Tours for Sievers apple tree in Tarbagatai Park.

“Swinging and rejoicing in the whistling of the blizzard,
Spruce will stretch out with palmate greenery,
ine will have a word with the yellow owl.
An aspen as thin as spirit will tremble,
t will shine like a birch, it will shine like a birch,
he silver willow will cry leaves."

Balmont K.D. “Slavic tree.”
 

Sievers apple forests in Tarbagatai ridge.

Malus sieversii (Ledeb.) M. Roem is a species of wild apple whose numbers are declining in the mountains of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. This apple tree is the ancestor of all varieties of apples in the world, because it was Malus sieversii that gave rise to all cultivated varieties of apples.
A valuable tree growing on the mountain slopes of Tarbagatai, it is a wild relative of many cultivated varieties. The endangered species of the population listed in the Red Book is widespread in the Aksu-Zhabagly, Almaty reserves, Karatau Park, and mountain ranges included in the territories of the Ile-Alatau, Zhongar-Alatau, and Tarbagatai national parks.
By Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 382 dated June 27, 2018, the Tarbagatai National Natural Park, which is famous for its magnificent nature, was created in the East Kazakhstan region in the Urjar district.
The area of the park is 143,550.5 hectares, the protected zone is 204,602 hectares. In general, the terrain of the Urjar region, which includes the Tarbagatai mountain range, where Malus sieversii is common, is quite complex.
If the northern part is occupied by the western slopes of the Tarbagatai ridge, Karaultobe, Aktas with a height of 1316 meters above sea level and Mount Akshauli with a height of 1618 meters above sea level, then the southern part is occupied by the southern slopes of the Tarbagatai ridge and the northern part of the Alakol basin and the southeastern part is represented by the Barmak sands, Bakty 1273 meters above sea level, Arkarly and Arasan mountains. Because of this, the area has a significant slope from northeast to southwest.
The highest peaks of the Tarbagatai ridge are Mount Atbastau with a height of 2263 meters above sea level and Mount Tastau with a height of 2992 meters above sea level, the passes: Tikzholdana, Kyzasu, Akshoky, Maly Syrganak.
In the habitat of Malus sieversii on the Tarbagatai ridge, there are more than 35 species of plants listed in the Red Book, which are not found anywhere else. Due to the fact that the Tarbagatai ridge is located in steppe and desert regions, the vegetation here is very different from other mountainous regions: the Northern Tien Shan, the Dzungarian Alatau, and the Altai Mountains.
There are about 1640 plant species in the flora. In the distribution area of the Sievers apple tree there are a number of common species of medicinal plants: Alberta rose, hawthorn, licorice, several types of rose hips, wormwood, etc., which grow together with the Malus sieversii population.
To date, work on “Forest education” has not been carried out on the territory of the Tarbagatai State National Natural Park, which provides accurate information about the quantity, area, and distribution of specific flora (trees).
The basic information used in expeditionary research work on Malus sieversii was obtained on the basis of taxation records carried out in quarters 1 - 39 of the Urdzharsky forestry, Tau-Dalinsky branch of the state natural forest reserve "Semey Ormany" East Kazakhstan region for 2005.
In the period from 2019 to 2021, phenological monitoring control was carried out in order to implement an experimental research program, the following methods were used. To inventory the association of Malus sieversii with woody plant forms in the park area, a method of monitoring designated areas (areas) was used to determine which plant species predominated.
The routes were carried out during the apple flowering phase, from May to July, to become familiar with the main plant species in the growing areas of Malus sieversii. During the work, herbarium materials were collected.
After identifying and desk processing of the material, work was carried out to analyze and systematize the flora.
Monitoring control over the state, development phases and phenology of Malus sieversii on the territory of the Tarbagatai State National Park in the period from 2019 to 2021, the following phenological monitoring sites were established for the study:
• Phenological zone “Alet” with coordinates N 460 46' 15.8", E 0800 55' 12.2", at an altitude of 989 meters above sea level, 28 kilometers from the village of Urjar, with an area of 12 x 12 square meters;
• Phenological zone “Kusak” with coordinates N 470 13' 41.3 E 0810 53' 97.4'', at an altitude of 862 meters above sea level, 28 kilometers from the Urjar region, 7 kilometers from the village of Kokozek, with an area of 12 x 12 square meters;
• Monitoring control platform "Almaly sai" N 470 11 86.7, E 0810 59 28.0 coordinates, at an altitude of 1153 meters above sea level, 35 kilometers from the Urjar region, 8 kilometers from the village of Kokozek, laid out in an area of 25 x 25 square meters.
Apple forests grow in the central part of the southern slope of the Tarbagatai ridge in the form of thickets at an altitude of 1000 - 1500 meters above sea level, and individual apple trees are located above 1700 meters above sea level.
They are found, in addition to the north, on slopes of various exposures, at the bottom of the gorge or on rocky slopes. This plant is xerophytic, so it has been found that it grows in dry, sunny places and near mountain rivers.
It is most often found in the northern parts of the Tarbagatai ridge, compared to its southern slopes. The apple tree is 2 - 10 meters high, the fruits are red-yellow, sweet and sour, spherical, averaging 34 cm in diameter. On the Tarbagatai Ridge it forms thickets or is scattered separately among shrubby vegetation.
The average height of apple trees is 6 - 7 meters, the basis is made up of apple trees, including within the association - aspen, laurel poplar, wormwood and Altai hawthorn. The tiers of the bushes are well developed, reach a height of 150 - 200 cm, a size of 0.6 - 0.8 mm, it is difficult to pass under the apple tree, it spreads and grows, creating shoots.
The dominant plants of the shrub layer are Amygdalus ledebouriana, Rosa spinosissima, Spiraea hypericifolia, among which there are other plant communities associated with the apple tree, such as Daphne altaica, Lonicera tatarica, Rhamnus cathartica, Verberis heteropoda, toneaster melanocarpa and many others.
Associations for the formation of the Sievers apple tree:
• Apple and aspen forests,
• Apple and almond forests,
• Apple, almond and meadowsweet forests,
• Apple, almond and rose hip forests.
According to these characteristics, Malus sieversii, common in the Tarbagatai mountain ranges, differs from apple trees common in the Dzungarian, Alatau and Tien-Shan mountain ranges. In the Tarbagatai apple tree communities, Amygdalus ledebouriana and Rosa spinosissima are well developed in the second shrub layer.
The first of them is not found in the Dzungarian mountains of Alatau and Tien Shan, and when found, Rosa spinosissima does not have priority and is diluted with the rose hip Rosa platyacantha. Being a relict species of the forest, at a certain stage it grows together with Amygdalus ledebouriana, Agropyrum tarbagataicum, Daphne altaica, forming a legend of plants of the Tarbagatai Range.
This is a kind of endemic of the third mesophilic forest, which arose in the warm, humid central southern part of the Tarbagatai gorges. The main forest-forming species are common aspen and laurel poplar, occupying 32.1% of the forest area of the park.

Authority: 
istribution of the Sievers apple tree in the territory of the State National Natural Park “Tarbagatai”. NJSC Shakarim University of Semey. 
Authors: Zhanshkhan Kabievna Alemseitova, Meruert Galymovna Kuanyshbaeva, Gulnara Sikimbaevna Saparova, Vasily Vladimirovich Polevik. 
Scientific journal "Globe", volume 7 #7 (64). 2021 "Biological Sciences". 
ttps://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/rasprostranenie-yabloni-siversa-na-territorii-gosudarstvennogo-natsionalnogo-prirodnogo-parka-tarbagatay 
This information uses the main excerpts from the author's scientific monograph. 
The full article is located at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/rasprostranenie-yabloni-siversa-na-territorii-gosudarstvennogo-natsionalnogo-prirodnogo-parka-tarbagatay

Photos by:
Alexander Petrov.