BookDilfuza Egamberdieva, Münir Öztürk, editors.
Summary: Central Asia is a large and understudied region of varied geography, ranging from the high passes and mountains of Tian Shan, to the vast deserts of Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan to the grassy treeles steppes. This region is faced with adverse conditions, as much of the land is too dry or rugged for farming. Additionally, the rich specific and intraspecific diversity of fruit trees and medicinal plants is threatened by overgrazing, oil and mineral extraction, and poaching. Countless species from the approximately 20 ecosystems and 6000 plant taxa are now rare and endangered. Traditional vegetation studies in this region are far from adequate to handle complex issues such as soil mass movement, soil sodicity and salinity, biodiversity conservation, and grazing management. However, data analysis using a Geographical Information System (GIS) tool provides new insights into the vegetation of this region and opens up new opportunities for long-term sustainable management. While vegetation planning can occur at a property scale, it is often necessary for certain factors, such as salinity, to be dealt with on a regional scale to ensure their effective management. GIS increases the effectiveness and accuracy of vegetation planning in a region. Such regional planning will also greatly increases biodiversity values. This book systematically explores these issues and discuses new applications and approaches for overcoming these issues, including the application of GIS techniques for sustainable management and planning. Professional researchers as well as students and teachers of agriculture and ecology will find this volume to be an integral resource for studying the vegetation of Central Asia.
Contents:
Intro; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgments; Contents; Contributors; About the Editors;
Chapter 1: Spatiotemporal Assessment of Vegetation Trends in the Post-Soviet Central Asia; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Study Area; 1.3 Methods; 1.3.1 Satellite Data Processing; 1.3.2 Derivation of Seasonal Vegetation Metrics from NDVI and Climatic Data; 1.3.3 Seasonal Trend Analysis; 1.4 Results and discussion; 1.4.1 Observations; 1.4.2 Spatial Patterns of Vegetation, Precipitation, and Temperature Trends; 1.5 Conclusions; References 2.2.2.5 Probalistic Methods to Predict and Monitor Further Status of Landscapes (Kriging)2.3 Results; 2.3.1 Long-Term Trends of SPIE Data (1950-2017) for Selected Areas; 2.3.1.1 Uzbekistan; 2.3.1.2 Kazakhstan; 2.3.1.3 Turkmenistan; 2.3.1.4 Tajikistan; 2.3.1.5 Kyrgyzstan; 2.3.2 Summary About Droughts for Central Asia; 2.3.3 Statistical Description of Annual Trend Analysis of Droughts and Their Residuals; 2.3.4 Resilience of Ecosystem and an Assessment of the Consequences of Current Factors for Vegetation Trends; 2.3.5 Ongoing Process and Early Drought Detection with the Kriging Method 2.4 ConclusionReferences;
Chapter 3: NDVI-Based Monitoring Long-Term Vegetation Change Dynamics in the Drylands of Central Asia; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Study Sites; 3.2.1 Climatic Conditions in Central Asia; 3.2.2 Detailed Information for Selected Eco-regions and Their Land Use and Land Cover Change Data; 3.2.3 Kyzylorda Region-Kazakhstan; 3.2.4 Gorno-Badakhschon Autonomous Region-Tajikistan; 3.2.5 Navoi Region-Uzbekistan; 3.2.6 Jalalabad Region-Kyrgyzstan; 3.2.7 Lebap (Former Chordjou) Region-Turkmenistan; 3.3 Materials and Methods; 3.3.1 Vegetation Datasets; 3.3.1.1 GIMMS 3g 3.3.1.2 Sentinel-NDVI3.3.2 Trend Analysis; 3.3.3 Time Series Decomposition; 3.3.4 Seasonal Mann-Kendall Trend Test; 3.4 Results; 3.4.1 Monitoring NDVI Characteristics and Dynamics for Selected Arid and Humid Regions During 1982-2015 in Central Asia; 3.4.2 Gorno-Badakhschon Autonomous Region-Tajikistan; 3.4.3 Sentinel-2 NDVI Scenes for Efficiency Description of Crop and Shrublands as Examples for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; 3.4.4 Decomposition and Seasonal NDVI Accumulation in Selected Provinces of Central Asia; 3.4.5 Kyzylorda Region-Kazakhstan; 3.4.6 Navoi Region-Uzbekistan; 3.4.7 Gorno-Badakhschon Autonomous Region-Tajikistan
Chapter 2: Drought Variability and Land Degradation in Central Asia: Assessment Using Remote Sensing Data and Drought Indices2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Materials and Methods; 2.2.1 Location; 2.2.1.1 Climatic Parameters and Description.; Precipitation in Central Asia Between 1982 and 2015; 2.2.2 Classification of Targeted Area; 2.2.2.1 Datasets and Methods; 2.2.2.2 Climatic Variables; 2.2.2.3 A Drought Index: The Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI); 2.2.2.4 Vegetation Indices: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)