Тазабекова Е.Т. (д.б.н., проф.), Усен А.И. (магистр, ст.преп.)

Казахский Национальный Педагогический Университет им. Абая

CONSIDERING THE ALLUVIAL SOIL TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES IN THE SOUTHERN BALKASH REGION

One of the most considerable features among the landscapes of the Balkhash Lake regions from the south is that there were formed river deltas plains and sandy valleys. Typical desert landscapes are spread all across the midland Southern Balkash hollow, which’s been formed not only as a result of deflation process but tectonically. Alluvial rocks, oozy parts and sand were dropt by rivers and filled in the desert plains around the Balkash Lake territories from the south, therefore these natural landscapes within the only administrative district are considered as The Southern Balkash hollow. Such a geographical nomination confirms to its geological history and the nature of deflation processes.

Flat plains with a high level of humidified soils and spacious fields with desert grass types put this region under an intensive exploration for agricultural specialization and formed up the specific landscapes that could be discussed by different authors as the “agricultural” territorial complexes or “anthropogenous landscapes”. If we’d analyze this area as a district divided into agricultural landscapes, it would had there inundated river terrace as totally explored for rice fields and sandy plains that used to be natural all-year-round pastures for the sheep and cattle breading.

Geographical factors of the midland deserts predicted the geography of the diverse soil types that were formed within the territories of the Southern Balkash hollow and might be counted as even more than 20 types. Considering some of the main zonal soil types we’d point first the gray soils, alluvial and inundated soils, meadow soils and some types that presented in some classifications as the inner zonal soil types. As far as specific relief and humidifying factors made up the conditions for the zonal types be formed, the inner soils have filled in the desert with the soils that were formed as combined types upon two or more zonal types. The inner zonal soils are “meadow soils with gray soils” and “gray soils with meadow soils”; such systematization actually confirms to the agreed standards on soil classification and therefore has been used for soils classification of Kazakhstan [1, 2, 5].

Analyzing the inner zone soil types according particular southern Kazakhstan’s landscapes it is necessary to observe such types as the transformed from the highly humidified or hydromorphous, to more dried up kinds as “alluvial dried up soils”, “meadow with gray soils”, “meadow saline soils with sands and takyrs (dried up alluvial soils)” and many other kinds and categories. Must be also paid attention to some local factors that cause the processes of transformation, but the leading factor is always the regional zone factor, that determines the consequences of humidifying and desertification that affects the vulnerable desert soils to get through transformation.

The natural (not transformed) soils nomenclatural systematization indeed very useful, because the author of research is looking forward to organize some anthropogenous soil systematization of the Southern Balkash irrigated areas using the natural soils classification as the agreed standard.

Typical sample of the humid zone type which is widely spread in the southern Balkash deltoid areas is the meadow soil. There are no pure meadow soils in the areas of agricultural landscapes, they formed in complexes with sand, dried alluvial soils, humid alluvial and gray soils, distinguished in depend on level of salinity. There are fine natural conditions for the humid soils to be ever formed in the Balkash regions, but over concentrated agricultural lands along the Tasmuryn channel affected the meadow soils so deep that some meadow areas became rather alluvial soils as they been used for rice, and the rest have been dried up to sandy crust, saline soils or solonetzics.

Location of alluvial soils far from the coastal line of the main stream can be explained as the result of the agricultural specialization influence upon the humid landscapes. The geography of alluvial soils indicates the exact structure of the inundated river terrace relief therefore the location of the humid soils in the deeper desert could be explained as stable anthropogenous factor of soils transformation processes. Such term as “soil degradation” or “evolution of soil process” doesn’t content indeed the information about type and level of agricultural influence upon the landscapes. In this particular search to get anthropogenous soils classification perfect organized, it had better been valued the set of the natural factors of region and after it the period of how long the soils were under irrigation.

According to analyses of material on this topic it was noticed, that firstable soil types organized for irrigation have been the gray soils of the hilly plains in the Southern Balkash plateau [3, 4]. Typical characteristics of the desert gray soils are the following: accumulative top horizon (A) and medial (B, BC) totaled about 33-39 sm., and adapting the desert soils for agricultural exploration it was possible to work the ground for 25 sm. Gray soils of the desert zone due to the long period of irrigation have been gaining particular attributes which are typical for the humid desert soils (inner zone soils). Saline layered horizons were appeared all over the areas that were under irrigation waters, that’s the factor caused the saline and solonetzic soil kinds formation. The alluvial desert soils under rice were used to be under the irrigation waters about 90 days or even more. Irrigated soils undergo through sharp changes and also get attributes, which are typical for the marsh grounds. According to standardized classification [6], this soil types was mentioned as “irrigated gray soils” – it’s for the types and the subtype is “alluvial rice soils”. Alluvial rice soils considered to be specific ones, because of the agricultural factor of its geographical formation and the classified natural and anthropogenous types are described in table “Natural and anthropogenous soils of the Southern Balkash agricultural areas”

Natural and anthropogenous soils of the Southern Balkash agricultural areas

Type	Subtype	The sort (type of chemical processes)	Kind (type of prevailing process)	Category (rock structure)
Meadow soil	Meadow soils of the desert zone	Typical (a non saline)	Carbonic	Sandy loam
		Saline soils	Poor and normal salinity	Sandy loam
			High salinity	Sandy loam with salty crust
			Very high salinity	Sandy loam with salty crust and sands
Meadow soils with gray soils	Meadow with gray soils of the desert zone	Saline soils	Poor and normal salinity	Loamy and sandy loam
			Normal and high salinity	Sandy loam and sands
		typical	Carbonic	Loamy and sandy loam
Gray soils with meadow soils	Gray with meadow soils of the desert zone	Typical	Carbonic	Light loam parts
		Saline soils	Poor and normal salinity	Heavy loam parts
			High salinity	Heavy loam parts
			Very high salinity	Heavy sandy loam
		Solonetzic soils	Poor and normal content of Na	Sandy loam, light loam parts
			Normal and high content of Na	Sandy loam, light loam parts
			High and very high content of Na (deep penetration of Na and very deep penetr. of Na)	Sandy loam, light loam parts and heavy loam parts
Irrigated (antropo-genous) gray soils	Alluvial rice soils of the desert zone	Solonetzic soils	Poor and normal content of Na	Sandy loam
			Normal and high content of Na	Light loam parts
			High and very high content of Na	Light loam parts
		Saline soils	Poor and normal salinity	Sandy loam, light loam parts and heavy loam parts
			High salinity	Sandy loam, light loam parts and heavy loam parts
			Very high salinity	Sandy loam, light loam parts and heavy loam parts
	Meadow irrigated soils of the desert zone	Saline soils	Poor and normal salinity	Light loam parts
			Normal and high salinity	Light and heavy loam parts
	Alluvial dried up soils of the desert zone	Saline soils	Poor and normal salinity	Light and heavy loam parts
			High salinity	Light and heavy loam parts
			Very high salinity	heavy loam parts
		Solonetzic soils	Normal and high content of Na	Light and heavy loam parts
			High and very high content of Na (deep penetration of Na and very deep penetr. of Na)	Light loam parts and sandy loam

The desert sandy, alluvial and meadow soils are considered as bright sample of the gray soils transformation processes in the regions of Southern Balkash hollow. Observing the transformed soils and organizing a nomenclatural classification on it are the actual for research concerning level of transformation of the territorial complex as a whole.

The references literature:

1. А.Н. Розанов «Серозёмы Средней Азии». АНСССР Москва. 1951

2. Классификация и диагностика почв СССР. М.: Колос, 1977

3. Отчёт о мелиоративном состоянии Акдалинского массива Балхашского района Алматинской области за 2001. Комитет по водным ресурсам РК, Алматы, 2002

4. Отчёт о мелиоративном состоянии Акдалинского массива Балхашского района Алматинской области за 2007. Комитет по водным ресурсам РК, Алматы, 2008

5. Почвы Казахской ССР (Алматинская область). АНКазССР, Алма-Ата, 1962

6. Почвоведение. Под ред.проф. И.С.Кауричева. Москва, 1989