Zemljište i biljka (Jan 2020)
Socio-economic evaluation of the reclaimed dry bottom during the development of the Kazakhstan part of the Aral Sea
Abstract
This article discusses the methodology for assessing the nature management, which includes the environmental, social and economic component of natural resources. Violation of the hydrological regime of rivers and drainage of a significant part of the Aral Sea resulted in significant landscape changes in the Aral-Syrdarya region. At the present stage, desertification remains the most ambitious, environmentally hazardous process. The restoration of the functioning of natural-economic systems and the improvement of the ecological situation in the zone under consideration are possible when developing scientifically sound measures aimed at introducing water-saving irrigation technologies and increasing water availability on the basis of water resources management. Specific conditions for the formation of the soil cover of the drained bottom of the Kazakhstan part of the Aral Sea, the climate and edaphysics for growth of plant communities contributed to the formation of three main types of elementary ecosystems on the territory of the drained bottom (ephemeral, wasteland and non-ecosystem). Of the many activities aimed at improving the environmental situation in the Aral Sea region, the reclamation of the dried seabed using phytomelioration is the most appropriate and urgent method for improving the environment. Reclamation and consolidation of the dried bottom of the sea with the help of salt-tolerant and drought-resistant plants will create the conditions for turning the territory of the drainage into productive pastures and hayfields. Based on this, it was established that in the Aral Sea drainage zone the representatives of the autochthonic flora are the most promising for an effective phyto-remediation. The environmental and economic assessment of the proposed measures for the restoration of degraded agrolandscapes showed that, with full consideration of the requirements, the effectiveness of their restoration has a rather high potential. Moreover, the environmental reliability of the reclamation sites will be R = 0.9, which is at the optimal level.
