Annual Project Report
Ecosystem Management for Climate Change Adaptation in the Typical Arid Areas in
Central Asia
2013
Basic Project Information
Name of Project: Ecosystem Management for Climate Change Adaptation in the Typical
Arid Areas in Central Asia
UNDP Award ID
00060660
UNDP Project ID
00076478
Project Duration
2011-2014
Reporting Period
2013
Total Approved Project Budget
4,159,794
Participating UN agencies
UNDP
Implementing Partners/
National collaborating agencies
CICETE
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of Chinese
Academy of Sciences
International collaborating agencies
Kazakhstan Institute of Soil Research , Kazakhstan
Institute of Botany, Uzbekistan Institute of Water Issues
of, Uzbekistan Institute of Genetics
Cost-sharing third parties
UNDP Contact officer
Yang Fang
Project website
Summary
On the basis of joint cooperation among related research organizations in Central Asia, the
project strengthened climate change monitoring and forecasting capacity through establishing a
monitoring system for ecosystem change in the arid areas in central Asia; with on-site visits and
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remote sensing research, the project got a precise picture of the ecology and resource in Central Asia,
studied the impact of climate change on Central Asia's ecological environment from a comprehensive
and in-depth perspective, and raised the assessment ability of climate change adaptation; by building
long-term ecological environment protection and resource management technology demonstration
sites, the project worked with Central Asian scientists and carried out prospective and strategic
researches on fields such as climate change, ecology and environment, resource and management,
economy and society; by establishing regional forecasting and simulation platforms as well as
ecosystem management pilot demonstration sites for climate change adaptation, the project improved
water supply and drinking water safety situation in arid areas, raised ecosystem management capacity,
and promoted the sustainable agricultural and ecological development in the process of climate change
adaptation.
1. Background
The arid area in central Asia is located in the middle of Eurasia, accounting for 1/3 of the whole
arid areas in the world. It belongs to the typical continent arid climate, and it is the farthest area from
the seashore on earth. Since the 20th century, the regional temperature has been on a rapid rise. Glacier
in the mountain areas speeds up melting, with the snow line rising and glacier storage decreasing.
Those changes not only have a great influence both on the run-off and spatial distribution in the region,
but also have drastic impacts on the natural ecosystem, crops, and human health.
Starting from the adaptability to global climate change and in line with related policies that China
brought up in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, water resources, and ecological planning to cope
with climate change, the following objectives were put forward: 1) strengthen monitoring capacity
building on the change of climate change’s influence over water resources and ecosystem; 2) enhance
evaluation capacity building for in the dynamic impacts of climate change on water resources and
ecosystem; 3) establish demonstration sites of ecosystem management, pilot demonstration site, and
drinking water safety demonstration site for climate change adaptation; 4）organize a series of
trainings and publicity activities on the theme of climate change adaptation, and enhance participation
of the general public and females.
Through joint research and demonstration site construction with scientific research institutes in
central Asia, the project built a platform for South-South cooperation. Successful experience was
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shared with other countries via this platform to contribute to the fulfillment of Millennium
Development Goals.
Development
To cope with climate change, China brought up a series of plans to strengthen climate change
adaptation capacity building: (1) to strengthen monitoring and forecasting capacity building by
improving monitoring and forecasting emergency mechanism for multi-disasters, policy coordinating
mechanism with participation of multi-sectors, and operating mechanism with wide participation of
the whole society; (2) to enhance adaptation measures such as basic farm construction, planting
system adjustment, resilient varieties breeding, and biotechnology research and development; (3) to
strengthen the protection of natural forest resources and the supervision over nature reserves, to
continue to carry out ecological protection construction, to build vital biological functional zones, and
to promote the recovery of ecological environment; (4) to rationally develop and optimize water
resource allocation, to improve the new mechanism of fundamental water resource construction for
farming, and to enhance water conservation and strengthen hydrological supervision; (5) to integrate
climate adaptation in China’s Twelfth Five-year Plan and to realize an enormous quantity of
investment from Chinese government on this field.
Project Objectives and Strategy
Project objectives: by network observation, experimental demonstration, capacity building, pilot
demonstration, and public participation, the project aims at establishing a monitoring network for
ecosystem change in the arid area in Central Asia, strengthening capacity building on supervision and
forecasting of climate change adaptation, establishing regional forecasting and simulation platform as
well as demonstration sites for ecosystem management experiments, improving water supply and
drinking water safety in arid areas, increasing ecosystem management level, and promoting the
sustainable development of agriculture and ecosystem against climate change.
The project beneficiaries are people living in the arid areas in Central Asia. Through a research
and training institution consisting of the government, research and development units and the society,
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and by the institution’s scientific researches, training and demonstration site construction, the project
increased the government’s and public awareness of climate change, and strengthened their disaster
prevention and reduction capacity for coping with climate change.
2. Key Results
In general, the project had been going smoothly with the expected outcomes achieved. The
project would realize the set objectives when it comes to the final end.
Eight ecosystem field observation stations had been built in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrghyzstan,
and Tajikistan, forming a Central Asia ecosystem field observation network. Studies had been
completed in five Central Asian countries, and a series of seven treatises (in Chinese, English, and
Russian) had been published on Central Asian ecology and landscape, soil, plants, animals, and
economic geography. Central Asian ecological and environmental database had been established. Pilot
demonstration sites on water conservation and ecological restoration technology had been built, and
changes in Central Asian ecosystem in the past 30 years had been evaluated.
Project Outputs
Output 1:
Increased capacity for monitoring over climate change’s impacts on the ecosystem in arid areas.
Output 2:
Strengthened capacity of residents and the government for building their knowledge and mechanism in
the aspect of climate change.
Output 3:
Strengthened assessment capacity for the impact of climate change on the ecosystem in arid areas.
Output 4:
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Enhanced ecosystem’s disaster prevention and reduction capacity for climate change adaptation in arid
areas.
Activities and Outputs
Activity 1.1 Website construction. The construction of the Chinese and English website for climate
change and the ecosystem change monitoring network was improved.
A data sharing service platform for the ecological environment and resources in Central Asia had
been established, and the platform website had clear web pages with viewing and searching functions
in both Chinese and English, one type of basic geographic information data, and one type of remote
controlling data product. The seven types of ecological database were the basic resources of the
service platform. There were searching options for the users, clear data lists, detailed metadata
information, as well as entity data that could be enlarged, compressed, roaming viewed, or
downloaded. Here is a part of some demonstration screenshots:
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Home Page of the Data Sharing Service Platform for the Ecological Environment and Resources in
Central Asia (in Chinese and English)
Activity 1.2 Launched Ecosystem Change Network
The data sharing service platform for the ecological environment and resources in Central Asia
had been established. It was a comprehensive database with multiple disciplines, scales, and
dimensions. And it had five special databases on social economy, biological resources, hydrological
resources, soil resources and meteorological resources, and Central Asia data, among which there
were 13 MODIS synthetic products, four ortho products including splicing products, SPOT, HJ, and
TM (TM, ETM). In total, it had 54 data sets and its data volume had reached 39.4 TB.
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Activity 2.1 Compiled Knowledge and Training Handbooks on Countermeasures for Agriculture,
Industry, Living, and Ecosystem in the context of Climate Change
Seven treaties were compiled, which were “Plant Resources and Their Application in Central
Asia”, “Geology and Landscape in Central Asia”, “Animals and Animal Protection in Central
Asia”(English), “Introduction to Economy and Geology in Central Asia”, “Natural Geology in
Kyrgyzstan” (Russian), “Response of Mountain Ecosystem to Climate Change in Mount Tianshan
Area” (Russian), and “Water Resources and Their Application in Uzbekistan” (Russian).
Activity 2.2 Carrid out knowledge and skill training on climate change adaptation, energy
conservation and emission reduction.
From July 7 to July 21, 2013, the “Ecological Environmental Resource Protection and Sustainable
Application under Climate Change” summer training course undertaken by Xinjiang Institute of
Ecology and Geography was successfully held in Urumqi. 24 young researchers from Russian
Academy of Science, Tajikistan Academy of Science and Mongolia Academy of Science, and 5
international students from Xinjiang Raw Land Institute participated in the field studies and on-site
training. Meanwhile, the trainees went to the demonstration sites in Yu-Li County of downstream
Karamay River and Fukang for field studies and on-site training.
Through the training, the young scientists broadened their horizon, discussed the cutting edge
scientific problems on ecological environmental protection and sustainable application of resources,
and grasped the application and management methods of the advanced equipments and facilities for
climate change adaptation. More importantly, the training provided a sustainable and effective
academic platform for future cooperation and exchange among the young scientists of nearby
countries.
Activity 2.3 Held International Forum on Climate Change Adaptation in Arid Areas
On September 1, 2013, the “International Forum on Ecosystem Management in Central Asian
Arid Areas under Climate Change” was held in Urumqi. Over 79 experts and international students
from research institutions attended the meeting. The participating institutions included Xinjiang
University, Xinjiang Agricultural Academy of Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Kazakhstan
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Institute of Soil and Agricultural Chemistry, Kyrgyzstan Institute of Water Issues and Hydroenergy,
Kyrgyzstan Institute of Geology, National Agricultural University of Kyrgyzstan, Osh University of
Science and Technology of Kyrgyzstan, North Branch Institute of National Academy of Science,
Uzbekistan Institute of Irrigation and Water Issues, Institute of Genetics of Uzbekistan Academy of
Science, and Tajikistan Agricultural University.
Through the meeting, the experts and scholars explored the strategies for climate change
adaptation in the ecosystem management in Central Asia, which played a significant role in improving
the ecosystem management level and in promoting the exchange and cooperation among researchers
and scholars in the arid areas in Central Asia. The forum strengthened the exchange and cooperation
among celebrated academies and institutes of science in Central Asian countries. It laid a solid
foundation for further uniting research institutions in Central Asia and carrying out international
cooperative studies on regional ecology and environmental problems.
Activity 3.1 Compiled assessment report of the impacts of climate change on ecosystem and
agriculture in arid areas
With data from 100 meteorological stations in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan
and Kyrgyzstan, and Miami Model as well as Thornthwaite Memorial Model, temperature productive
potential, rainfall productive potential and evapotranspiration productive potential were calculated.
The spatial and temporal distribution of climate productive potential in Central Asia was demonstrated,
and evaluation was made on the change of climate productive potential in Central Asia under global
climate change as well as its potential impacts on mankind, which provided scientific support for
climate change adaptation, thorough evacuation of regional climate productive potential, land
scientific exploration, and the application of water and land resources in Central Asia.
1. Compiled a consulting report on the vegetation and biological diversity protection in Central
Asia;
2. Compiled study reports on the protection of typical rivers and lakes in Central Asia (Aral Sea,
Balkhash Lake, Ebinur Lake, Bosten Lake, Lake Issyk-kul);
3. Compiled a consulting report on the development/exploitation and protection/cooperation of
water resources of typical rivers in Central Asia.
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Activity 3.2 Compiled a report on the policies, measures and planning for climate change adaptation
in arid areas
Three Central Asia regional consulting reports were submitted to provide related advisory service
for the nations.
Activity 3.3 Established policy support system for resource and ecosystem management in climate
change adaptation.
1. Built the coupling model for basin scale simulation and the forecast of changes in land use SD
and CLUE;
2. Built empirical bookkeeping statistic model for assessing the impacts of land use changes on
regional carbon dynamics;
3. Developed Arid Ecosystem Model (AEM) to reflect and simulate the characteristics of Central
Asian ecosystem’s response to global climate change.
Activity 4.1 Construction of domestic demonstration sites
Modern agricultural high-efficiency planting demonstration zone was built in Karamay of
Xinjiang.
Demonstration zone was improved in Yu-Li County in the downstream of Tarim River.
Activity 4.2 Construction of demonstration site in foreign countries
1. A 10-hectare pilot demonstration zone for salt and alkali soil reclamation technology was built
jointly in Xinjiang A Ke Da La field station by Kazakhstan Institute of Soil and Agricultural
Chemistry.
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2. A six-hectare core technology demonstration zone for high quality and productivity cotton
planting was built by Tashkent experimental station of the Institute of Genetics and Experimental
Biology of Uzbekistan Academy of Science, which demonstrated China’s high quality and
productivity cotton planting
3. A ten-hectare high productivity cotton demonstration zone was built in Tajikistan.
Sustainability
Central Asia has a solid foundation for cooperation in terms of regional economic cooperation,
energy and mineral resources cooperation, rational use and protection of water resources, regional
ecological environment issues, social stability, and economic development. It is essential for the the
scientific researche in Central Asia as well as for cooperation and joint response to fully grasp the
current situation of ecosystem and natural resources in Central Asia. The project team signed
cooperation agreements of three to five years with national scientific and research institutes in
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, established a Central Asia ecosystem and
environment research league participated by 10 research institutes, and paved the way for the
successful implementation and sustainability of the project.
Partnership Effectiveness
The sub-projects in Xinjiang signed comprehensive cooperation agreements and joint research
contracts with Kazakhstan Institute of Soil, Kazakhstan Institute of Botany, and Uzbekistan Institute
of Water Issues, Uzbekistan Institute of Botany. They also convened several large-scale Central Asian
international workshops. Via mutual visits, good partnerships had been forged, which laid a solid basis
for carrying out researches on climate change’s impacts on Central Asian ecological environment and
resource management.
Cross-cutting Issues
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Information construction and network sharing is the foundation for future climate change
adaptation and the establishment of disaster prevention and reduction emergency system. Capacity
building in this field should be strengthened.
3. Project Management and Oversight
During the project, UNDP had been providing support and oversight for project approval,
compilation of implementation plan, and project implementation. In the cooperation between project
offices and Central Asian countries, UNDP played the role of communicator and coordinator.
Implementation Status
Project activities had been timely carried out in accordance with the plans.
Monitoring and Evaluation
During the reporting period, the project office convened two “Project Inspection and Evaluation
Meeting”, carrying out inspection and evaluation on the development of project activities within the
year. And the activities had been sequentially carried out. The inspection and evaluation meeting
enhanced the communication and coordination between activities and strengthened the sub-projects’
oversight and management capacity of the activities.
Human Resource Management
Trainings on project management for the management personnel of sub-projects were expected.
Monitoring and Evaluation
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Risk Management
The project team had carried out risk management and supporting measures for the area, personnel,
and expenditure.
Communication and Advocacy
During project implementation and through workshops, international academic meetings, surveys
and cooperative studies, the project office conducted vigorous promotion and advocacy on the
background, objectives, and implementation contents as well as its significance after implementation.
In the process, the project drew a large number of prestigious foreign and domestic scholars who
joined the research project, “Ecosystem for Climate Change Adaptation in Typical Areas in Central
Asia”, and contributed to the study on climate change adaptation in arid areas.
4. Financial Management
The Finance Office in Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography was in charge of auditing
the activity expenditures. It strictly followed the project and state related rules and regulations, and
organized facility procurement, data purchase, demonstration projects, construction of monitoring
stations, and scientific investigation and researches. In terms of overseas scientific investigations and
researches, the expenses of visiting personnel strictly follow “NO.73 [2001] File by Ministry of
Finance”.
Project Budge (USD)
Subject to Date
Approved Total Project Budget
UNDP
659,794
Other UN Agencies
Partner(s)
3,500,00 0
Third Party Cost-sharing
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Total
Promised Project Budget
Disbursed Project Budget
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4,159,794
UNDP
659,794
Other
3,500,000
Total
4,159,794
UNDP
202500
Other
1,000,000
Total
1，202，500
Output
Output 1
Activities
Source of
Budget
Funding
Description
1.1 Website construction
XIEG
1.2 Put out ecosystem change
Purchase facilities,
related data and
develop software
network
XIEG
Output 2
2.1 Compile training handbook
UNDP
XIEG
2.2 Carry out technical trainings
UNDP
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Annual Expenditure
(USD)
(USD)
10000
10000
10000
10000
material
collecting, field
visit and service
fees
10000
20000
accommodation,
10000
Purchase related
data, and
development
software
UNDP
Annual Budget
10000
40660
Note
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XIEG
2.3 Convene international
UNDP
meetings on climate change
traffic and
materials
10000
accommodation
and traffic
30000
XIEG
Output 3
3.1 Compile evaluation report on
UNDP
climate change’s impacts on the
ecosystem in arid areas
XIEG
3.2 Compile report on the
UNDP
policies, measures and planning
of the arid areas for climate
XIEG
change adaptation
3.3 Establish policy support
UNDP
system for resource and
ecosystem management in
XIEG
climate change adaptation
Output 4
4.1 Domestic demonstration site
UNDP
construction
XIEG
4.2 Overseas demonstration site
UNDP
construction
XIEG
20689
10000
accommodation,
travel, field visit,
car renting,
service fee
accommodation,
travel, field visit,
car renting,
service fee
accommodation,
travel, field visit,
car renting,
service fee
5000
55000
50000
2500
52500
50000
100000
100000
facility, materials,
car renting,
accommodation
10000
accommodation,
international
travel, car renting,
material analysis,
experimental
50000
60000
50000
200000
250000
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facilities
purchasing
Total
617500
618849
5. Management recommendations
The project is carried out in the arid areas of five Central Asian countries. Through field studies
and international cooperation and exchange, the project systematically collected and comprehensively
integrated the data of Central Asian ecological environment and natural resources, established
information integration platform and shared database, built ecosystem management pilot
demonstration sites for climate adaptation, and made contribution to the ecological and environmental
protection and the sustainable social economic development in the area.
During project implementation, it is suggested that UNDP give full play to its role in senior
management as well as international influence on the regional level, and promote active response from
the governments and research institutions through regional high-level meetings to strengthen project
advocacy.
5.1 List recommendation here.
Strengthen exchange among UNDP, CICETE and project office to promote the effectiveness and the
normalization of project management.
5.2 List recommendation here.
Strengthen capacity building for the management personnel and provide guarantee for the
sustainability of the project.
5.3 List recommendation here.
It is suggested that UNDP convenes a workshop on climate change adaptation for UNDP offices in
China and Central Asian countries.
6. Annexe/s
1) Ecosystem monitoring station
8 ecosystem field observation stations have been completed.
2) Survey reports:
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Survey reports on the ecosystem of plants, animals, soil and lakes in Central Asia.
3) Consulting report:
Consulting report on the changes of Mid-Asian ecosystem in the past 30 years.
4) Knowledge products:
7 treatises including “Geology and Landscape of Central Asia”
5) Patents:
Resource Satellite Streamline Processing System（2012SR032557）
Ecological Environment Factor Remote Inversion System for Central Asian Arid Area
（2012SR099314）
Corona Data Management Information System for Xinjiang and Central Asia (2012SR096058)
Lake Elevation Information Extraction System Based on ICESat Data (2012SR073621)
6) Software
1. Built ecological environmental database sharing platform for arid areas in Central Asia
2. AEM Developed ecosystem process model for arid areas AEM
3. Built coupling model for basin scale simulation and forecast of changes in land use SD and
CLUE
4. Built empirical bookkeeping statistic model for assessing the impacts of land use changes on
regional carbon dynamics
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7) Treatises
1. Pengcheng Guo ， Anming Bao ， Research on Resolution enhancement of HJ-1A
Hyperspectral data using Landsat TM data ， 978-1-4244-9170-4/11, 2011 IEEE ， 3391
（EI）
2. Li Junli, Fang Hui, Bao Anming. Time-space of Recent Changes in the Lakes of Central
Asian Mountain Areas. Resource Science. Vol.33，No.10 Oct.，2011
3. LI Li, ZHOU Hongfei，Bao Anming. Spatial and Temporal Variation of Potential Climate
Productivity in Central Asia during 1901-2000
4. Yao Haijiao, Zhou Hongfei. Viewing Central Asian Water Issues from the Perspective of
Land and Water Resources Matching (Arid Land Geography, Special Issue)
5. Yao Haijiao, Zhou Hongfei. Research on Water Resource Management in Central Asia.
Collected Works from Post-graduate Symposium of Annual Chinese Geographical Meeting.
6. Water Conversation Irrigation Agricultural Development and Soil Salination in Central Asia.
2nd Sino-US International Eco-agricultural Symposium.
7. Research on the Impact Mechanism of Landscape Structure in Ili Delta
2012，Luo Geping,
Wang Yuangang, Zhu Lei, Chen Yaoliang.35(6)：897-908.
8. Analysis of Net Preliminary Productivity and Practical Evapotranspiration Characteristics in
Central Asia in the Past 20 Years. Li Chaofan, Luo Geping, Li Junli, Fan Binbin, Han Qifei,
Bai Jie. Arid Land Geography. 2012，35(6)：919-927.
9. Analysis of Land Resource Exploration and Exploitation in Central Asia. Fan Binbin, Luo
Geping,Hu Zengyun, Li Chaofan, Han Qifei, Wang Yuangang, Li Xiaoyu, Yan Yan.Arid
Land Geography. 2012，35(6)：928-937.
10. Changes of Land Use and Land Cover in Central Asia in the Past 30 years. Han Qifei, Luo
Geping, Bai Jie, Li Junli, Li Chaofan, Fan Binbin, Wang Yuangang. Arid Land Geography.
2012，35(6)：909-918.
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11. Chen Xi, Bai Jie, Li Xiaoyu, Luo Geping. Land use / land cover changes and variances of
ecosystem services variances in Central Asia during 1990—2009. Current Opinion in
Environmental Sustainability (Accepted)
12. Geping Luo, Tureniguli Amuti，Xi Chen, Wenqiang Xu. Landscape pattern dynamics in the
inland river delta based on CA-Markov model: A case study of the Ili River delta. Journal of
Arid Land. (Submitted)
13. Zhang, C., Li, C., Chen, X., Luo, G., Li, L., Li, X., Yan, Y., Shao, H., 2013. A spatial-explicit
dynamic vegetation model that couples carbon, water, and nitrogen processes for arid and
semi-arid ecosystems. Journal of Arid Land 5(1), 102-117.
14. Applicability of Three Sets of Reanalysis Data (CFSR 、 ERA-Interim and MERRA)in
Analyzing Summer Rainfall in Xinjiang. Geography Studies. (Accepted). Fan Binbin, Zhang
Chi, Luo Geping, Hu Zengyun, Bai Lei.
15. Wu Miao, Ye Xiaowei, Wang Lixian. Regional Perspective of Sino-Russian Cooperation in
Developing Fields. Arid Land Resource and Environment. 2012，26（5）
16. Gulnura, S. Oleg, J. Abuduwaili, D. Tatiana. Strong dust storms in Kazakhstan: their
recurrence and regional division. Journal of Arid environment (Submitted)
17. I. Gulnura, J. Abuduwaili, S. Oleg. The alkaline soils in the surroundings of Balkhash lake
and its influencing factors. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (Submitted)
18. S.B. Kenenbaev, Z.U. Mamutov, M.B. Esimbekov, J. Abuduwaili. Nature of alkaline soils and
irrigation water in rice fields of Kazakhstan. Jouranl of Arid Land (Accepted)