Abstract:

Arid or semi-arid ecosystems, subjected to or already affected by land degradation, occupy predominantly part of the territory of Kazakhstan. More than 67% of the country's territory is subject to desertification processes, including soil and vegetation cover degradation, water and wind erosion of soils, salinization, and loss of fertility.

It is not a secret that irrational long-term policy on the development of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan, on the regulation of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers flow for the development of irrigated agriculture in the desert zone of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, pasture development of deserts of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was not sufficiently based on the scientific substantiation of consequences for ecosystems. These historical land transformations are exacerbated by intensifying climate change

Climatic changes such as increasing aridity, lack of precipitation, inconsistent precipitation, decreasing water availability and quality of surface and underground water resources, and deterioration of land cover characteristics along with intensive anthropogenic impact make agricultural lands in Kazakhstan ecologically unstable. Temperature rise and shift of arid zones will lead to negative consequences for the biodiversity of lands. This, in turn, poses a potential threat to the food security of the country and the well-being of the population. Increasing rates of climate aridization threaten the stability not only of the natural environment but also of the national economies of Kazakhstan and neighboring countries of Central Asia, as land degradation is often transboundary.

Analysis of the scale and assessment of the degree of degradation become relevant steps to justify targeted adaptation measures for fragile dryland ecosystems. The paper will reflect the emerging trends of the negative impact of climate change on the state and dynamics of ecosystems involved in agriculture.

Keywords: Kazakhstan, climate change, degradation, desertification, agricultural lands.