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Assessment of the Soil Cover in the Dried Aral Seabed in Kazakhstan and Climate Change in the Region

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Abstract

The dried Aral seabed is a newly developed anthropogenic salty desert (Aralkum). It is a catastrophic region for all of Central Asia, including Kazakhstan. This research allows us to obtain a better understanding of the transported material properties from the dried seabed during soil deflation caused by storms. The seabed is mainly flat plains and undulating ridge plains. The main soil types of the desert are saline soils, including different kinds of solonchaks and sands. The soil texture is sandy loam, and the soils are calcareous and alkaline (pH 7.7–8.6). Carbonates in the soils range from 4.86 to 8.51%, and the soils are susceptible to deflation processes. The humus content in soils is very low (< 2%). The soil cover is contaminated with heavy metals such as Cd, Zn, Cu, and Mn, which can lead to air/water pollution and vegetation/soil degradation. The monitoring of climatic parameters has indicated aridification in the region. The mean monthly temperature and potential evaporation in the region increased by 2 °C (23.81%) and 76 kg m−2 (7.81%), respectively, from 1986 to 2020.

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The authors declare that all relevant data supporting the findings of this study are included in this article. They are available on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Special gratitude goes to A. Saduakhas and K. Kulymbet for their assistance with soil sampling during fieldwork and geobotanical description.

Funding

This research was funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan (Project: AP08053270 – “Assessment of the current state of the soil cover of the Eastern Aral Sea region and its transformation as a result of the drying of the Aral Sea”, 2020–2022); the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, grant number XDA20060302; the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) program, grant number 2020PC0090; Shanghai Cooperation Organization scientific and technological partnership program, grant number 2020E01013; and it was supported by the Postdoctoral Fellowship provided by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.U. Uspanov Kazakh Research Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan

    Gulnura Issanova, Kuralay Tynybayeva, Aigerim Kalybayeva & Samat Tanirbergenov

  2. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi, 830011, Xinjiang, China

    Gulnura Issanova, Jilili Abuduwaili & Yongxiao Ge

  3. Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan

    Gulnura Issanova & Azamat Kaldybayev

  4. Research Centre for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan

    Gulnura Issanova

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Issanova, G., Abuduwaili, J., Tynybayeva, K. et al. Assessment of the Soil Cover in the Dried Aral Seabed in Kazakhstan and Climate Change in the Region. Water Air Soil Pollut 233, 525 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05966-2

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