[[File:Populus diversifolia, Ekhiin-Gol oazis, Shinejinst sum, Bayankhongor province, Mongolia, Gobi desert 2.JPG|thumb|right|[[Euphrates poplar]] trees and [[tamarix]] bushes at the [[Bayankhongor Province#Geography|Ekhiin-Gol Oasis]] in the [[Gobi Desert]].]]
The centre of the range of Tugay vegetation is the [[Tarim Basin]] in north-western [[China]], where the Tarim Huyanglin nature reserve in the middle reaches of the [[Tarim River]] holds the largest areas of intact Tugay forests, with a 1993 estimate of about 61% of the total. The [[Central Asia]]n countries hold another 31%, with smaller areas remaining in the [[Middle East]] and [[Pakistan]].<ref name=thevs>{{cite journal |author=Thevs, Niels |year=2005 |title=Tugay vegetation in the middle reaches of the Tarim River – Vegetation types and their ecology |journal= Archiv für Naturschutz und Landschaftsforschung |volume=March 2005 |issue= |pages=63–84 |url= http://www.botanik.uni-greifswald.de}}</ref> Tugais also occur in the [[Caucasus]].<ref name="Geptner1972">{{cite book |author1=Heptner, V. G. |author2=Sludskij, A. A. |orig-year=1972 |year=1992 |title=Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2. Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats) |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation |location=Washington DC |chapter= |url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov221992gept#page/83/mode/2up |pages=1–732}}</ref>
