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THE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING AND CONTROLLING SALINE
SOILS IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
KHAFIZOVA Z., MUKUMOV A. M.
Senior Lecturer of the Department
“Land Use”, Tashkent Institute
of Irrigation and Agricultural Way
Mechanization Engineers, Uzbekistan.
Abstract.
In the global aspect, problems associated with irrigation and land
reclamation are being studied globally, especially in regions with arid and
semiarid zones. Agriculture is based on irrigated agriculture in the arid and semi-
arid regions (Uzbekistan, Central Asian countries). There are many problems such
as poor soil conditions and land quality, salinization and pollution of irrigated
soils, groundwater and water sources. All these problems negatively affect the
ecological environment, and one of the reasons for their appearance is the
improper water management of irrigation systems. Soil salinization is considered
from two sides, the first as a process that appeared for natural reasons and
conditions. The second one is the intervention of people in the irrigation process.
The highest salinity occurs when people intervene in the ecosystem. The biggest
problem in Central Asia is the Aral Sea disaster, the depletion of its water
resources. The consequences of this disaster were salinization in irrigated
agriculture. This problem is common in Central Asia for over 8 thousand years.
Keywords
. Salinization, Irrigation, Soil, Monitoring, Flushing,
Groundwater, Uzbekistan.
INTRODUCTION
Earth is the main nurse. Agriculture does not make sense without irrigated
agriculture. The main problem of agriculture is an imperfect water management
system at different functional levels of the system, which in turn creates problems
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such as deterioration of soil fertility and quality of agricultural land, and leads to
salinization and pollution of soils, groundwater and other water sources. About
ten percent of the surface of the globe is covered with saline lands. Common areas
are arid areas. The problem of salinization is present in about 75 countries of the
world; these are Australia, China, India, Pakistan, the USA and many others. In
the Republic of Uzbekistan, saline land accounts for approximately 46 percent of
the total irrigated land. Salinization of soils leads to a decrease in yield, yield
losses are from 0 to 33 percent for weak salinization, about 50 percent for average
salinization, 65 to 84 percent for strong salinization, and absolute crop losses for
very strong salinization. The food sector also suffers, soil degradation is the cause
of hunger and malnutrition, leads to a suspended state of food prices, people
migrate because of this reason, and many become bankrupt. It is worth noting that
the destruction of plant productivity is gradual. The activity of nucleic acids
changes, nitrogen metabolism is disrupted, proteins break down, their synthesis is
suppressed, this is all due to a violation of synthetic processes and hormonal
balance of the roots. There are 10 main threats to the normal functioning of the
soil is erosion, loss of productivity and stocks of carbon in the soil, loss of
biodiversity, nutriental imbalance, acidification, pollution, soil salinization and
soil compaction. In Uzbekistan, the main reason is the rise in the level of
mineralized groundwater above a critical depth due to large losses of water from
irrigation systems and increased irrigation rates applied to irrigated fields. Saline
soils are a serious problem that requires a specific approach, systems of activities
that include agrotechnical complex, manual irrigation system according to the
norms of the system of special ameliorative measures that allow the removal of
salt from the soil.
METHODS
The methodology for studying the problems of salinization of the land is
based on the comparative geographical, analytical methods and the method of
generalizing the results.
THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY
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The main component of the process of controlling salinization of land is
monitoring. It, in turn, will be able to ensure timely receipt of information on the
state of agricultural land of the Republic of Uzbekistan. All information received
is useful for land users and society. Unified state monitoring is a hierarchy of
levels, which allows you to monitor the condition of soils, manage the sources of
the problem.
1. In monitoring soil and water salinization in the Republic of Uzbekistan,
such organizations are involved
2. as: « State Committee for Land Resources, Geodesy, cartographer and state
cadastre « Ministry of Agriculture « Ministry of Water Resources « State
Committee for Architecture and Construction « Center of Hydro-meteorological
Service under the Cabinet of Ministers « State Committee of the Republic of
Uzbekistan on Geology and Mineral Resources Regional hydrogeological and
reclamation expeditions, created on behalf of the Ministry of Water Management
and the Ministry of Agriculture, have been appointed responsible for monitoring
irrigated land. The supporting materials are materials of soil research of design
institutes, and other scientific organizations and institutes. The monitoring should
be based on principles such as comprehensiveness, a system of observations,
approval of dates with geomorphological and hydrological conditions, and
calculation of indicators using common methods throughout the Republic of
Uzbekistan. Monitoring is carried out in accordance with the "Land Monitoring
Methodology in the Republic of Uzbekistan" developed in 2001. All land in the
Republic is monitored, regardless of anything. When choosing key objects for soil
monitoring, attention is paid to their location with typical natural agricultural
landscapes in all soil and climatic zones. When interested soils are selected, soil
maps with scales of 1: 10000 and 1: 25000 are used. The monitoring period and
the scope of work are generally carried out in three periods, preparation, field and
chamber. The salinity of the soil salinity is manifested immediately after any
external and internal influences, when tracking the level of salinity, you can get
all the information about the processes in the soil. As a result, it can be noted that
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monitoring the saline of irrigated soils can solve the following problems: 1.
Allows you to calculate the number of saline soils and reclamation systems 2.
When taking into account the sources of salts and the state of reclamation systems,
it allows you to consider the dynamics of soil salinization at the micro and macro
levels 3. Create statistics using data for a certain period, which allows you to make
changes to the process of reducing salinity. It is important to take the data as a
basis for more than 5 years, and probably 10 years, to identify objective causes of
soil sanding. The data should include images taken from space, high quality and
modern computer programs. Using the pictures, you can see the areas with salted
and unsalted soils, and the degree of their salinization.
3. An improved system for continuous monitoring of changes in salinization
of irrigated soils should be created. Do not forget about the fight against
salinization. The introduction of effective methods to combat salinity is the main
task for irrigated farming. Using the right methods, you can significantly reduce
the area of salted soils. Thus, in the Concept of Water Development of the
Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020-2030, it is planned to reduce the area with salted
soils from 1935 thousand hectares to 1722 thousand hectares.
DISCUSSION
In addition to improving monitoring of saline soil areas, which allows you to
control and prevent the emergence of new territories with this nature, great
attention should be paid to restoring the properties of irrigated soils. There are
places where soils are highly saline; in such areas, you can use the flushing
method. Flushing is the removal of salts from the arable and subsurface horizons
of the soil by flushing water, flushing is today one of the main means of combating
salinization of irrigated lands. The beginning of water washing works consists of
leveling, processing and breaking by rollers into sections at intervals of 0.2-0.3
hectares, then the sections are filled with water. The norm of the poured water is
regulated depending on the degree of salinity, salt composition, water
permeability, and the level of groundwater. Typically, washing is carried out in
conditions where the evaporation is the smallest and groundwater is low, usually
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such conditions occur in late autumn. The rest of the wash water is diverted
through desalination drainage. The physical properties of the soil and the degree
of salinity affect the effectiveness of flushing. There is already a definite proven
system for restoring the properties of irrigated soils. It is advisable to use it
together with high-quality monitoring of saline lands. The first step is the use of
drainage systems, thereby forming an artificial flow and lowering the level of
groundwater. Then, using large-scale technology, compact the plowed plot, the
third step, rely on the conditions of soil formation and divide the irrigation rate by
two three times, then fertilize and sow crops with salt tolerance properties, for
example, sunflower, Sudan grass, Indian sorghum and others. The next stage is to
change salt-resistant cultures to alfalfa and shepherd’s spherophysis, and only
then to plant the culture chosen at the beginning.
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