About half of the alpine meadow is bare rock or gravely soils with sparse vegetation.

To the north, across the border in Tajikistan is the Gissaro-Alai open woodlands ecoregion on a western extension of the Tian Shan mountains.

Because of the fertility of the soil where it exists, and the moisture from snow melt, there are extensive fields of alpine meadows.

Cushion plants grow on rocky areas, achieving some protection against the cold by trapping heat against the ground.

Animals of conservation interest include the near threatened Argali (Ovis ammon) (also known as the mountain sheep), the vulnerable Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), the near-threatened Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), the near threatened Markhor (Capra falconeri) (also known as the Screw horn goat), the near threatened Mountain weasel (Mustela altaica), the vulnerable Common bent-winged bat (Miniopteris schreibersi), the vulnerable Snow leopard (Panthera uncia), the near threatened Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), and the endangered White-bellied musk deer (Moschus leucogaster).