Central Asia has a land area of 5.6 × 10(6) km(2) and contains 80-90% of the world's temperate deserts. Yet it is one of the least characterized areas in the estimation of the global carbon (C) stock/balance. This study assessed the sizes and spatiotemporal patterns of C pools in Central Asia using both inventory (based on 353 biomass and 284 soil samples) and process-based modeling approaches. The results showed that the C stock in Central Asia was 31.34-34.16 Pg in the top 1-m soil with another 10.42-11.43 Pg stored in deep soil (1-3 m) of the temperate deserts. They amounted to 18-24% of the global C stock in deserts and dry shrublands. The C stock was comparable to that of the neighboring regions in Eurasia or major drylands around the world (e.g. Australia). However, 90% of Central Asia C pool was stored in soil, and the fraction was much higher than in other regions. Compared to hot deserts of the world, the temperate deserts in Central Asia had relatively high soil organic carbon density. The C stock in Central Asia is under threat from dramatic climate change. During a decadal drought between 1998 and 2008, which was possibly related to protracted La Niña episodes, the dryland lost approximately 0.46 Pg C from 1979 to 2011. The largest C losses were found in northern Kazakhstan, where annual precipitation declined at a rate of 90 mm decade(-1) . The regional C dynamics were mainly determined by changes in the vegetation C pool, and the SOC pool was stable due to the balance between reduced plant-derived C influx and inhibited respiration.
In Kyrgyzstan, a number of tailings with radioactive waste from the uranium mining industry of the former Soviet Union have been preserved. Tailing dumps were built without taking into account the climatic conditions of the highlands, resistance to earthquakes, landslides, mudflows. Many of them are located in close proximity to populated areas (Mailuu-Suu, Min-Kush, Kaji-Sai, Ak-Tuz, etc.). The location of tailings in the watersheds of rivers of transboundary nature, in case of emergency situations, may contribute to the expansion of the boundaries of radioactive contamination. The exposure dose rate of gamma radiation on the surface of tailing sites of the natural and man-made province Mailuu-Suu varies from 30-60 μR / hour, in local areas up to 500 μR / hour, in areas where the tail materials reach the surface, the specific activity of radionuclide is increased. On the territory of the uranium natural-technogenic province of Min-Kush, tailing material for processing ore and ash with uranium residues was stored in four tailing sites of the Min-Kush province (Tuyuk-Suu, Taldy-Bulak and Kak Dalniy). Currently, the most dangerous is the Tuyuk-Suu tailing dump, located at the mouth of the Tuyuk-Suu river, where geomorphological processes (landslides) take place. The presented results of radioecological studies have practical application for the purposes of radioecological monitoring of the environment and the radiation safety of mountain ecosystems, the development of measures to reduce radiation risks.
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