Landscape and Ecological Analysis of Land Degradation in the Syrdarya River Delta And The Dried Bottom of the Aral Sea

Abstract

Increased environmental tensions in the Delta of Syrdarya River and the Aral Sea region were primarily due to economic reasons. The creation of new, more productive natural and economic systems, the expansion of irrigated agriculture in Kyzylorda region has contributed to the violation of the natural balance in the aquatic and subaquatic geosystems, the emergence and development of desertification process. Although the direction, pace and scale of desertification processes were characterized by a number of features but the result of human activity was a decisive factor in the degradation of the natural environment. Regional and local anthropogenic impacts on the nature of the region have radically changed the natural landscapes and their individual parts, and subsequently led to a violation of the ecological balance. In the 80-90 years of the last century the areas of water-resistant natural territorial complexes sharply decreased against the background of water cut in the Delta of the Syrdarya River, and alternatively, the areas of transformed landscapes with secondary saline soils, takyr soils, soils with analogues of desolate hydromorphic soils (alluvium and meadow, marsh and meadow, meadow and marsh soils) increased). The prevailing situation has been formed in the process of “halophytization” of Atyrau landscapes. The article presents a landscape and ecological analysis of land degradation processes in the Delta of the Syrdarya River and the drained bottom of the Aral Sea. The types of economic use of landscape species were also analyzed. A landscape map of the territory and land use types map has been compiled. The actual state of economic use of Atyrau landscapes and the consequences of anthropogenic impact are shown. The obtained results of the analysis are used for functional zoning work in order to develop a set of measures to optimize and use the territory effectively