Landscape ecology and cartographical analysis of natural salt complexes in the south west Siberia Basins of Lake Chany and Lake Kulundinskoye

Introduction

The largest salt lands in southwest Siberia are situated between the Ob and the Irtysh rivers. Natural salt complexes on these territories are associated mainly with the evolution of large lake systems once occupying vast areas and now represented by a number of smaller lake systems. This is evident from the alluvial-lake sediments of the last epochs, the general topography of the region, the landscape and the evolution of the lakes.

Climatic fluctuations in the quaternary influenced the formation of the inland water bodies in the country between the Ob and the Irtysh rivers. In humid periods, most of the water bodies were fresh and abundant in water, while in dry periods the lakes became shallow, decreased in size and gradually became salty, particularly in the southern regions. Coastal topography shows signs of level shift in the lake terraces. At present, these geosystems should be more properly considered as lake-basin incorporating the two subsystems – “lake” and “basin”. The first includes the present areas of water of one or several communicating lakes as well as narrow riversides of a width not exceeding one kilometer. The second incorporates the basins with constant and temporary runoff entering the lakes.