On 14 August 2026, Taldykorgan hosted the international scientific and practical conference entitled “The Sievers Apple in the Context of the Historical, Cultural and Natural Heritage of Zhetysu: The Historical and Biological Value of a Unique Giant Tree and the Scientific Basis for Granting It the Status of a ‘Scientific Natural Site – National Heritage’.”
Dedicated to the 113th anniversary of the birth of the distinguished scientist and academician Aimak Dzhangaliyev, the event brought together researchers, ecologists, conservation professionals and local historians. The conference was organised by the Zhongar-Alatau State National Nature Park, the Centre of Local Historians of Zhetysu Public Association, and the Centre for the Study and Conservation of the Sievers Apple at the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction.
Gulzhanat Bakytovna Tanabekova, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), participated in the conference. She delivered a presentation entitled “Characteristics of the Distribution of Ecological Groups of Insect Pests Feeding on the Sievers Apple in the Zhetysu Alatau.” In her presentation, the researcher reported the results of studies on the species composition, trophic relationships and ecological characteristics of insects damaging natural populations of the Sievers apple.
The plenary session also featured the presentation of G. B. Tanabekova’s monograph “Іле және Жетісу Алатауындағы Сиверс алмасының зиянкес жәндіктері” (“Insect Pests of the Sievers Apple in the Ile and Zhetysu Alatau”), published in Almaty.
The monograph contains annotated lists and ecological characteristics of insect pests associated with the Sievers apple in the Ile and Zhetysu Alatau. Particular attention is given to the ecological and biological characteristics of the dominant species: the apple ermine moth (Yponomeuta malinella Zell.), the rose leafroller (Archips rosana L.) and the hawthorn leafroller (Cacoecia crataegana Hb.).
The publication includes maps illustrating the distribution and impact of the principal pests, information on the potentially invasive apple buprestid beetle Agrilus mali, and practical recommendations for reducing the adverse effects of insects on natural populations of the Sievers apple.
The materials presented in the monograph may be used to develop measures for protecting the Sievers apple against insect pests, to support conservation and agricultural activities, and in higher education programmes in biology, zoology, entomology and ecology.
The monograph was prepared on the basis of the results of project IRN AP14972741, “Ecological and Faunistic Characteristics of Insects Damaging Wild Populations of the Sievers Apple (Malus sieversii) in the Ile and Zhetysu Alatau,” funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The publication was approved by the Academic Council of the Institute of Zoology of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Minutes No. 4 of 4 March 2026).
Following the conference, the participants adopted a resolution calling for the identification and comprehensive study of centuries-old Sievers apple trees, the establishment of a unified scientific and local-history database, and consideration of granting the status of “Scientific Natural Site – National Heritage” to particularly valuable natural populations and individual trees. The recommendations are to be submitted to the Executive Office of the President, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the National Kurultai.
G. B. Tanabekova’s participation in the conference and the presentation of the monograph made an important contribution to disseminating the findings of contemporary entomological research and advancing scientifically grounded approaches to the conservation of the Sievers apple, a unique component of Kazakhstan’s natural heritage.
19.08.2026