Celebrating a significant milestone this year - the 45th anniversary since its establishment, the Gaplangyr State Nature Reserve of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan was created in 1979 in the northwestern part of Dashoguz velayat. The main goal of establishing the reserve was the conservation and restoration of the population of gazelles, honey badgers and Ustyurt argali.
Over the years, the fauna of the reserve has been enriched with new inhabitants. The population of gazelles has increased significantly, with approximately 200 individuals in the main groups. The area of Gaplangyr and Ak Inish (Southern Ustyurt) is also home to argali (mountain sheep).
Due to years of scientific and analytical work and field trips of specialists to study the current state and biodiversity of the area, new species of invertebrates have been added to the list of inhabitants of the Gaplangyr State Nature Reserve from 2019 to 2022. These include the hemilepistus reaumuri, crab spiders and orb-weaver spiders, wolf spiders, jumping spiders, Gobi dragonfly from the dragonfly suborder Anisoptera, the empusa pennicornis listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan, papilio machaon, and others.
A significant event for the reserve last year was its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List, as a part of transnational serial nomination "Cold Winter Deserts of Turan".
The protected natural territory of the reserve, located within the Ustyurt and Sarykamysh geographical regions at the junction of the southern and northern subzones of the Turan deserts, covers more than 275,000 hectares. It would take several days to fully explore the area.
The two main ecosystems of the area - desert and lake - are conditionally divided into two sections for convenience monitoring: Kulantakyr and Gaplangyr, which are habitats for the "red-listed" leopard and kulans. The habitat range of the migrating population of kulans includes the territories around the Zengibaba Lake, the foothills of Ustyurt Kyr, Yedikhovuz, Gulantakyr, Dusheklidash and areas near the wells.
Large reserves - Sarykamysh and Shasenem - are established in the reserve to protect wintering, nesting and migratory waterfowl, as well as ungulates. Work has been done in the field of flora conservation in the reserve, including the creation of plant nurseries and enclosures for local original plant species and endemics.
Ecologists maintain an annual record of nature observations called the "Chronicle of Nature". The specialists are greatly assisted by the equipment used, in particular photo traps.
Regular biotechnical activities are carried out, including monitoring of animal and plant populations in transboundary habitats and data exchange with neighboring countries. The nature conservation activities of scientists, ecologists and other specialists contribute to the preservation and increase of biodiversity in the Gaplangyr State Nature Reserve.
