The current state of pastures in Western Kazakhstan, depending on the method of their use

Abstract

The process of pasture resources management in Western Kazakhstan is complicated by the deterioration of vegetation cover with the manifestation of degradation and desertification processes as a result of unsystematic grazing. The aim of the research is to study distant pasture grazing on the productivity of pastures for their rational use. Field experiments were carried out in 2018–2021 on the pastures of the semi-desert zone of the Western Kazakhstan region on the territories of the “Miras” peasant farm in the Bokeyurdinsky district. As experimental plots, 4 pastures were selected, used in different ways: unsystematic, seasonal and distant pastures. 3 pasture areas are located on the relief part of the semi-desert zone, and the distant-pasture area is located in the sandy part of Ryn-Peski. To study the influence of the methods of use on the productivity of pastures on the polygon areas, regular observations of the quantitative and qualitative parameters (projective cover, height, species composition, yield) of phytocenoses were carried out. The research allowed to prove the seasonal organization of pasture economy using the distant pasture. In the summer period, an increase in the number and occurrence of valuable pasture plants Kochia prostrata, Agropyron desertorum, Festuca valesiaca, Leymus ramosus, Koeleria cristata was noted on seasonal pastures. On the distant site of sandy pastures, 23 plant species of different economic and botanical groups have been determined, and due to the natural conditions of sands in the phytocenosis, the occurrence of valuable plants in the forage ratio was high. By the middle of summer, in the area of seasonal and distant pastures, despite the loss of forbs from the vegetation composition and drying of cereals, the yield of green phytomass was 8.09–10.25 c/ha, which is higher than in the area of unsystematic grazing by 4.28–6.44 c/ha. In this work, it was concluded that to improve the efficiency of pasture resource management, it is important to use seasonal pastures with the inclusion of a distant site in pasture rotation, which is the scientific novelty of the research.