From May 14 to May 19, 2026, within the framework of project BR28712767 "Study of Ecological, Socio-Demographic, Economic-Geographical, and Paleobiogeographical Aspects of the Cis-Urals (Priuralye) and Assessment of its Natural Resource Potential," a research expedition was conducted in the Burlinsky and Chingirlausky districts. The expedition followed the route: Uralsk – Solyanka River – Mirgorodka – Turatbasy – Kyzemshek – Zhylandy – Lake Sulukol. The expedition participants included R.Zh. Kozhagalieva, Zh.S. Kazhmuratova, M.V. Mamysheva, and S.N. Bokhorova.
In the valley of the Solyanka River, descriptions of meadow and chalk vegetation were carried out.
In Mirgorodka, Turatbasy, Kyzemshek, and Zhylandy, the researchers studied steppe (feather grass, wormwood, chee grass, and bluegrass) and petrophytic-calciphytic communities. Notably, their floristic composition includes such rare species as: Anabasis cretacea (chalk saltwort), Pedicularis verticillata (whorled lousewort), Hedysarum grandiflorum (large-flowered gorse), Anthemis trotzkiana (Kornukh-Trotsky's chamomile), Artemisia salsoloides (saltwort-like wormwood), Orostachys, Astragalus tauricus (Crimean milkvetch), Dianthus rigidus (rigid pink), Echinops meyeri (Meyer's globethistle), Jurinea kirghisorum (Kirghiz jurinea), Centaurea carbonata (charcoal cornflower), Ferula caspica (Caspian ferula), Limonium macrorhizon (large-rooted sea lavender), Linaria cretacea (chalk toadflax), Silene cretacea (chalk campion), Matthiola fragrans (scented stock), Onosma simplicissima (simple onosma), Nanophyton erinaceum (hedgehog nanophyton), Rindera tetraspis (four-shielded rindera), Lepidium meyeri (Meyer's pepperweed), Adonis vernalis (pheasant's eye), Crambe aspera (rough colewort), Ephedra distachya (twin-spike ephedra), Alyssum lensii (Lens's madwort), Trinia multicaulis (many-stemmed honewort), Atraphaxis spinosa (thorny salt tree), Ornithogalum fischerianum (Fischer's star-of-Bethlehem), Tulipa spp. (tulips), Cynoglossum officinale (houndstongue), Astragalus cornutus (horn-podded milkvetch), Astragalus macropus (long-stemmed milkvetch), Astragalus oocarpus (egg-podded milkvetch), Astragalus tenuifolius (fine-leaved milkvetch), and Pulsatilla spp. (pasqueflower).
In the vicinity of Lake Sulukol, the recorded rare species included: Symphytum officinale (common comfrey), Salvia aethiopis (Mediterranean sage), Ornithogalum fischerianum (Fischer's star-of-Bethlehem), Mentha aquatica (water mint), and Alisma plantago-aquatica (common water-plantain).
GPS coordinates were obtained for all research sites, and both herbarium and photographic materials were collected.
