Anar Myrzagaliyeva

Deliberate cultivation is an important pathway for the introduction of non-native plants, some of which establish populations outside cultivation. We compiled a taxonomically standardised checklist of non-native vascular plants recorded as cultivated in Kazakhstan and compared their regional distributions with the national alien-flora inventory. The checklist contains 286 taxa in 200 genera and 60 families, including 136 ornamental and 88 food taxa. Spontaneous occurrence is documented for 108 taxa (37.8%): 66 casual, 37 naturalised but non-invasive and five invasive. Among cultivation-purpose categories containing more than one taxon, the proportion recorded outside cultivation ranges from 25.0% for industrial plants to 76.5% for forage plants. Five invasive taxa, Acer negundo, Ailanthus altissima, Euonymus europaeus, Fraxinus excelsior and Pilosella aurantiaca, were assigned Moderate environmental impact ratings in the published national EICAT assessment. The checklist brings together floristic records of cultivation and independently assessed information on spontaneous occurrence and establishment in Kazakhstan.

Nepeta sibirica L. is a medicinal and aromatic species of Lamiaceae whose volatile chemistry varies across its Eurasian range. In this study, we integrated voucher-anchored botanical characterization, GBIF-supported distributional context, essential-oil composition, chemogeographic comparison, and preliminary bioactivity assessment of a wild population from the Altai–Tarbagatai Ridge, Eastern Kazakhstan. Hydrodistillation yielded 0.3% (w/w) essential oil. GC–MS analysis of the essential oil detected and tentatively identified 62 volatile constituents, accounting for 95.5% of the total composition. A dominant nepetalactone peak represented 70.6% of the oil and was tentatively assigned as cis–trans-nepetalactone based on electron-ionization mass-spectral and retention-index data obtained on an achiral column. Germacrene D (6.5%) and cis-β-ocimene (2.8%) were the principal secondary constituents. Chemogeographic comparison indicated similarity to previously reported nepetalactone-rich material from the Altai region. The essential oil exhibited limited DPPH radical-scavenging activity, reaching a maximum inhibition of 12.88 ± 0.56% at 24.19 µg/mL; an IC₅₀ could not be determined within the tested concentration range. In the Artemia salina assay, the essential oil caused 100% mortality at all tested concentrations (0.01–0.10 mg/mL) after 24 h, precluding LC₅₀ estimation within the tested range. These findings document a nepetalactone-dominant essential-oil profile in a voucher-confirmed wild population of N. sibirica from Eastern Kazakhstan and provide preliminary quantitative data on its DPPH radical-scavenging activity and A. salina lethality.

Cenolophium denudatum (Hornem.) Tutin — Apiaceae тұқымдасына жататын, негізінен ылғалды шалғындық және жайылмалық мекен ету орталарында таралған көпжылдық шөптесін өсімдік. Қазақстан аумағында түр ареалының шеткі бөліктерінде кездесетіндіктен, оның популяциялық құрылымын зерттеу табиғи популяциялардың тұрақтылығын бағалау және оларды сақтау шараларын әзірлеу үшін маңызды. Зерттеудің мақсаты — Орталық Қазақстан жағдайындағы C. denudatum түрінің популяциялық-экологиялық ерекшеліктерін анықтау және мекен ету ортасының ылғалдану деңгейі, ценопопуляциялардың кеңістіктік және онтогенетикалық құрылымы мен репродуктивтік көрсеткіштер арасындағы байланысты бағалау. Далалық зерттеулер 2023–2025 жылдары Қарқаралы мемлекеттік ұлттық табиғи паркінің аумағында жүргізілді. Популяциялық көрсеткіштер 10×10 м тұрақты алаңдарда, олардың ішінде орналасқан 1×1 м есептік квадраттар арқылы анықталды. Барлығы 245 дарақ зерттелді. Өсімдіктердің кеңістікте негізінен топтанып орналасатыны анықталды. Ең жоғары тығыздық ылғалды биотоптарда байқалып, 1,4–1,6 дарақ/м² құрады, ал шалғынды-далалық жағдайларда 0,6–0,8 дарақ/м² дейін төмендеді. Тығыздықтың вариация коэффициенті 28–35 % аралығында болды. Жайылмалық мекендерде прегенеративті дарақтардың үлесі 52 %-ға дейін жетіп, жастық тұрақтылық индексі 1,21 құрады. Ылғал мөлшері төмендеген сайын бұл көрсеткіш құрғақ шалғында 0,94-ке, шалғынды далада 0,73-ке дейін төмендеді. Генеративті өсімдіктердің орташа биіктігі 110–125 см, шатыршалар саны 6–8, тұқымдық өнімділігі бір өсімдікке 210–260 жеміс, репродуктивтік коэффициенті 0,38–0,50 болды. Нәтижелер C. denudatum ценопопуляцияларының тұрақтылығын анықтайтын негізгі экологиялық факторлардың бірі гидрологиялық режим екенін көрсетті.

The mountain systems of Central Asia are important centres of floristic diversity; however, spatially representative and taxonomically verified data on the distribution of many wild taxa remain fragmentary. This study aimed to quantitatively assess the taxonomic struc-ture, spatial distribution, degree of clustering, documented local species richness, and quality of a long-term array of georeferenced observations of the genus Rosa L. in the Tarbagatai mountain system of eastern Kazakhstan. The initial sample included 127 ob-servations from 2019–2026; after taxonomic filtering, the analysis included 118 Rosa rec-ords corresponding to 109 unique coordinates. A total of 61 records (51.7%) were identi-fied to the species level, while 57 records (48.3%) remained at the Rosa sp. level. The da-taset includes R. spinosissima (33 observations), R. laxa (13), R. platyacantha (10), R. alberti (4), and R. canina (1). Ninety-six records were positionally accurate to within 100 m; after duplicate removal, they corresponded to 88 unique locations. Nearest neighbour analysis revealed strong spatial aggregation of high-precision locations: the observed mean nearest neighbour distance was 0.75 km, compared to a mean expected value of 3.02 km across 999 runs of complete spatial randomness (empirical p = 0.001). With grid thin-ning, the 96 high-precision observations corresponded to 32 occupied 1x1 km cells and 26 occupied 2x2 km cells, indicating significant route and observer bias. Species-identified, high-precision records occupied 14 5x5 km cells; the maximum documented richness, equal to four species, was observed in two cells in the central part of the studied spatial cluster. Only 15 records (12.7%) had Research Grade status, while 103 (87.3%) were classi-fied as Needs ID. These results characterise the structure of the documented array of finds, rather than the demographic structure of populations, and provide a reproducible spatial basis for further expert verification, standardised monitoring, and subsequent modelling of species distributions with mandatory control for spatial sampling bias.

В статье представлены результаты определения содержания растворимых белков в образцах растения Prunus spinosa L. с использованием метода Брэдфорда и оценки их сравнительных особенностей. В качестве объекта исследования использовали образцы, полученные из листьев растения P. spinosa Экстракцию белков проводили с использованием 50 мМ фосфатного буферного раствора с рН 7,0. С целью снижения возможного влияния фенольных соединений, содержащихся в растительных тканях, в процессе экстракции использовали поливинилполипирролидон (PVPP). Полученные экстракты центрифугировали, а содержание растворимых белков в прозрачном супернатанте определяли колориметрическим методом Брэдфорда. Для расчёта концентрации белка использовали ряд стандартных растворов на основе бычьего сывороточного альбумина (BSA), по которым была построена калибровочная кривая. В ходе исследования установлено, что содержание растворимых белков в образцах P. spinosa изменяется в зависимости от исследуемого органа растения и особенностей образцов. Были сопоставлены показатели оптической плотности экстрактов, полученных из образцов листьев и плодов, на основании которых рассчитаны концентрации белка. Метод Брэдфорда позволил провести сравнительную оценку содержания растворимых белков в растительных экстрактах. Калибровочная кривая, построенная по стандартам BSA, использовалась в качестве основы для количественного определения концентрации белка в исследуемых образцах. Полученные результаты позволяют оценить особенности распределения растворимых белков в тканях P. spinosa и провести сравнительный анализ образцов листьев. Результаты исследования могут служить исходными данными при характеристике биохимических особенностей P. spinosa, а также при планировании дальнейших биохимических исследований белкового состава растительного материала.

The Kalba Ridge in eastern Kazakhstan is a transitional forest-steppe system in which woody vegetation forms a mosaic of forest, shrub, meadow, steppe, and riparian habitats. We analysed a presence/absence matrix of 76 woody taxa across 11 plant complexes grouped into eastern, central, and western sectors. We assessed species richness, distribution breadth across plant complexes, Jaccard similarity, Whittaker beta diversity, Sørensen dissimilarity decomposition, Hellinger ordination, PERMANOVA, and local and species contributions to beta diversity. Species richness decreased from 71 taxa in the eastern sector to 52 in the central sector and 29 in the western sector. The multi-site Sørensen dissimilarity across all complexes was 0.740, with species substitution (0.508) exceeding nestedness (0.232), whereas east–west sectoral differentiation was driven mainly by nestedness. The first two PCA axes after Hellinger transformation explained 52.9% of the variation in species composition. Sector compositions differed significantly (PERMANOVA: pseudo-F = 2.30, R² = 0.365, exact p = 0.013), with no evidence of differences in multivariate dispersion. The eastern dark coniferous forest and western meadow-steppe had statistically significant LCBD values. Notably, the western meadow-steppe contained only 12 taxa but remained compositionally distinctive, showing that species-poor assemblages can contribute disproportionately to regional beta diversity. These results show that conservation planning should represent both species-rich ecotones and compositionally unique habitats.

Dactylorhiza fuchsii (Druce) Soó is an ecologically sensitive terrestrial orchid and an important indicator of habitat condition, yet its population structure and morphological variability remain poorly studied in the Central Kazakh Uplands. This study evaluated the population size, density, ontogenetic structure, and morphometric differentiation of 21 coenopopulations in Kokshetau, Burabay, and Karkaraly National Parks. Ontogenetic stages were classified as juvenile, immature, virginal, and generative. Twenty-two quantitative traits were measured in 420 generative individuals and analysed using Pearson correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), the Mann–Whitney U test with Bonferroni correction, and PERMANOVA. Generative individuals predominated in most coenopopulations. In Burabay National Park, they comprised 71–100% of all individuals, virginal plants were absent from five of six coenopopulations, and population density was lower than in the other study regions. Balanced ontogenetic spectra were recorded in Kokshetau (CP4, CP6) and Karkaraly (CP1–CP3). Morphometric traits exhibited strong integration, with plant height strongly correlated with lip width (r = 0.723) and median lobe length (r = 0.684), whereas several floral traits varied more independently. The first three principal components explained 86.5% of the total variance, and PERMANOVA revealed significant regional differentiation among the three study regions (p < 0.001). This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of the population structure and morphometric variability of D. fuchsii in the Central Kazakh Uplands and establishes a baseline for long-term population monitoring and conservation planning.

Wild almond relatives are valuable reservoirs of allelic variation for crop improvement and conservation, yet Kazakhstan’s wild-almond genetic resources remain poorly characterised. We conducted an exploratory SSR assessment of 80 putative individuals from four taxon-locality groups (20 per group), each representing one sampled population: Prunus ledebouriana, P. tenella, P. petunnikowii, and P. spinosissima. Of 22 nuclear simple sequence repeat loci screened for cross-taxon transferability, 15 generated reproducible profiles and were retained; their even genome-wide distribution was not verified. Across the full dataset, the mean number of alleles was 3.55, the effective number of alleles was 2.62, expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.544, and 95.0% of loci were polymorphic. Missing genotypes ranged from 0.0% to 34.7% among groups, and six loci had at least 20% missing data. AMOVA attributed 76.5% of variation to within-group differences and 23.5% to among-group differences (PhiPT = 0.235, p = 0.001). PCoA, unbiased Nei distances, UPGMA, and descriptive Bayesian clustering separated the four sampled groups. A nine-locus sensitivity analysis that excluded the six high-missing loci retained P. spinosissima as the group with the highest mean He (0.699), whereas P. petunnikowii increased from 0.471 to 0.609. Thus, the low full-panel estimate for P. petunnikowii was not robust to missing data. Because taxon identity was fully confounded with locality and the marker panel was limited, the results are interpreted as a regional marker-transferability and methodological baseline rather than as species-wide or genome-wide inference.

Environmental heterogeneity can promote niche differentiation among closely related species, yet ecological segregation may not be mirrored by traits measured during a single field campaign. We tested whether edaphic differentiation exceeded morphological and ecophysiological divergence in Rosa acicularis, R. alberti, and R. spinosissima across the Altai and Tarbagatai Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan. The dataset comprised 40 field records representing 25 geographic coordinates and 30 species–site combinations. Plant height, crown width, chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll-related outputs, and soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, and total carbon were analysed using FDR-controlled univariate tests with Dunn post hoc comparisons, PERMANOVA, reduced-variable PCA, partial redundancy analysis, correlation analysis, and small-sample explanatory models with leave-one-out validation. Within Tarbagatai, species identity explained 48.6% of multivariate soil variation but only 9.2% of plant-trait variation. Omnibus differences in pH, nitrogen, and carbon remained significant after correction, and the species–site analysis also supported EC differentiation. The soil block explained no significant independent component of plant-trait variation after species and mountain system were taken into account. Rosa spinosissima was taller in the Altai at the observation level, and a species-plus-region model showed moderate cross-validated performance for height; models for other traits had little predictive value. These results support edaphic niche differentiation accompanied by limited divergence in field-measured traits. Because the study was observational and temporally restricted, the findings demonstrate environmental association rather than adaptation. Still, they identify testable hypotheses and support environmentally stratified conservation of wild Rosa genetic resources.

Central and northern Kazakhstan contain a substantial but incompletely synthesised component of the country’s Apiaceae flora. We combined targeted field surveys conducted in 2023–2025, taxonomic revision of 1243 herbarium specimens, and a presence–absence matrix for six historical floristic units. The taxonomic audit reconciled accepted names and synonyms, documented three entries without unit-confirmed incidence, and produced an analytical dataset of 79 taxa in 38 genera. Recorded richness ranged from 33 taxa in Kokshetau to 54 in the Western Uplands. Fourteen taxa occurred in all six units, and 21 were recorded in only one unit. Pairwise Jaccard similarity ranged from 0.333 to 0.683, and species replacement contributed 82% of the mean pairwise dissimilarity. The Western Uplands had the highest within-study range-rarity richness, whereas Ulytau had the largest local contribution to beta diversity. The broader 81-taxon ecological checklist was dominated by perennial herbs and xerophytes and documented medicinal, fodder, aromatic, food, melliferous, and ornamental uses. These metrics are conditional on the six-unit incidence matrix: they do not estimate local abundance, population size, national rarity, endemism, threat status, or harvest capacity. The principal contribution is therefore a voucher-informed, nomenclaturally harmonised regional baseline that identifies records and habitats requiring georeferenced verification and population-level follow-up.