There is no natural regeneration on burned sites. The remaining pine forests of the region also experience frequent fires. The fire history of these stands has been reconstructed by fire scars in tree rings. During the summer season numerous youth camps, recreation houses and tourist bases are functioning here. In valleys of the drying rivers and in crevices of hills there are small meadows.
Fires occur frequently.
Steadfast attention is required to protect the area from fires, especially in pastures and haymaking grasslands. The continental climate is characterised by high insolation and aridity. The largest number of wildfires of the 20 th Century occurred in the 1990's. The causes of the forest fires during the 1997 fire season are summarized in Table 2. The wood losses from wildfires in Kazakhstan for the period 1991 to 2000 were ca.