 21 trees, 104 grasses, eight mushrooms, one moss, 68 soil algae and 197 fungi. The rare Ammodendron conollyi, Calligonum sp. and Aristih sp. grow in the sandy dunes, while white saxaul Haloxylonpersicum, Calligonum sp. and Astragalus sp. are present in fixed sands with sedge communities, Black saxaul Haloxylon clphyllum grows in the valley-like depressions. Cattle breeding and grazing are camed out in the adjacent areas. Small villages and stations are located along the railway and road that cross the central part of the IBA from south-west to north-east.