ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEMS OF SALINIZATION OF SOILS IN IRRIGATED LANDS OF TURKESTAN REGION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF MYRZASHOL IRRIGATED MASSIVE)

Abstract

Based on long-term field and laboratory studies, the article analyzes the problems of soil salinization in the Kazakh part of the irrigated Myrzashol massif (Hungry Steppe), located in Central Asia for the period from 1995 to 2022, which are subject to the world's largest historical trends of desertification and salinization.
Over the past 20-25 years, the degree of salinity of the soils of the massif has been growing rapidly. If in 1995 25.4% (31.8 thousand ha) of the soils of the Myrzasholsky irrigated massif were moderately and heavily saline, then in 2022 this indicator increased significantly and amounted to 38 % (54.5 thousand ha). Such a high intensity of the degree of salinization of soils on irrigated lands is associated with an increase in the groundwater level to 2 m or to a critical level, as a result of deterioration of the technical condition of irrigation systems, malfunction of drainage systems and improper operation of sewer and drainage systems. In 2022, on 9.7 % of the sown areas of the Myrzasholsky irrigated massif (14 249 ha), the groundwater level increased to 2 m, and in 1994 this figure (7.897 ha) was only 6.2%. In addition, the study showed that the increase in the groundwater level on the territory of the massif is also associated with a weak filtration capacity of the soil cover.