Takir (takyr) (originally from Kazakh or another

Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

) meaning "smooth, even, or bare", is a type of relief occurring in the deserts of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, similar to a salt flat in the southwestern United States. A takyr is usually formed in a shallow depressed area with a heavy clay soil, which is submerged by water after seasonal rains. After the water evaporates, a dried crust with fissures forms on the surface. The crust is often colonized by

filamentous cyanobacteria Cyanobacterial morphology refers to the form or shape of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are a large and diverse phylum of bacteria defined by their unique combination of pigments and their ability to perform oxygenic photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria ...

. In the southwestern U.S. "takyrs" are known as "playas" or "salt flats", in Arab countries as "sabkha".

References

Jayne Belnap Jayne Belnap (born February 2, 1952) is an American soil ecologist. Her expertise lies in desert ecologies and grassland ecosystems. In 2008, she was recognised by the Ecological Society of America as one of the most outstanding ecologists in t ...

, Otto Ludwig Lange. "Biological

Soil Crust Soil crusts are soil surface layers that are distinct from the rest of the bulk soil, often hardened with a platy surface. Depending on the manner of formation, soil crusts can be biological or physical. Biological soil crusts are formed by commun ...

s: Structure, Function, and Management". Springer, 2001, . Page 90, Chapter 7.5, "Central Asia Takyr". * Gerasimov I.P. On “takhirs” and the process of takyr formation: (Materials for the knowledge of the desert-steppe soil-forming process) in Soil Science. 1931. No. 4. S. 5-13. * Gerasimov I.P. On "takhirs", their genetic essence and the process of takyproerazovaniya // Soil Science. 1933. No. 5. P. 401-403. * Uspanov, U. U., Genesis and Reclamation of takyr. M .; L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1940. 116 p. (Works of the Soil Institute; T. 19. Issue 1). * Gvozdetsky N. A., Mikhailov N. I
Takyry: Deserts of the Turan Lowland and Balkhash
in Physical Geography of the USSR. Asian part. Third edition, revised and updated. Moscow. Thought. 1978 * "Kyrgyzstan" National Encyclopedia , Volume: 6. Asanov, chief editor of Y. A. K 97. K .: State and the Center, 2014. 816 pages, Fig. Salt flats {{CAsia-stub

See also

References