The area of the Aralkum Desert has reached approx. 6 mln ha, out of which 2.8 mln ha are located in Kazakhstan (Kyzylorda Region) and 3.2 mln ha in Uzbekistan (Republic of Karakalpakstan).
The augmenting water mineralization and soil salinity within the dried seabed area, as well as the anomalous air temperature increase all prevent accelerated greening. In addition, climate change has been significantly affecting the Aral Sea Region also. Based on the World Bank’s data, a 10 to 30% drop in the discharge of the Syrdarya and Amudarya Rivers will fa-cilitate the expansion of the Aralkum Desert area.
National Nexus demo project in Kazakhstan “Afforestation of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea: piloting a closed root system” aims to pilot the closed root system method of growing saxaul seedlings to increase the survival rate up to 70%. At this time within the framework of the project the following results have been achieved:
· 2 saxaul greenhouses and 1 shade-house built, and closed root system seedlings planted;
· Only 20% of the planted seedlings survived due to the hot summer and high-water minerali-zation in Kamystybas Lake in 2021;
· Survived 200 seedlings planted in the hedged territory in the dried bottom of the Aral Sea.
