World’s Soil Resources

Figure 11.3 Some types and extent of soil degradation in Ukraine. Source: Medvedev, 2012.
11.5.3 | Case study: Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is one of the flattest countries of Central Asia. About 80 percent of the national territory
consists of plains, with mountains located in the extreme east of the republic. The climate of Uzbekistan is
‘continental dry’, with significant daily and seasonal fluctuations in air temperature. The summer is long and
hot, the autumn is relatively wet, and the weather in winter is variable. The arid climate favors desertification
and maintains relict accumulations of soluble salts in soils and sediments.
The entire area of the country is 44.9 million ha, and agricultural lands constitute 46.1 percent of the national
territory. The distribution of soils in Uzbekistan reflects a complex system of pedo-geographical regularities
(Figure 11.4). The westernmost part of the republic is occupied by a desert zone that can be subdivided into
a sub-boreal desert (Central Kazakhstan) and a subtropical desert (Turan) desert. The boundary between
the two types of desert corresponds to the northern limit of possible cotton cultivation. In the lower belt of
the piedmont subtropical semi-desert there occur mainly Calcisols which are replaced as elevation increases
by mountainous Cambisols under steppe and forest vegetation. Anthropogenic factors strongly modify the
morphology and pedogenesis of the soils. Irrigated soils are mainly transformed into Anthrosols - some of
the soils in the Amu Darya delta have been cultivated and irrigated for more than three thousandyears. The
country is vulnerable to negative environmental impacts due to its natural climatic conditions. Irrigated
agriculture is localized in the plain and piedmont parts of the republic and is characterized by varying levels of
technology and intensity and by the varying quality of the land.
Status of the World’s Soil Resources | Main Report Regional Assessment of Soil Changes
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in Europe and Eurasia