Approximately 25% of the territory of Uzbekistan is covered by mountains, including the ridges of Tjan-Shang and Pamir-Alay. As one heads towards Uzbekistan, Tjan-Shang lies in the west. Chatkals, Pskem and Ugam ridges branch off. In Pamir-Alay there are Turkestan, Zeravshan and Gissar ridges. Kugitangtau, Nuratau and of course, Babatag.

     Babatag has over 2,200 plants, from desert flora of the Great Turan to high-mountainous flora of the magic Pamir-Alay. The majority of them refer to seed-covered specimens of which there are more than 2,150 kinds.

     Advancing to high mountains, you will cross five vegetative peak-regions:

• 700-1200 m - efemer-efemeroidal vegetation,
• 1200-1500 m - leaf fall-wooden-bush vegetation,
• 1500-2300 m - junipers stand,
• 2300-2500 m - vegetation of thorn cushion plant formation and mountain steppes,
• Higher 2500 m - the Alpine vegetation

     The most widespread are plant-speciments belonging to:

• Aster/Composite (Asteraceae),
• Papilionaceous Plants/Bean (Fabaceae),
• Bluegrass Meadow/Cereals (Роасеае).

Super Polymorphous (diverse) sorts are Astragalus, Allium, Cousinia.
About 650 types of plants are used in medicine, with 400 types as food.

     Conditions in mountains are more extreme than in deserts, therefore specific structure of plants and animals are hardier and those that survive strive in abundance. The vegetative cover and fauna found in mountains peaks varies between various altitudes as well.

Mountain Steppes Region

     Commonly referred to a region rich in herbs, steppes is 600- 1100 m above sea-level. Rainfall here is one and a half time more than in semi-deserts (about 800 mm a year). Everywhere ravines and exposures of rocks are visible. The drought period is considerably less. The vegetation develops rather enough and consists of wheat grass, soap root, licorice, ferula, various kinds astragals. It is an area good for providing open pastures and boharic agriculture.

     The mountain steppes offers the ideal habitat for reptiles like the Turkestan agama, the Asian golo-eye, long-legged skink, glass-lizard, Tadjik desert lacerta, the Central Asian cobra; birds-has sung, a deserted partridge, steppe windhover, a pink starling; mammals - a badger, a steppe polecat, mole lemming, grey hamster, field mouse.

Region of Mountain Woods .

     Mountain woods of Uzbekistan are located at height of 1200- 2500 m above sea-level. Various vegetations are found in this region. Among deciduous trees there are a lot of walnut, pears, apple-trees, a cherry plum and a hawthorn, and in the south pistachios, fig, persimmon and pomegranate. Deciduous woods have thickets juniper.

Conditions for wildlife are more favorable in mountain woods than in semi-desert, as there is more moisture; almost everywhere it is possible to find water sources and much more vegetative food. The overall climate is softer with deep ravines amongst woods, steep rocks and taluses of rocks give shelter to many animals.

     There are not much reptiles found in mountain woods. Occasionally on the borders between mountain steppe and deciduous wood Turkestani agama meets, and in a transitive zone from juniper stand to the Alpine belt Himalaya agama comes across, it is possible to meet a deserted golo-eye, blunt-nosed viper and ordinary copperhead snake.

     Absolutely one to behold especially in the feathery world. From day-break, a shout of chukar from different directions starts to be distributed. Here and there you can see the small birdies flying on a watering place to springs or searching for forage in crones of trees. Among them lentils, ordinary turtle-doves, white-winged grosbeak, cobweb bird, titmouse, nutcracker, woodpeckers, featherbed, Radde's warblers, orioles are numerous. - finch, mouse hare., and at fast streams - black-bellied dipper less often come across.

     Over tops and gorges predators hover; one can see golden eagles, falcons, vultures, white-headed сип s, beard grass, or bearded vultures. Amongst the birds living in this belt, many are the typical inhabitants of wood adapted by a life on trees and already incapable to exist without wood plantings. For wood birds short wings and a long tail which serves as a driving wheel are characteristic. Besides, there is also a number of other adaptations expressed in the form and sizes like the beak, for example, at a woodpecker (in the form of a chisel), creepers (in the form of bent murder), white-winged grosbeak (in the form of nippers for caustic sugar), in a structure of paws (two fingers are directed forward, two - back) thanks to which woodpecker, a creeper, nutcracker can swarm up dexterously to a vertical surface of trees, in a rigid and elastic tail which the bird rests about a tree trunk.

     Local Mountain Woods are also rich with mammals. Here there are numerous wild boars, snow leopards (ounce) and leopards. In juniper stand of Babatag it is possible to see markhoors (in the CIS you can meet on slopes of ridges of Kugitangtau and Darvazsky.

     Among the pistachio woods of Babatag, the Bukhara ram is common. The Siberian mountain goat can be occasionally seen on the pas slopes of the Chatkal ridge. In deciduous woods lurk many Turkestan rats, sometimes you can meet wood mice, and on the slopes deprived to wood vegetation vole lives. Among taluses of rocks vair and ermines live, in the neighbourhood on slopes there are colonies of a relic gopher. In dense thickets of sea-buckthorn berries and a blackberrythe marten is frequent, and on trees there live sleepyheads - the small animals similar to fiber. Hares, foxes and badgers are frequently seen in mountain woods. Bats huddle in crevices of rocks. Species include the Asian barbastelle, late brown bat and the common noctule. In stone caves, there are the big horseshoe bat, good hearing and moustached common bat.

     Alpine Region of Babatag , 2500- 2800 m above sea-level, occupies a small space at the top part of a ridge. The climate up there is severe, therefore any vegetation that can be found is mainly same as in mountain steppe. The green carpet from sheep fescue and mountain xerophyte is decked by motley lawns of a poppy, blue forget-me-nots, orange asters and yellow buttercups in the spring. There are not many Amphibious in the Alpine. Here only the green toad occasionally can be found. From reptiles it is usual alay golo-eye. Himalaya agama and ordinary copperhead snake you meet much less often. One of adaptations of reptiles to cold mountain conditions is their livability. Copperhead snake and alay golo-eye are ovoviviparous (from newly deposited eggs in a few minutes there are cubs), and Himalaya а gama deposits eggs in which the blastemal is already generated.

      Common Birds of the Alpine region consists of the snowcock, snipe - the eremite, the beard grass, chough, the Alpine daw, Alpine accentor, a horned lark amongst others. In general the Alpine region offers rather poor living conditions for the feathery species. Except for specified kinds nesting in this area, typical inhabitants will migrate during the second half of summer.

     Mammals From mammals in the Alpine meadows there lives a bear (the subspecies Brown, in difference from the northern relatives have longer and rare wool fur of light coloring and white claws – for what it call white claw bear), here Bukhara rams, the Siberian mountain goats and a leopard quite often can be found. Groundhogs, voles and creepers are numerous on mountain lawns. Occasionally come across an ermine and caress can be seen as well.

     Various animals adapt differently for severe winter conditions in this region. Some would leave in the winter for hibernation (reptiles, marmots and bear), others move in lower areas of mountains (a bird, hoofed animals mammals, a leopard), the third do stock-up for the winter or extract forage under snow (coney, voles).

     The most widespread and known fish in the mountain rivers is the marinka (trout) which lives under boulders and snags in gullies and deep caveats of the rivers. It is found in abundance that the local population catches it only using their bare hands!

Acknowledgements: Photos for sections animals, birds, plants and fishes have been borrowed from sites: wikipedia.org, wikimedia.org, zoologist.ru, plantarium.ru, apteka.uz, yandex.ru, fish-book.ru, zooclub.ru, animal-photos.ru