Populus pruinosa is listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and the Red Data Book of Kazakhstan. The habitats of the species are associated with the floodplains of desert rivers, including the Syr Darya and the Ili. The reduction in tugai forests is associated with changes in the hydrological regimes of rivers, the reduction in groundwater, fires, and grazing. The aim of this research is to advance our knowledge of the woodlands and forests of P. pruinosa in Kazakhstan by analyzing the cenoflora and forestry characteristics, conducting ecological niche modeling to select suitable habitats for ecological restoration, and identifying rehabilitation strategies. The vegetation was studied using traditional methods of geobotanic field research in 2021 and 2022. Ecological niche modeling includes the calculation of all the environmental variables that are significant for the species, taken in their optimal ranges, and identifying the intersection of all the favorable conditions. To identify these variables, geographically linked meeting points of the studied species, climatic and soil conditions, relief characteristics identified by the SRTM and raster sets of the environmental variables (WorldClim), and distances to watercourses and settlements were accepted for consideration. A total of 102 environmental variables were used.

Xylosalsola chiwensis (Popov) Akhani & Roalson is listed in the Red Data Book of Kazakhstan as a rare species with a limited distribution, occurring in small populations in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of the ecological conditions of its habitats, the floristic composition of its associated plant communities, the species’ morphological and anatomical characteristics, and its molecular phylogeny, as well as to identify the main threats to its survival. The ecological conditions of the X. chiwensis habitats include coastal sandy plains and the slopes of chinks and denudation plains with gray–brown desert soils and bozyngens on the Mangyshlak Peninsula and the Ustyurt Plateau at altitudes ranging from −3 to 270 m above sea level. The species is capable of surviving in arid conditions (less than 100 mm of annual precipitation) and under extreme temperatures (air temperatures exceeding 45 °C and soil surface temperatures above 65 °C). In X. chiwensis communities, we recorded 53 species of vascular plants. Anthropogenic factors associated with livestock grazing, industrial disturbances, and off-road vehicle traffic along an unregulated network of dirt roads have been identified as contributing to population decline and the potential extinction of the species under conditions of unsustainable land use. The morphometric traits of X. chiwensis could be used for taxonomic analysis and for identifying diagnostic morphological characteristics to distinguish between species of Xylosalsola. The most taxonomically valuable characteristics include the fruit diameter (with wings) and the cone-shaped structure length, as they differ consistently between species and exhibit relatively low variability. Anatomical adaptations to arid conditions were observed, including a well-developed hypodermis, which is indicative of a water-conserving strategy. The moderate photosynthetic activity, reflected by a thinner palisade mesophyll layer, may be associated with reduced photosynthetic intensity, which is compensated for through structural mechanisms for water conservation. The flow cytometry analysis revealed a genome size of 2.483 ± 0.191 pg (2n/4x = 18), and the phylogenetic analysis confirmed the placement of X. chiwensis within the tribe Salsoleae of the subfamily Salsoloideae, supporting its taxonomic distinctness. To support the conservation of this rare species, measures are proposed to expand the area of the Ustyurt Nature Reserve through the establishment of cluster sites.

This article presents a spatial assessment of rangeland productivity, forage resources, and the potential carrying capacity of saiga (Saiga tatarica (L., 1766)) habitats within the Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve (Kazakhstan). This research integrated field geobotanical surveys, remote sensing data, and spatial modelling approaches. During fieldwork conducted in July 2025, 44 geobotanical descriptions were completed. Long-term Sentinel-2 imagery (2015–2025), spectral vegetation indices, and ensemble machine learning algorithms (Random Forest and Gradient Boosted Decision Trees) were used to model rangeland productivity. The study area includes 16 types of rangelands. The forage resource base is primarily formed by dry-steppe communities dominated by Stipa, Festuca, and Artemisia. At the same time, halophytic vegetation containing Atriplex, Bassia, and Halocnemum provides additional forage resources under arid and saline conditions. The total annual forage reserve was estimated at 3,308,921.2 centners, and the potential annual carrying capacity was calculated at 363,033 saiga individuals across 313,868 ha. These values represent the theoretical forage-carrying capacity of the territory and should not be interpreted as actual population estimates. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating remote sensing, field observations, and machine learning methods for assessing forage resources and spatial heterogeneity of rangeland ecosystems in the steppe regions of Kazakhstan.

A model of the ecological niche of the nut fruit Pistacia vera has been developed based on known locations in Central Asia and an analysis of abiotic environmental variables in order to map out the area of optimal conditions for both the wild and domesticated forms. The model reveals a much larger area of suitability for the species than it presently occupies. The list of key variables and their optimal ranges are compared with the known values of those which have been gathered from experiments on the ground and which are described in the available literature. Most of the optimal values modeled for the key variables appear to resemble the known experimental ranges. The meaning and impact of most of the key variables in relation to the species’ life cycle are found in the physiological and ecological peculiarities of P. vera’s development at different stages as described in the literature. Unexplained variables may imply a gap in our knowledge of the pistachio and its interrelations with the environment; and point the direction of further study of the biology of the pistachio. The value of the model is the potential application of the results along with existing practical recommendations regarding pistachio cultivation in order to establish guidelines regarding the conservation and commercial cultivation of P. vera in Kazakhstan.

Xylosalsola chiwensis (Popov) Akhani & Roalson is listed in the Red Data Book of Kazakhstan as a rare species with a limited distribution, occurring in small populations in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The aim of this study was to deepen the understanding of the ecological conditions of its habitats, the floristic composition of its associated plant communities, the species' morphological and anatomical characteristics, and its molecular phylogeny, as well as to identify the main threats to its survival. The ecological conditions of the Xy. chiwensis habitats include coastal sandy plains and the slopes of chinks and denudation plains with grey–brown desert soils and bozyngens on the Mangyshlak Peninsula and the Ustyurt Plateau at altitudes ranging from – 3 to 270 meters above sea level. The species is capable of surviving in arid conditions (less than 100 mm of annual precipitation) and under extreme temperatures (air temperatures exceeding 45 °C and soil surface temperatures above 65 °C). In Xy. chiwensis communities, we recorded 53 species of vascular plants. Anthropogenic factors associated with livestock grazing, industrial disturbances, and off-road vehicle traffic along an unregulated network of dirt roads have been identified as contributing to population decline and the potential extinction of the species under conditions of unsustainable land use. The morphometric traits of Xy. chiwensis could be used for taxonomic analysis and for identifying diagnostic morphological characteristics to distinguish between species of Xylosalsola. The most taxonomically valuable characteristics include the fruit diameter (with wings) and cone length, as they differ consistently between species and exhibit relatively low variability. Anatomical adaptations to arid conditions were observed, including a well-developed hypodermis, which is indicative of a water-conserving strategy. The moderate photosynthetic activity, reflected by a thinner palisade mesophyll layer, may be associated with reduced photosynthetic intensity, which is compensated for through structural mechanisms for water conservation. The flow cytometry analysis revealed a genome size of 2.483 ± 0.191 pg (2n/4x = 18) and the phylogenetic analysis confirmed the placement of Xy. chiwensis within the tribe Salsoleae of the subfamily Salsoloideae, supporting its taxonomic distinctness. To support the conservation of this rare species, measures are proposed to expand the area of the Ustyurt Nature Reserve through the establishment of cluster sites.