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Home , Kastanozem

of Mongolia

Ochirbat BATKHISHIG

Soil Science Society of Mongolia Department, Institute Geography Mongolian Academy of Sciences [email protected]

Bangkok 2015. 05.13 Topics

• Mongolian Soil resources

• Soil database development

• Soil conservation problems Mongolia is Central Asian country, extra-continental climate conditions. Area 1 569 sq. km. Population 3.0 mln. Average elevation is 1580 meter a.s.l.

Transition from Siberian taiga to Steppe and Gobi desert

other Forest Cultivated 17% 8% land •January average air temperature -20o C 1% •July average air temperature +20о С Grazing Precipitation about 200 - 300 mm in year land South Gobi desert areas less than 100 mm 74% Specific of soil properties of Mongolia

• High elevation of territory and sporadically distribution of permafrost. More than 80% of territory of Mongolia is higher than 1000 m above sea level • Domination of soil forming process in the minus temperature, short biological active period, 3-5 month in year • Mountain, Forest, Steppe and Desert soils presented • Slow process of chemical weathering and formation • Carbonate accumulation in the steppe soils • Gypsum in the Gobi desert soils • Stony soil profile and Organic accumulation layer • Paleo-cryomorphic features in the soil profile Soil geographical regions

Khangai region: Steppe, Meadow and Forest soils

Gobi region: Desert-steppe and Desert soils Forest-taiga soil

Central Khentei mountain Kastanozem soil Kastanozem soil Gobi desert Brown soil Soil resource of Mongolia

Mountain tundra cryomorphic Alluvial 8% 2% 2% 2% Salty soils Forest taiga soil 3% 9%

Steppe soil 46.0 Desert Gypsic 11% Gobi desert soil 32.6 Stony 7% Forest taiga soil 9.5

Gobi Brown Mountain tundra 8.0 14%

Alluvial 2.2 Stony Dark Kastanozem 15% Peat cryomorphic 1.8 Stony Gobi Brown 3% Chernozem Kastanozem 1% 13% Dark Kastanozem 10% Soil database of Mongolia

Soil map data Whole country scale 1 : 500 000, 1 : 1 000 000, 1 : 2 500 000, Central, north regions, scale 1 : 200 000, 1 : 100 000

Soil pedon data Hard copy (More than 10 000 soil profile data) Digital format Excel, Access

Soil data (mostly in Mongolian and Russian lang.) database of Mongolia Before 2000 Most soil maps on hardcopy

• Bespalov N D, Soil map of Mongolia, 1951. Scale 1 : 5 000 000 • Andreev S I, Soil of Buyant river delta area, 1936 • Land Authority Office data 1970-1980 – Soil map 1 : 500 000, • Soil map of Mongolia, scale 1:2 500 000, 1980 • Soil map of Mongolia, scale 1 : 1 000 000. 1981 – Using air photos

After 2000 Digital soil maps

Soil maps of different regions of Mongolia

Soil map of Mongolia, scale 1: 500 000, 2013. IG MAS SOIL MAPPING OF MONGOLIA

Converting existing soil maps to the digital format

Source data Soil maps of Mongolia , scale 1 : 1 000 000, 1981 Soil maps of Mongolia , scale 1 : 2 500 000, 1979

Soil map of different regions, scale 1 : 100 000, 1 : 200 000

Software

ARC Map 10.1 ERDAS Imagine 9.2 Compiling New soil maps in different regions of Mongolia Soil mapping methods ArcGIS ArcMap 10.1 Soil pedon data before 2000

• Morphological characteristics • thickness Data available • General chemical properties – Organic content, pH, Calcium carbonate, exchangeable Ca, Mg, texture

• No coordinate location (example: west to soum center 10 km) • Not data about water physical properties Data lack – Only (Russian classification, Kachinskii) – Not much data about soil stone gravel content • Soil fine material less than 1 mm (Russian) • International standard is less than 2 mm. of Mongolia

• Mongolia used geographical-genetical classification system, like Russian.

• Now renewing classification system

Mongolian soils divided by 2 parts • Mountain soil • Plain and intermountain valley soils

Distinguished 36 types

Soil degradation Climate warming impact • Soil cover drying, compacting and, sealing • Soil organic decay acceleration • Surface runoff increase due of topsoil compaction and sealing, furthermore linear erosion expanding, creating gullies and channels • capacity decrease • Soil salting

Human impact • Agriculture soil fertility loss • Overgrazing • Mining • Road erosion • Forest cut Agriculture soil degradation

• Total 0,7 million hectare area not more used as a result of degradation.

• It is estimated that over the past 30 years about 35– 50 tons of soil have been lost from each hectare of cultivated land due to wind erosion alone.

• 46.5% of arable land was degraded: 12.9% - strong, 28.2% - medium, 58.9 % slightly degraded.

•

Agriculture soil degradation

• Nearly 60% of total arable land or 0,7 million hectare area not more used as a result of degradation.

Arable land degradation of Mongolia, (%)

Strong, 12.9 Sligthly, 58.9

Medium, 28.2 46.5% of arable land was degraded: Changes of and humus content

Decrease Average Number of percentage Soil erodibility humus samples comparing content with non % eroded soils Non eroded 388 2.64 area

Slight 342 2.50 7.2

Moderate 195 2.08 21.3

Severe 88 1.60 39.4

Climate change

Air temperature, C (UB station) Last 70 years air temperature increased by 2.10 C 2 1 y = 0.0349x - 71.109 (Ulaanbaatar) 0 -1 •This is 2 - 3 times more than World -2 average -3 -4 1958 1968 1978 1988 1998 2008 World is 0.6-0.7o C

Precipitation, mm (UB station) 450.0 y = 0.0768x + 237.33 400.0 Annual precipitation ranges 350.0 300.0 225.5-269.2 mm, 250.0 increased slightly by 10 mm 200.0 150.0 100.0 50.0

0.0

1988 1992 1961 1963 1965 1967 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1990 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Soil drying Accelerating organic decay Salinization increase Crusting, sealing Soil fertility loss

Wetland decline Biodiversity decreases Permafrost melting Soil erosion risk map Most soil degraded and polluted area is Central Mongolia, where more human impact

700 thousand km2 area occupied by arid land or Gobi desert vulnerable for soil degradation Human impact on soil

Overgrazing Mining

Road erosion

Forest cut Recent Activities • In 2003 started Land privatization of Mongolia. Soil resource becoming valuable and important. • In 2010 Ministry of Environment of Mongolia adopted regulatory document “Soil economic-ecological assessment” • In 2012 Mongolian parliament adopted law ”Soil conservation and Combating desertification” • 2012-2014 Land authority department of Mongolia implemented project activities to convert hard copy soil maps of Mongolia 1:100 000, 1:200 000 scale (made in 1970- 80) to the digital formats. • 2011-2013 Department of Mongolian Academy of Sciences implemented project “ and Renewing of Soil classification system” • Small projects in different regions of Mongolia related to the mining and road construction activities. Conclusions

• Soil database development is challenging issue • GIS based database system • Processing of legacy dates • Digital soil mapping methodology • Soil classification renewing • Soil conservation problem Thank your for attention