From Hovd Travel in Mongolia
Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area
A large portion of Mongolia's Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area resides in the southern part of Hovd aimag, 300 km from Hovd City on the border with China. The area protects a largely undisturbed part of the vast Gobi desert, and provides a last refuge for representatives of the ancient fauna of Central Asia. In recognition of the region's unique qualities, the Mongolian government established the Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area in 1975. In 1991, the United Nations designated the area as an international Biosphere Reserve, the fourth largest Biosphere Reserve in the world, and the largest in Asia.
The protected area is divided into two ecologically distinct parts, the Southern Altai Gobi ("Gobi A", and the Zungarian Gobi ("Gobi B", the B section is the one that is in Hovd). Scientists have identified 410 species of plants, 49 species of mammals, 15 reptiles and amphibians, and over 150 species of birds in the protected area. The "Gobi A" area is uninhabited except for park staff and border guards, the "Gobi B" area is used seasonally by herders.
The terrain features small mountain ranges broken by wide valleys, rolling plains, outwashes and hummocks. Contrary to what many people might imagine, very little of the area is covered by sand. The larger "Gobi A" area exhibits flora and fauna typical of the deserts of Central Asia. Desert steppe species are found primarily at higher elevations, and saxaul forests occur on mountain slopes. As one moves south, the climate becomes increasingly arid, and the lower-elevation, southern regions of the "Gobi A" area are characterized by a special zone of stone-covered super-arid desert where plants are largely absent except in dry washes and depressions. Though the "Gobi A" area's vast plains, valleys, and rugged mountain ranges appear almost lifelss from a distance, the area provides a last haven for some of the rarest and most endangered species of wildlife found on earth. An estimated 30 Gobi Bears Ursus arctos, the world's only desert-living bear, and Mongolia's last wild Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) inhabit the protected area. Reptiles found here that are endemic to Central Asia include the Gobi Gecko (Cyrtapodion elongatus) and the Tatar Sand Boa (Eryx Tataricus).
The "Gobi B" area (or the Zungarian Gobi) exhibits the ecological influences of the deserts of both Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Vegetation is more plentiful, owing to greater precipitation, and is characterized by feather grasses, shrubs, and semi-shrubs. Small groves of downy poplar (Populus diversifolia) border the desert's oases. The Zungarian Gobi, which is largely desert steppe, provides an important habitat for the world's largest remaining herds of wild ass (Equus hemionus) as well as herds of black-tailed gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa). The area was also the last refute for the world's only remaining truly wild horse, the Takhi, or Przewalski's Horse (Equus przewalski).
In both areas, permanent water sources are critical to large mammals and many other desert animals. Springs are particularly scarce in the "Gobi A" area, where they are concentrated in mountain ranges and low hills, while the region's plains and rolling terrain are largely devoid of surface water. By contrast, in the "Gobi B" area, more favorable precipitation patterns lead to more frequent, evenly-distributed water sources.
Threats to the Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area include uncontrolled motor-vehicle use and human and domestic livestock use of scarce natural water sources and pastures important to wildlife in the Zungarian and northern part of the Southern Altai Gobi.
