Studying the Impact of Grazing on The Current State of Grassland in The Semi-desert Zone

Abstract

Agrarians of the Republic of Kazakhstan face the task of exporting 60 tons of meat by 2016. While 20 years ago Kazakhstan exported over 180 thousand tons of meat, in 2009 it exported only 300 tons. This shows great unfulfilled potential of livestock breeding. Since 2015, thanks to the Eurasian Union, barriers have been eliminated between many countries, licensing procedures were simplified, and veterinary norms were unified, thus creating all conditions for increasing export. Availability of natural forage lands, low-cost pasture technology of beef cattle breeding creates the potential for establishing Kazakhstan as a significant and a competitive player in the global market. In this regard, increasing productivity of natural pastures is a priority task. The purpose of the research is to develop adaptive technologies for rational use of natural grassland ecosystems, ensuring their faster recovery and increasing their productivity, and improving the parameters of the environment in the semi-desert zone of Kazakhstan. The modern state of the semi-desert grassland areas has been determined in the study. The results of the research have established feasibility of moderate (65-75% grazing) pasture use. With intensive use of pastures, a change in floristic composition and productivity has been detected, as well as deterioration of agrochemical and agrophysical parameters of pasture soils. The research performed on a variety of environmental and anthropogenic levels in terms of light-chestnut soils of the semi-desert zone revealed 5 degrees of pasture degradation.

Biologized Technologies for Cultivation of Field Crops in the Organic Farming System of West Kazakhstan

“…In Kazakhstan, barley is the most popular fodder crop used by agricultural companies for the production of grain fodder, despite its relatively average yield. With the advent of various biological preparations and biofertilizers, new reserves appeared for increasing the yield of barley in the studied area [Nasiyev et al, 2015[Nasiyev et al, , 2016. Some positive experience has been reported by scientists in the study of biostimulants in barley crops [Soloviev, 2013;El-Sharkawy et al, 2017].…”

Changes in the Physicochemical Parameters of Chestnut Soils in Western Kazakhstan Under the Influence of the Grazing Technologies

“…Since grazing has a significant effect on some ecosystem services (e.g., retention of nutrients, water storage, reduction of pollution), reduction of these parameters may result in decreased soil fertility and, consequently, land degradation (Mamontov et al, 2012). According to the hypotheses of the authors, a strong change in the content and reserves of humus in the pastures of the third semi-desert zone was the result of excessive loads from farm animals' grazing on the background of the arid climate (Nasiyev et al, 2015).…”

“…Multiyear scientific studies performed in the second half of the 20th century by the scientists from various countries show that, without harm to the subsequent productivity of the pastures, it is possible to withdraw 25 -75 % of the aboveground plant mass in various natural zones. In the arid conditions of Russia and Central Asia, 60 -75 % of the annual plants' growth may be withdrawn (Shamsutdinov, 2012;Nasiyev et al, 2015;Gayevskaya and Krasnopolin, 2016;Nasiyev, 2016;Baytkanov, 2017).…”

Physicochemical and Biological Indicators of Soils in an Organic Farming System

“…Earlier, safflower used to be sown more in East Kazakhstan and Almaty regions, now it is increasingly produced in the north, western regions, and south. ere is a very strong demand for safflower, it is taken up by all neighboring countries, and it is exported very well to China [4,5].…”

“…All these problems can be largely solved with the effective use of biological products. erefore, the main task in planning and using intensification factors should be to preserve the environment and increase soil fertility, which is a necessary basis for the implementation of advanced agricultural technologies and obtaining stable, environmental-friendly yields [4][5][6]. e biologization of agriculture, i.e., the process aimed at the predominant use of biological factors rather than chemical and technical factors to increase the economic efficiency of agricultural production, is becoming the main direction for increasing soil fertility and obtaining high yields of crops.…”