Martin Herzog

Inselstrasse 62

4057 Basel

Tel/Fax: (061) 831 80 15

Photo Report

Tadjikistan - a few pictures on national parks natural - and the economically dominant tree - the Poplar.

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Tadjikistan has several beautiful and quite well protected nature reserves. On the left side Shirkent (NW), where fossile foottraps of dinosaurs have been found. On the right Tigraja Balka (SW) (where bevore the sixties, as the name indicates, tigers have been roaming.

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On those hills east of Kabodion we find one of the few natural almonds stands. Central Asia is the home of most of the fruits cultivated in temperate zones, as peach, apple, pear, hawthorn (reall trees and big fruits in Central Asia) and, last not least of the Walnuts.

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As water is abundant in the rivers (and only there!) of Tadjikistan, Poplars - are used in most villages (l) and produced in many nurseries (r).

Salix, growing fast as well, are a bit less estimated, as they often suffer from borers.

Saxaul is about the opposite in what concerns growth - but due to its adaptation to desert conditions it is very useful to stabilise the moving sands.

Martin Herzog, Rheinfelden, Switzerland. October 1995

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Reports

Das Luftbild zeigt deutlich die hohe Abhängigkeit der Landwirtschaft vom Wasser der Gebirge, speziell des Pamir. Dieses reichliche Wasserangebot wurde allerdings durch die von Stalin geförderten Baumwollplantagen derart intensiv genutzt, dass inzwischen das Ende, die vollständige Austrocknung, des Aralsees absehbar ist.

[Aus: M. Baumgartner: Satelliten-Erdbeobachtung: Was lernt man über die Erde vom Weltraum aus? Vermessung, Photogrammetrie, Kulturtechnik 6/2002. S. 359-366]