Saxaul

The tree that holds back the desert

The saxaul lives in the desert, where it almost never rains! It has no leaves — just green twigs — so it saves water. Its roots reach 10 metres down to find water. Saxaul holds the sand in place and stops sandstorms. Right now, millions of saxauls are being planted on the dried-up bed of the Aral Sea!

The black saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) is the main tree of Central Asian deserts, 5–8 m tall. Its leaves have shrunk to scales and photosynthesis happens in green shoots; its roots reach 10–12 m and can use salty water. Its wood is so dense that it sinks in water and can't be chopped with an axe — it has to be broken. In Uzbekistan, saxaul forests fix the sand and reduce salt-and-dust storms. Since 2018, more than 1.7 million hectares of the dried Aral seabed have been planted with saxaul — one of the largest ecological projects in the world.

Fun facts

• Saxaul wood sinks in water — it's that dense!
• A single saxaul holds 4 tonnes of sand in place around it.
• The area of saxaul planted on the Aral seabed is bigger than the whole of Israel.