Cool, I’ve always wanted a big desert somewhere in Russia
As always a politicised article about Russia, specifically about the deserts of Kalmykia.
A bit of background. Since 1970 people noticed a sharp increase of desertification in Kalmykia, in the area of the so-called “Black Lands” by that time there was already about 90 thousand hectares of desert (now the figure is 100 thousand).
It was not until 2000 that they started combating the sands, setting up a reserve and launching scientific research. After many years of research, according to a report by the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the accumulation of fertile soils ceased in Kalmykia in the 10th century. A layer of solonchak began to form over them.
According to the generally accepted hypothesis, this was the influence of man rather than nature. During this period of time, these lands became part of the Khazar Kaganate and were actively used for horse and sheep grazing, soils did not have time to regenerate and salinisation began.
Abandoning traditional grazing and active desalinisation could solve this problem. Global warming has nothing to do with it
Leading russian science should start massive, 20-year desertification program. It probably will end with taiga expansion there
An important notice: Temperatures are rising 2x faster than global average in EUROPE, in siberia the rise is 3x faster than the global average, even more at some places.
TIL they had desert’s in Russia. Honestly thought Russia was mostly Siberian tundra and ice.
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Devastating!
Cool, I’ve always wanted a big desert somewhere in Russia
As always a politicised article about Russia, specifically about the deserts of Kalmykia.
A bit of background. Since 1970 people noticed a sharp increase of desertification in Kalmykia, in the area of the so-called “Black Lands” by that time there was already about 90 thousand hectares of desert (now the figure is 100 thousand).
It was not until 2000 that they started combating the sands, setting up a reserve and launching scientific research. After many years of research, according to a report by the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the accumulation of fertile soils ceased in Kalmykia in the 10th century. A layer of solonchak began to form over them.
According to the generally accepted hypothesis, this was the influence of man rather than nature. During this period of time, these lands became part of the Khazar Kaganate and were actively used for horse and sheep grazing, soils did not have time to regenerate and salinisation began.
Abandoning traditional grazing and active desalinisation could solve this problem. Global warming has nothing to do with it
edit: Here is a scientific paper on Kalmykian deserts in English, if anyone wants to know more about what is going on – http://www.phytolith.ru/images/Data/library/golyeva2003.pdf
Leading russian science should start massive, 20-year desertification program. It probably will end with taiga expansion there
An important notice: Temperatures are rising 2x faster than global average in EUROPE, in siberia the rise is 3x faster than the global average, even more at some places.
TIL they had desert’s in Russia. Honestly thought Russia was mostly Siberian tundra and ice.
The end of mankind is approaching.