Environment-Forming and Production Functions of Haloxylon aphyllum in the Karnabchul Desert

Abstract

The environment-forming function of the desert tree black saxaul (Haloxylon aphyllum) in the Karnabchul desert was investigated. As a result, it was found that black saxaul plants of different age had different effects on the degree of illumination. The intensity of solar radiation was mainly affected by middle-aged plants and by old generative specimens to a lesser extent. Black saxaul had a significant effect on the air temperature: it lowered the temperature under the crown and on the crown edge during the daytime, especially at 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m., while it increased it in these zones at night. Black saxaul also significantly influenced the temperature of the soil. The temperature was higher at night under the crown, while it was lower than in the outer part of the crown in the daytime. The moisture content of the soil also changed under the influence of black saxaul. Under its crown, the moisture content was noticeably higher than on open natural pastures. It was highest in the upper layers of the soil at the base of the saxaul trunk. As a result of the environment-forming action of black saxaul, favorable hydrothermal conditions for the growth and development of the natural wormwood-ephemeral vegetation under the protection of the shelterbelts and on the pasture areas adjacent to the shelterbelt were formed. The components of the production activity of pasture shelterbelts of black saxaul were shown: fodder mass of saxaul and wormwood-ephemeral vegetation of natural pastures. As a result of the increase in the yield of natural pastures under the protection of the shelterbelts and the harvest of black saxaul, the forage productivity of desert pastures increased more than two times.