Download Soils of Mongolia

Soils of Mongolia
Ochirbat BATKHISHIG
Soil Science Society of Mongolia
Soil 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
•January average air temperature -20o C
•July average air temperature +20о С
Precipitation about 200 - 300 mm in year
South Gobi desert areas less than 100 mm
other
17%
Forest Cultivated
8%
land
1%
Grazing
land
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 clay 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
Sand
2%
Peat cryomorphic
2%
Alluvial
2%
Mountain tundra
8%
Salty soils
3%
Steppe soil
Forest taiga soil
9%
46.0
Desert Gypsic
11%
Gobi desert soil
32.6
Forest taiga soil
9.5
Mountain tundra
8.0
Alluvial
2.2
Peat cryomorphic
1.8
Stony Chernozem
7%
Gobi Brown
14%
Stony Dark
Kastanozem
15%
Stony Gobi Brown
3%
Kastanozem
13%
Chernozem
1%
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.)
Soil map 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
Data available
• Morphological characteristics
• Soil horizon thickness
• General chemical properties
– Organic content, pH, Calcium carbonate,
exchangeable Ca, Mg, texture
Data lack
• No coordinate location
(example: west to soum center 10 km)
• Not data about water physical properties
– Only soil texture (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.
Soil classification 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
• Soil water 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
46.5% of arable land
was degraded:
Medium, 28.2
Changes of soil erosion and humus content
Soil erodibility
Number of
samples
Average
humus
content
%
Decrease
percentage
comparing
with non
eroded soils
Non eroded
area
388
2.64
Slight
342
2.50
7.2
Moderate
195
2.08
21.3
Severe
88
1.60
39.4
Climate change
Last 70 years air temperature
increased
by
2.10 C
(Ulaanbaatar)
Air temperature, C (UB station)
2
y = 0.0349x - 71.109
1
0
•This is 2 - 3 times more than World
average
-1
-2
-3
-4
1958
1968
1978
1988
1998
World is 0.6-0.7o C
2008
Precipitation, mm (UB station)
450.0
y = 0.0768x + 237.33
400.0
350.0
300.0
250.0
200.0
150.0
100.0
50.0
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1967
1965
1963
0.0
1961
Annual precipitation ranges
225.5-269.2 mm,
increased slightly by 10 mm
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 197080) to the digital formats.
• 2011-2013 Soil Science Department of Mongolian Academy
of Sciences implemented project “Digital soil mapping and
Renewing of Soil classification system”
• Soil survey 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