ADRA COUNTRY DIRECTOR'S WORDS
The Gobi desert is a harsh and unforgiving environment - very cold in winter and too hot in warmer months. It’s the dry and endless flat ground full of rocks and sand that make it a hostile climate. It’s a difficult environment to sustain life. Well, that’s what I thought. But the Gobi Tree (Haloxylon ammodendron) is simply awesome. Like everything in Mongolia it’s stoic, tough and loves good competition.
Growing in the desert regions, it survives strong winds, poor soil and infrequent water supply, producing an unparalleld adaptation to the environmental conditions. The Gobi Tree grows very slowly, and rarely reaches a height in excess of ten feet – their gnarled, weathered trunks are obvious evidence of the hardship of their living conditions. Initially growing horizontally, the tree can look like a shrub even after many years. Only after many years, or even a decade - eventually a tree appears. From the sprouting, dense and thorny branches, other life grows abundantly; eagles, insects and other reptiles congregate around its protection and shelter. The wood is so hard it sinks in water, while the forests also support species that are specific to the tree – various insects, and even a Gobi tree sparrow.
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