Past, Present and Future of the Aral Sea - A Review of its Fauna and Flora before and during the Regression Crisis
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Past, Present and Future of the Aral Sea - A Review of its Fauna and Flora before and during the Regression Crisis. / Plotnikov, Igor S.; Aladin, Nikolai V.; Zhakova, Lubov V.; Mossin, Jens; Høeg, Jens T.
In: Zoological Studies, Vol. 62, 19, 2023.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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T1 - Past, Present and Future of the Aral Sea - A Review of its Fauna and Flora before and during the Regression Crisis
AU - Plotnikov, Igor S.
AU - Aladin, Nikolai V.
AU - Zhakova, Lubov V.
AU - Mossin, Jens
AU - Høeg, Jens T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - We review the past, present and possible future of the Aral Sea system in context of the human caused regression crisis that resulted in the drying out of the larger part of this original brackish water sea. The results are put into the context of other threatened saline lakes and the general water crisis in the world due to overexploitation of water resources and climate change. We cover the geographic history and hydrology from the origin of the sea 17,000 years ago to the present. The original biota including animals, higher plants and algae are covered in full detail, and tracked through the regression crisis. We put special emphasis on fish and fisheries because of their economic importance for the surrounding populations. We also review the side effects of the regression in terms of human health and changes to the terrestrial environment and local climate. We explain the dramatic improvements to the fauna in the northern Small Aral Sea following the construction of dams to retain its waters and discuss future options to further improve this restored water basin. We contrast this with the progressing hypersalinization of the remnants of the southern Large Aral Sea, which faces conditions that will eventually render a “Dead Sea” condition hostile to all metazoan life. We end by highlighting the partial restoration of the Small Aral Sea as an example of how much restoration can be achieved for relatively little financial expense and in a short period, when good ideas, kind hearts and hard work operate together for the benefit of the environment and our human society.
AB - We review the past, present and possible future of the Aral Sea system in context of the human caused regression crisis that resulted in the drying out of the larger part of this original brackish water sea. The results are put into the context of other threatened saline lakes and the general water crisis in the world due to overexploitation of water resources and climate change. We cover the geographic history and hydrology from the origin of the sea 17,000 years ago to the present. The original biota including animals, higher plants and algae are covered in full detail, and tracked through the regression crisis. We put special emphasis on fish and fisheries because of their economic importance for the surrounding populations. We also review the side effects of the regression in terms of human health and changes to the terrestrial environment and local climate. We explain the dramatic improvements to the fauna in the northern Small Aral Sea following the construction of dams to retain its waters and discuss future options to further improve this restored water basin. We contrast this with the progressing hypersalinization of the remnants of the southern Large Aral Sea, which faces conditions that will eventually render a “Dead Sea” condition hostile to all metazoan life. We end by highlighting the partial restoration of the Small Aral Sea as an example of how much restoration can be achieved for relatively little financial expense and in a short period, when good ideas, kind hearts and hard work operate together for the benefit of the environment and our human society.
KW - Agriculture
KW - Ecology
KW - Fisheries
KW - Global Change
KW - Irrigation
KW - Saline lake
U2 - 10.6620/ZS.2023.62-19
DO - 10.6620/ZS.2023.62-19
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37408707
AN - SCOPUS:85160273173
VL - 62
JO - Zoological Studies
JF - Zoological Studies
SN - 1021-5506
M1 - 19
ER -
ID: 350951775