Aksu-Zhabagly Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2015, in Kazakhstan. The Aksu-Zhabagly Biosphere Reserve is located in the north-west of Talasskiy Alatau and the south of Karatau in the West Tien Shan. It is home to 48 per cent of regional bird species, 72.5 per cent of vertebrates, 221 of 254 fungi species, 63 of 80 moss species, 15 of 17 vegetation types, and 114 of 180 plant formations found in the West Tien Shan. Approximately 2,500 insect species have been recorded in the reserve. The principal form of land use in the region is agriculture. Cereal crops such as wheat and barley are grown on rain-fed areas, and forage crops including corn, clover and alfalfa are grown on irrigated arable land. Local inhabitants breed cattle, sheep (South-Kazakh Merino), goats and horses (including trotters and the Donskaya breed), as well as poultry such as chicken and turkey.