Saxaul seeds to be planted at dried bottom of Aral Sea

14.5 tonnes of saxaul tree seeds from the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve will be sent to Kyzylorda region. Specialists from the national parks and nature reserves of Almaty region were involved in their collection. The seeds will be planted at the bottom of the dried up part of the Aral Sea. This is necessary to strengthen the soil and reduce the number of salt storms that plague the vast Central Asian region. In view of the huge area on which the saxaul trees are to be planted, domestic scientists have proposed the use of aviation. The seeds will disperse over the sea with the help of aircraft specially equipped for these purposes. Sowing saxaul seeds is entrusted to Kazavialesokhrana. In total, it is planned to use four AN-2 aircrafts. Aerial seeding is scheduled to start in early December.

“Once the area where the seeds are collected is identified, samples are taken and sent to a special laboratory for study. There they are divided into varieties, namely first, second, third, or unfit for sowing,” said Gani Turykbayev, Director of Almaty Forest Selection Center.

“It is very difficult to collect. You’ve seen a specially made device hanging. Saxaul tilts, it bounces. Cleaning these seeds, everything makes it a very complicated process,” added Leonid Sidorenko, spokesperson for Almaty Regional Territorial Inspection of Forestry and Wildlife.

The planting of saxaul trees is carried out as part of a large-scale greening program announced by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Two billion trees are expected to be planted in the country in four years.

 

Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova