ABSTRACT
Livestock management in the arid Kara Kum desert depends upon access to water. Livestock can only use pastures if water of tolerable quality and in sufficient quantity is available. The sheep and goats mainly kept in the Kara Kum can graze only within a limited radius of water. This means that when acceptable water supplies are unevenly distributed, grazing intensity must likewise be uneven, with consequences for the vegetation condition. Pastures close to a water point will be more heavily grazed, while pastures without access to water will be grazed relatively lightly, in some instances only by camels, which require water far less frequently.
