干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The Eastern Pamirs of Tajikistan are an arid high mountain plateau with wide valleys around 4000 m a.s.l. separated by ranges with peaks around 5000 m a.s.l. The breakup of the Soviet Union and the associated independence of Tajikistan in 1991 resulted in significant political and socio-economic changes in this area, also with impacts on the vegetation. Shortages of financial resources led to a reduced pasture rotation causing over-grazing in some areas. The lack of energy supply led to an increased extraction of dwarf shrubs for fuel wood. Here, a vegetation-plot database for the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau is presented (GIVD ID: AS-TJ-001, http://www.givd.info/ID/AS-TJ-001) that may serve as a basis for studies on alpine vegetation, pasture ecology, livestock grazing impact, environmental change, and pasture management. It consists of 282 geo-referenced vegetation plots including dwarf shrub steppes and deserts, floodplain meadows, alpine herb-grass mats, and scree vegetation.