Most of Kalmykia is located on the Caspian lowland below the level of the World Ocean. The main natural zones here are steppe, desert and semi-desert.
There are very few forests in the republic, but there are enough water bodies. The largest lake is Manych-Gudilo, which is a state reserve. There are also Sarpinsky and Sostinsky lakes, the Yashalta salt lake.
The Volga and Manych flow through the territory of Kalmykia. The largest water resource is the Caspian Sea. The republic does not have flashy and lush landscapes, but there is a discreet charm of steppe landscapes, the charm of which is revealed gradually.
Flora of Kalmykia
The vegetation of Kalmykia exists in harsh conditions: saline soils and a sharply continental climate determine the unique composition of the flora. There are many endemics here - plants that grow only here. There are more than 800 plant species in the republic, belonging to 80 families. Of these, about 300 species are of economic importance and occupy pasture lands, and 100 species are medicinal plants. Anthropogenic factors lead to degradation of the flora of Kalmykia: many species degenerate, disappear, becoming completely unviable, 16 species are listed in the Red Book.
To save ecosystems in Kalmykia, the Black Lands reserve was created, which includes Lake Manych-Gudilo. Scientists are trying to preserve plants, many of which play a soil-protective role, for example: astragalus, kochia, grate, teresken, juzgun and others.
The steppes are dominated by cereal plants - feather grass and fescue. Various types of drought-resistant wormwood and camel thorn are common in deserts and semi-deserts. In April, tulips begin to bloom in the Kalmyk steppes. There are several types of them here. The spectacle is unforgettable; many come specially to see the huge flower carpets. They bloom especially beautifully on the shores of Lake Manych. The republic annually hosts a tulip festival.
Fauna of Kalmykia
The republic's fauna includes 60 species of mammals, most of which are rodents. These are gophers, brown hares, hedgehogs, and jerboas. A unique animal, a predatory mammal of the mustelid family, is listed in the Red Book. There are also predators - wolves, foxes, corsacs, ferrets, raccoon dogs.
The wild steppe antelope saiga is the pride of Kalmykia. But it is on the verge of extinction due to poaching and high demand for horns. Human development of semi-desert zones has led to the displacement of saigas into an unfavorable habitat - deserts, where their numbers are steadily declining. There are also a lot of wild boars in the republic.
The Kalmyk Bactrian camel is one of the main values of Kalmykia. It provides milk, wool and meat. Bred in breeding farms.
More than 150 species of birds live here: larks, herons, gulls, swans, geese, many species of ducks and ducks. The Red Book includes the pink and Dalmatian pelican, the long-legged and imperial eagles, the white-tailed eagle and many others.
In Kalmykia, seasonal hunting of predatory and fur-bearing animals, as well as flying and waterfowl is permitted.
Commercial fish species are found in the rivers and lakes of the republic, as well as in the Caspian Sea. These are sturgeon, pike, pike perch, catfish, carp, bream, rudd, crucian carp, perch, herring, roach.
Climate in Kalmykia
The climate in the republic is harsh, sharply continental. This means very dry and hot summers with an average July temperature of 25.5 degrees. Warm weather continues up to 275 days a year. A special feature of the summer period are strong hot winds. Local residents use the energy of dry winds: there are quite a few windmills in the republic. There are even solid investment projects for the use of wind energy resources.
Winter in Kalmykia has little snow and is cold; the average temperature in January is 7 - 12 degrees. In general, winter is unstable, alternating thaws and snowstorms create ice and icing of pastures.
Spring and autumn are more comfortable times, when the steppes bloom, hunting for animals and birds begins, and fishing comes to life.
I. Literature Review
The influence of arid conditions on the basic physiological processes in plants
II. Materials and methods
Place of growth and objects of study
Determination of water regime indicators
Determination of transpiration rate
Determination of total water content
Determination of growth parameters
Statistical processing of results
III. Results and its discussion
Water regime, growth and productivity of white wormwood and prostrate grass growing in Kalmykia
Comparative characteristics of growth parameters and productivity of the studied plants
CONCLUSIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Biological characteristics of common twig and white wormwood
Taxonomy:
Division: Magnliophyta
Class: Magnolipsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Chenopodiaceae
Type: prostrate
Synonyms.
Salsola prostrata L., Chenopodium angustatum All.
Prutnyak, creeping kochia, red wormwood, sage.
Biological features of prostrate twig:
Xerophytic perennial subshrub, less often spring subshrub, 30-120 cm in height, with ascending branches and a powerful, deeply penetrating root system. The entire plant is slightly or heavily pubescent. Leaves are 0.6-1.5 cm long and 0.05-0.28 cm wide, from lanceolate to linear (filamentous). The fruit is a glomerulus. An exceptionally light-loving and wind-pollinated plant. Flowering and seed ripening ends in October-November. 2n =18, 36, 54.
The species grows in dry-steppe, semi-desert and desert zones, from plains to the upper mountain belt (up to 3800 m above sea level), on sand, salt licks, and sometimes on salt marshes where 90-350 mm of precipitation falls per year. A promising desert forage plant. It is characterized by high nutritional properties and stable yield. It is a long-growing plant (200-230 days in the conditions of Kazakhstan), due to which it can be used as pasture food in almost all seasons of the year. Suitable for use as a perennial component when creating cultivated pastures in extreme conditions of the arid zone.
Taxonomy:
Division: Magnliophyta
Class: Magnolipsida
Order: Asteralis
Family: Astraceae
Genus: Artemisia
Type: Absinthium
Biological features of wormwood (white):
Perennial herbaceous rhizomatous plant, 50-125 cm high, with a strong specific odor. The rhizome is short with a taproot, branched root and adventitious buds located on the basal neck. The leaves and stems are grayish-silver, densely covered with short hairs. The stems are straight, slightly ribbed, branched in the upper part, often forming short, sterile shoots with long petioles at the base. thrice-pinnately dissected leaves, 6-9 cm long, 3-7 cm wide. The middle stem leaves are short-petiolate, twice pinnately dissected, the upper ones are three-incised or entire. The lobules of all leaves are linear-oblong, obtuse-pointed, from 3-5 to 15-20 mm long, 1-4 mm wide.
The inflorescences are spherical drooping baskets 2.5-3.5 mm in diameter, collected on short branches with one-sided racemes, in turn forming a narrow pyramidal panicle. The wrapper of the baskets is tiled; Its outer leaves are linear, the inner leaves are broadly elliptic, obtuse, membranous along the edges. The general bed of the basket has whitish hairs, almost equal in length to the flowers. Each basket has about 85 yellow flowers. All flowers are tubular, small, with no calyx. There are usually 25 marginal flowers, they are narrow-tubular, pistillate; There are usually 60 medians; they are broad-tubular and bisexual. Stamens 5; pistil with lower single-locular ovary, style and two stigmas.
The fruits are brownish, oblong, pointed achenes, about 1 mm long, lacking a tuft. The weight of 1000 seeds is about 0.1 g. It blooms in June - August; the fruits ripen in August - September. In medicine, the herb (flowering leafy tops) and leaves of wormwood are used.
A close species is Sievers's wormwood - Artemisia sieversiana Willd. differs from wormwood in having a strongly ribbed stem and less pubescence, giving the plant a gray-green color. The baskets of Artemisia Sievers are larger - 4-6 mm in diameter, containing up to 100 flowers. Its use in scientific medicine is not allowed.
Natural and climatic conditions of Kalmykia
The region is located in zones of steppes, semi-deserts and deserts and occupies an area with a total area of 75.9 thousand square meters. km., which is larger than the territory of such states in Western Europe as Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands combined.
The republic is located in the south-east of the European part of the Russian Federation. In the west it borders with the Rostov region, in the north and northwest - with the Volgograd region, in the east - with the Astrakhan region, in the south - with the Republic of Dagestan and in the southwest - with the Stavropol Territory. The length of the territory of the republic from north to south is 448 km, and from west to east - 423 km.
On the territory of Kalmykia, three natural and economic zones are conventionally distinguished: western, central and eastern. The western zone covers the territories of the Gorodovikovsky and Yashaltinsky districts, the central zone - the territories of the Maloderbetovsky, Sarpinsky, Ketchenerovsky, Tselinny, Priyutnensky and Iki-Burulsky districts, the eastern zone - the territories of the Oktyabrsky, Yustinsky, Yashkulsky, Chernozemelsky and Lagansky districts. The most favorable soil and climatic conditions are the western zone.
A very large specific territory of the eastern zone is the so-called Black Lands.
From the south, the territory of Kalmykia is limited by the Kuma-Manych depression and the Manych and Kuma rivers, in the south-eastern part it is washed by the Caspian Sea, in the north-east, in a small area, the border of the republic approaches the Volga River, and in the north-west is the Ergeninskaya Upland. Within the territory of the republic, the northern part of the Caspian lowland is called the Sarpinskaya lowland, and in its southern part there are the Black Lands. The dominant type of relief of the republic, occupying most of its territory, is plains.
The climate of the republic is sharply continental - summers are hot and very dry, winters have little snow, sometimes with extreme cold. The continental climate increases significantly from west to east. Average January temperatures throughout the republic are negative: from -7...-9 in the southern and southwestern parts of the republic to -10 -12 in the north. The lowest temperatures sometimes reach -35 and above in the northern regions. A special feature of the climate is the significant duration of sunny days per year - 280. The duration of the warm period is 240 - 275 days. Average July temperatures are 23.5-25.5. The absolute maximum temperature in hot years reaches 40-44.
An increase in air temperature is observed from north to south and southeast of the republic. In winter, there are thaws, on some days there are snowstorms, and sometimes the resulting ice damages agriculture, causing icing of the grass of pastures and winter crops.
A specific feature of the territory of the republic are droughts and dry winds: in the summer there are up to 120 dry wind days. The region is the driest in the south of European Russia. The annual precipitation is 210-340 mm. According to the conditions of moisture supply in the republic, four main agroclimatic regions are distinguished: very dry, dry, very dry, arid.
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I have been dreaming about a trip to Kalmykia for a long time. And after exactly three years ago our friends went, my desire to visit there became even stronger.
My husband promised that we would definitely go there. But, as you know, they wait three years for what was promised. 🙂
Lion at the entrance of the Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni
In addition, there was another good reason - my husband’s brother definitely wanted to go on a trip to the Kalmyk steppes with us, but he kept getting carried away somewhere, now, then in...
On the eve of the Year of the Horse, they sent me an exotic gift,. And soon we ourselves were tying prayer flags at Buddhist shrines...
Well, some purely pragmatic considerations also influenced: the roads of Kalmykia are deserted, in winter it is better to drive around with two cars.
Be that as it may, another dream of mine finally came true and we spent these New Year holidays in the European patrimony of Buddhism.
Sign at the entrance to the Republic of Kalmykia
In 5 days we traveled all over Kalmykia, from the border of the Rostov region almost to the Volgograd region itself. We drove one and a half thousand kilometers, learned what the Kalmyk off-road is,
Crossing a frozen stream in the Kalmyk steppe
visited,
We barely found Syakusn-Sume in the fog...
Kalmyk wind power plant disappointed...
we went to a natural monument and a place sacred to all Kalmyks, Purdash-bagshi, which stands alone in a very picturesque place a few kilometers from the village of Khar-Buluk,
And, of course, we visited the sights of Elista more than once.
The Seven Days Pagoda is especially beautiful at night
But I won’t rush and will tell you everything in order...
What impressed you about Kalmykia?
First of all, the people left a deep impression. Kalmyks are very hospitable, smiling and friendly. Sometimes we didn’t even have time to ask questions, as they themselves introduced us to their culture, traditions, customs, explaining everything very clearly. I have never seen anything like this anywhere before.
Secondly, the deserted spaces of the Kalmyk steppe were shocked.
The endless steppes of Kalmykia
Here you can drive tens of kilometers without meeting a soul.
The roads of Kalmykia are deserted in winter...
Even near Elista itself, settlements are quite far from each other. When we drove from Elista towards Volgograd, we came across the first working gas station 80 kilometers from the capital of the republic.
And, of course, I was amazed by the exotic atmosphere itself.
You know very well that you are in Russia, while there are very few people with Slavic appearance on the streets, and at the same time everyone speaks Russian (I heard the local speech only once, and then, to be honest, I’m not one hundred percent sure , that it was the Kalmyk language, I’m not familiar with it, and who knows, maybe they were Korean, Mongolian or Japanese tourists), and around there were khuruls, pagodas and stupas...
Altn Bosch, Golden Gate in Elista
That's the only thing worth coming here for.
Pros and cons of winter travel to Kalmykia
There is only one undeniable advantage of traveling for the New Year holidays: there are very few tourists in Kalmykia in winter. No one bumps elbows at local landmarks.
Prayer wheels at the Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni
But, alas, we had a few more disadvantages.
on the way to City Chess
Firstly, during the New Year holidays in Elista, all museums were closed, with the exception of the Museum of Buddhism on the territory of the Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni. We diligently, starting from January 3, called and stopped by the National Museum of Kalmykia.
Yes, we would be glad to welcome you!
But no one answered the phone, and the doors were closed.
...but the National Museum of Kalmykia was closed all the time...
As for the Chess Museum in City Chess, they immediately told us that it would definitely open no earlier than January 8th.
The Chess Museum was closed, but at least we saw the Chess Palace itself
Secondly, many cafes and hotels also have holidays during the New Year holidays. We solved the housing issue simply: we rented apartments.
We lived in this house, near the monument to Kalmyk shepherds “Master of the Steppe”, on the very outskirts of Elista
And from our window you can see City Chess Square... :)
But we were able to taste national food at the Kalmyk Kitchen cafe only on January 6 and 7, already at the end of our trip.
Thirdly, it is very windy here in winter. And even with a slight frost of -2 degrees in the steppe, you freeze so much that it doesn’t seem a little at all.
The horses of the wind in Syakusn-Syum were ringing with ice in the wind...
I will tell you about Kalmyk cuisine separately, it deserves it. As, indeed, everything else.
But, to be honest, despite all the disadvantages of winter travel, we were pleased with the trip to this hospitable and exotic republic.
Triumphal Arch on Lenin Square in Elista
And we will definitely return here. When it will be warm…
Have you been to Kalmykia? How was it?
© Galina Shefer, “Roads of the World” website, 2014. Copying text and photos is prohibited. All rights reserved.
Kalmykia is a land of endless deserts and steppes, a region with ancient culture and history, unique fauna and flora. Its area is about 77 thousand square kilometers, which is even larger than countries such as Switzerland and Belgium. On the territory of Kalmykia there is a large number of amazing, most beautiful places and attractions that can be captured in photos and videos. Unique natural monuments, protected areas, cities of the Golden Horde, the Great Silk Road, the heritage of the Khazars - all this attracts many tourists to the republic.
Kalmyk steppe
The endless wide steppes are the heritage and main attraction of Kalmykia. The fields are especially beautiful at the end of April, when thousands of tulips bloom on the sun-scorched steppe.
An environmental festival is held here every year, the purpose of which is to preserve natural wealth and attract new travelers. In addition to admiring the flowering fields, guests can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of Kalmyk traditions: ride camels and horses, try national dishes, archery, and practice national wrestling.
Vodny Island
One of the main attractions of Lake Manych-Gudilo, located in the Black Lands Nature Reserve, is Vodny Island. This is a hilly area of land with a sharp cliff on one side and gentle banks on the other. It is constantly windy in this area, the water in the lake rises with huge waves, some reaching a height of 12-13 meters.
Only steppe plants grow on the island - wormwood, thyme, fescue. It is also home to a population of wild mustangs. There are many legends surrounding their appearance, but in fact this is the result of a calculation error during the construction of a water canal between the Kuban and Egorlyk rivers. When the canal was built and the water was released, the latter flowed into the surrounding area and flooded the pastures, leaving only a few islands on which the horses remained trapped.
Lake Tsagan-Khag
A salty, drying reservoir in the Priyutnensky region of Kalmykia on the territory of the Rostovsky nature reserve on its fourth island section. Tsagan-Khag is a small body of water formed from an ancient strait that connected the Caspian and Black seas at the site of the current Kuma-Manych depression.
From the Kalmyk language the name Tsaga-Khag is translated as “white silt”, this is due to the fact that the lake is located on a saline area. During dry periods, Tsagan-Khag dries out completely, leaving a salt crust on the surface, and in the spring it is filled with meltwater flowing from the slopes of the Ergeninskaya Upland.
Lake Tsaryk
One of the salty reservoirs of the Yashaltinsky district of the Republic of Kalmykia is located near the village of Solenoye. Its area is up to 18.5 square kilometers.
Tsaryk is part of the Manych group of lakes and is of relict origin. This means that it appeared as a result of the formation of cumulative forms such as spits and spits, which is of natural value to scientists. As a rule, by the end of summer the lake partially or completely dries up, and then returns to its original appearance.
Lake Naked Liman
Located in Kalmykia, west of the village of Priyutnoye, in the central part of the Kuma-Manych depression. The lake is part of the system of Burukshun estuaries, natural reservoirs that are located on the territory of Kalmykia and Stavropol. And it is the largest of them - its length is about 9 kilometers, width - 1 kilometer.
The bare estuary is of relict origin: it is the remnant of a large strait that once connected the Caspian and Black Seas. Currently, the reservoir becomes shallow in the summer, its banks are covered with steppe grasses, and in the autumn the basin is filled with water again.
Small Yashalta Lake
One of 2 large salty reservoirs (Small and Large Yashalta), which are located near the village of Yashalta. The small lake covers an area of 12.5 square kilometers, the length of the reservoir reaches 5 kilometers, the width is 3 kilometers.
Maloye Yashaltinskoe differs from other lakes of the Manych group in its unique composition of water and bottom sediments, which have a pronounced therapeutic effect. Researchers have confirmed the healing properties of lake sediments. Experts recommend spending no more than 30-60 minutes in water, this time is enough to alleviate the condition of some diseases and feel a surge of strength.
Lake Deed-Khulsun
90 kilometers east of the city of Elista there is a beautiful lake with the interesting name Deed-Khulsun. Translated from the Kalmyk language it means “upper reeds”. Indeed, about 40% of the lake’s surface is occupied by marine reeds, reeds and cattails - plants that are often called reeds.
Until 1976, on the site of a reservoir about 4 kilometers wide and 14 kilometers long, there was a tract that filled with water during floods and almost completely dried up during dry times. After the launch of the irrigation and watering system, water began to flow into the tract, and as a result it turned into a large reservoir.
Deed Khulsun is included in the list of wetlands that are of international importance as habitat for a large number of species of waterfowl.
Reserve Black Lands
It is located in the semi-desert zone on part of the Caspian Lowland, which is located in the southeast of Kalmykia between the lower reaches of the Volga River and the Ergeninskaya Upland. The Black Lands got their name due to the lack of snow cover in winter and the abundance of black wormwood with dark branches. The area is interesting because there are 2 different habitats: the wetlands around the lake and the Kalmyk steppes.
The symbol of the Black Lands is the saiga antelope. In addition, there are many reptiles here - lizards, boas, snakes, vipers. Mammals include corsacs, hares, hedgehogs, jerboas and saigas.
In these places there is the salt lake Manych-Gudilo, the Manych River and hot springs, the water temperature of which reaches 110-120 degrees Celsius.
The nature here is incredibly beautiful: desert steppes of wormwood, feather grass and chamomile. Camel thorns are also found, and in the area of Lake Manych-Gudilo there are steppes with Lessing's feather grass. However, the most important decoration of the Black Lands are considered to be Schrenk's tulips, which grow on an island that can be reached by boat.
Khanata Nature Reserve
A natural reserve of regional significance was founded in 1963. It is located within the Caspian and Sarpinskaya lowlands. The main purpose of creating the Khanata reserve is the protection of shorebirds and waterfowl.
The only population of gray cranes nesting in Kalmykia permanently lives here. The migration routes of aquatic and waterfowl to the Caspian Sea pass through the string of Sarpinsky lakes. The northern parts of Khanata are inhabited by streptetas, gray partridge, cranes, demoiselle cranes and other bird species.
Sarpinsky reserve
The Sarpinsky State Nature Reserve, which has zoological status, was created in 1987. It is located on the territory of the Yustinsky, Yashkulsky, Ketchenerovsky districts of Kalmykia, on a vast plain called the Sarpinskaya Lowland. Its area is 196,000 hectares.
The fauna of the reserve is quite poor, mammals are represented by a group of rodents (small jerboa, ground squirrel, woolly jerboa, tarbagan, ground hare); Among the insectivores, the eared hedgehog is common; Among the predators are fox, wolf, steppe polecat, corsac fox.
The purpose of creating the Sarpinsky reserve is the restoration, conservation, reproduction of rare, valuable and endangered species of animals, medicinal and endangered plants. The objects of protection are the endemic Eurasian steppes - the steppe eagle, saiga, demoiselle crane, buzzard, bustard and some plant communities.
Mekletinsky reserve
In the eastern part of the Caspian lowland on the territory of the Chernozemelsky region of Kalmykia, a natural reserve called “Mekletinsky” was created in 1988. The main goal of its foundation is to preserve the unique population of saiga and those animals that were listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. The main objects of protection are: saiga, steppe eagle, demoiselle crane, long-legged eagle, common eagle, etc.
The main type of vegetation on the territory of the reserve is wormwood-turfgrass steppes. They are dominated by 2 types of communities: subshrubs (chamomile, wormwood, ephedra) and xerophytic grasses (wheatgrass, fescue, feather grass, tonkonog). Near the drying up salt lakes (the largest is Koltan-Nur) there are shrubs such as tamarix, juzkuzgan and others.
Natural monument “Lonely Poplar” in Khar-Buluk
Among the steppe near the village of Khar-Buluk grows an amazing natural monument of republican significance - “Lonely Poplar”. The height of this majestic tree is 37 meters, and the girth of the trunk at the level of a person’s waist is 5 meters.
According to legend, the tree was planted by the Buddhist monk Purdash Bagshi at the highest point of the local hill in 1846. The poplar is very revered in Kalmykia; Buddhists consider it a sacred tree and hold prayers and rituals near it. People also come here to pray, ask for protection, tie colored rags to its branches and make a wish.
Natural Park of the Republic of Kalmykia
In 1995, the most beautiful natural park in Kalmykia was created. It is located in the Yustinsky district, on a small section of Volga-Akhtubinskaya within the republic. The park territory stretches for 8 kilometers along the left bank of the Volga River opposite the village of Tsagan-Aman. Thanks to its geographical location, the park is a real forest oasis in the middle of an arid semi-desert.
This area contains a variety of biotopes: poplar and willow forests, swamps and lakes, floodplain meadows, areas of sand and erik. Among the animals of the Nature Park there are representatives of the order of carnivores - fox, wolf, raccoon dog, American mink. The wild boars are protected. Rodents and brown hares also live here in large numbers.
Also, the territory of the park is a place of nesting, habitat and rest during migration for waterfowl (whooper swan, mute swan, gray mallard), steppe birds (golden eagle, black kite, harrier, etc.) and waterbirds (red heron, white heron, gray). The lakes are home to 57 species of fish and 6 species of reptiles.
Yashkul khurul
The Yashkul Khurul was first opened in December 1993; subsequently the building was restored and acquired a beautiful modern look. Elements of Buddhist architecture used during the restoration gave the khurul oriental elegance and flavor. The aesthetic completion of the monastery’s design was an openwork fence with an unusual gate.
The interior of the Yashkul khurul is also striking in its beauty. Here you can admire ancient Buddhist thangka icons made on fabric, see the priceless gifts of American Kalmyks to the Yashkulyans, this is a complete collection of Lama Tsongha-wa’s works in Tibetan and Ganjur (a collection of Buddhist texts). Also in pride of place inside the building is the throne of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from the 14th century and a statue of Buddha.
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