Current climate conditions within semi-arid rangelands of the Caspian lowland desert

Abstract

The Caspian lowland desert is a plain slightly inclined to the Caspian Sea, which covers an area of 2,148,648 hectares and is divided into northern, more arid, with semi-desert landscapes (Nogai Steppe) and middle that covers the deltas of the Terek and the Sulak. These territories are routinely used for animal husbandry with a forage base to be attributed to climate conditions. In recent decades, there has been a widespread rise in air temperature with different trends in precipitation. These trends are estimated based on the datasets from the Makhachkala and Lagan meteorological stations for 1960–2018. Despite the current climate changes, the conditions for heat and moisture availability to support the vegetation period estimated by the hydrothermal coefficient generally remain quite stable and sometimes even more enabling for a sustainable forage base to be formed in the region.