ABSTRACT
The first attempts to improve gypsum desert ranges were taken back in 1934–1938 at the Ayakagitmin station of the Central Asian University (Keizer, 1953). Subsequently, such studies were conducted in the Ustyurt Plateau in 1949–1950 and in the southern margin of Kyzylkum in the neighborhood of the Kyzylcha state farm by Burygin (1952, 1954). The experiments involved undersowing a wide range of wild plants in natural phytocenoses without cultivating ploughed and harrowed soil. These studies resulted in selecting suitable shrub and semi-shrub species, the inference being drawn that only a complete elimination of the natural vegetation by ploughing ensures germination and good survival of seedlings.
