Changing Asian Mountain Steppes Require Better Conservation for Endangered Argali Sheep

Changing Asian Mountain Steppes Require Better Conservation for Endangered Argali Sheep

We present a rare insight into the biodiversity of a remote, mountainous area of central Asia and outline challenges to conserve the critically endangered keystone argali (Ovis ammon ammon L.), the largest subspecies of mountain sheep. Existing conservation is set in the context of competition with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diversity (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 9; p. 570
Main Authors: Callaghan, Terry V, Volkova, Irina I, Volkov, Igor V, Kuzhlekov, Alexey O, Gulyaev, Denis I, Shaduyko, Olga M
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-09-2024
Subjects:
Altai
Anthropogenic factors
argali
Arid climates
Biodiversity
Climate change
Climate prediction
Climatic changes
Conservation
Endangered species
Grazing
Habitats
Human influences
Livestock
Livestock grazing
Local population
mobile pastoralism
Mountain regions
Mountain sheep
Mountainous areas
Mountains
Pasture
Populations
Predation
Protected areas
Sailugem
seasonal protected areas
Sheep
Steppes
Wildlife conservation
United Kingdom
Russia
Altai Mountains
Mongolia
Tuva
Kazakhstan
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics > USSR
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Summary:We present a rare insight into the biodiversity of a remote, mountainous area of central Asia and outline challenges to conserve the critically endangered keystone argali (Ovis ammon ammon L.), the largest subspecies of mountain sheep. Existing conservation is set in the context of competition with livestock grazing and disturbance by local pastoralists. We suggest how this pressure would increase as pastures become degraded by a future more arid climate. Focusing on the transboundary population, migrating between the Russian and Mongolian Altai over the Sailugem Ridge, we track historical population numbers. Due to increased protection, the argali’s local population is currently growing. However, most argali populations live outside the protected areas where they are forced to compete for forage with livestock. Due to ever-increasing anthropogenic pressures, argali has almost reached the region’s environmental capacity, so the number of local populations is decreasing. Consequently, even the current situation requires more areas of protection, and climate change will accelerate pasture degradation, thereby further increasing competition with livestock. We present various ways to predict the impacts of changes in climate, e.g., the “7 M’s approach” and grazing pressure and then recommend additional conservation measures acceptable for the indigenous population of traditional pastoralists.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d16090570