Mongolia covers a range of habitat: not only steppe grassland, but also mountain, forest, deserts and lakes. Due to this and its geography it contains a very diverse and unique assemblage of animals and plants, with species from both Asia and Europe represented. Its representatives have adapted to different climatic conditions from the hot summer of the desert to severe winters of the mountains. Mongolia occupying more than 1,564,116 square kilometer inhabits about 730 species of vertebrates, more than half of which are birds nesting mainly in deltas of rivers and along the shores of lakes. In this area occur more than 64 different fish species, 6 amphibians and 21 reptiles. Mammals in this area are represented by 147 species, distributed from hot desert to the glaciers of Mongol Altai. Invertebrates in the fauna of Mongolia are represented by the rich variety of insects: arthropods, arachnids, butterflies and others. Mongolia’s wildlife appears to have persisted for two main reasons: (1) Mongolia has the lowest human population density in the world, with just 2.1 people/km2, and (2) it has a rich, and low impact, cultural heritage where half of the 3.6 million inhabitants practice traditional nomadic and semi-nomadic herding, a practice that has continued for the past 14,000 years. Until now Mongolia has only experienced a limited amount of industrialization and cultivation and has relatively low rates of natural resource exploitation, resulting in geographically large areas with little adverse anthropogenic impacts. The biodiversity found in Mongolia is in marked contrast to that of neighboring regions, a warning of what could potentially become of Mongolia’s biodiversity
To preserve the flora and fauna in Mongolia protect areas have been created: nature reserves, national parks, specialized nurseries. Legislative protection of rare species of animals and plants is covered by the Red Book and Red List that has become a kind of alarm signal about the danger that threatens this or that species. But still the most important in the conservation of natural component is a single person. Each of us is able to carefully and thoughtfully treat the living nature, teach our children with love and trepidation to treat every small representative of flora and fauna. Protection and restoration of rare and endangered species should always be considered as one of the most important problems.
The extreme climate and the range of precipitation and altitude across the country means that Mongolia had diverse habitat a rich wildlife. The main habitat in Mongolia are:
Mountains: 60% of Mongolia is between 1000 and 2000 m. The main mountain masses in Mongolia are found in the west, with the Altai chain running throughout south and western Mongolia. The other two main mountain range are the Khangai mountains in central Mongolia and the Khentii mountains in the north; there are also mountain ranges north and west of Lake Khovgol. Several mammal species in Mongolia are well adapted to the harsh and cold mountain condition, such as the snow leopard, argali sheep and ibex.
Taiga forest: The greater amount of precipitation in the north of Mongolia allows forest to grow, largely composed of larch, spruce and pine species. This extends north into Siberia. Taiga species in Mongolia includes reindeer, moose, wolverine, Siberian flying squirrel and Siberian musk deer.
Main forest steppe: found on central Mongolia and characterized by hill and valleys covered with steppe grassland, with patches of silver birch and some larch on northern slopes. This zone covers 25% of Mongolia and is home to red deer, wild boar, Mongolian marmot.
Steppe grassland: a vast expanse of almost flat grassland extends across from the far east to the Valley of the Lakes. This area provides habitat for Mongolian gazelle, goitered gazelle, Pallas’s cat, hare and Mongolian marmot.
Desert steppe- this habitat forms the boundary between the steppe and true desert. Species found in this area include khulan/wild ass, goitered gazelle and saiga.
Desert: the Gobi desert is typified by very little or no precipitation and is found the south Mongolia. However, the desert provides enough food for the Gobi bear, wild Bactrian camel and several species of jerboa.