On the eve of the drying cycle: a scientific approach to the justification of land rrigation in Altai

The article presents materials that reveal the main aspects of the functioning of the reclamation complex of the Altai Territory. The conditions for the restoration of irrigation systems and the introduction of new irrigated lands into circulation are outlined; the role of investments, reclamation parks and the mechanism of public-private partnership in the development of agriculture and land reclamation is shown.

Introduction. The relevance of the study is explained by the fact that under the influence of intensive human activity, the steppes and forest-steppes of Siberia were significantly transformed, a significant part of the area was transferred to the category of arable land and irrigated land. Ameliorative systems built in the 20th century, for the most part, are decommissioned or used in agriculture by 20%. According to the forecasts of Siberian scientists, by 2050 the water cycle should change and the water content of the rivers of the Upper Ob basin and the Ob-Irtysh interfluve will increase by 1%, and the increasing aridization of agriculture in Western Siberia will entail the drying up of steppe lakes, an increase in the salinity of water bodies, and the appearance of significant areas of solonchaks. The ongoing global natural and climatic changes will become harbingers of catastrophic droughts and crop failures.

The purpose of the study is to consider the main approaches and justify the development of land reclamation in the Altai Territory.

Object. The objects of study were the natural and reclamation complex of the region, the Alei irrigation system with a reconstruction program and an increasing zone of irrigated lands.

Materials and methods. The basis of the study was the results of the expeditions, analytical and statistical materials of the VNIIOZ-branch of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “FNTs VNIIGiM named after A. N. Kostyakov" (Volgograd), Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "FNTs VNIIGiM im. A. N. Kostyakov" (Moscow), Federal State Budgetary Institution "Department of Land Reclamation and Agricultural Water Supply in the Altai Territory" for the period 2013-2022. To determine the prospects for the development of irrigation systems and irrigated lands, investment projects, a situational analysis was used with predictive climate changes. Statistical data were processed using computer programs MS Office 2010, Statistica.

Results and conclusions. In the course of the study, results were obtained confirming that on the eve of the “era of desiccation”, the issue of reviving land reclamation in Altai, the development of land reclamation investment projects with the mechanism of public-private partnership, is becoming very relevant. It is shown that the ongoing reconstruction of the Alei irrigation system, on the one hand, will increase the area of irrigated land, create conditions for increasing agricultural productivity, on the other hand, the experience gained justifies the mandatory use of environmentally friendly technologies that prevent the manifestation of side effects of land reclamation: salinization and waterlogging of lands, decrease in soil fertility.

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