The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world but it has shrunk dramatically as a result of irrational human activities, triggering the "Aral Sea ecological crisis". The ecological problems of the Ar...The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world but it has shrunk dramatically as a result of irrational human activities, triggering the "Aral Sea ecological crisis". The ecological problems of the Aral Sea have attracted widespread attention, and the alleviation of the Aral Sea ecological crisis has reached a consensus among the five Central Asian countries(Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). In the past decades, many ecological management measures have been implemented for the ecological restoration of the Aral Sea. However, due to the lack of regional planning and zoning, the results are not ideal. In this study, we mapped the ecological zoning of the Aral Sea from the perspective of ecological restoration based on soil type, soil salinity, surface water, groundwater table, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), land cover, and aerosol optical depth(AOD) data. Soil salinization and salt dust are the most prominent ecological problems in the Aral Sea. We divided the Aral Sea into 7 first-level ecological restoration subregions(North Aral Sea catchment area in the downstream of the Syr Darya River(Subregion Ⅰ);artificial flood overflow area in the downstream of the Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅱ);physical/chemical remediation area of the salt dust source area in the eastern part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅲ);physical/chemical remediation area of severe salinization in the central part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅳ);existing water surface and potential restoration area of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅴ);Aral Sea vegetation natural recovery area(Subregion Ⅵ);and vegetation planting area with slight salinization in the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅶ)) and 14 second-level ecological restoration subregions according to the ecological zoning principles. Implementable measures are proposed for each ecological restoration subregion. For Subregion Ⅰ and Subregion Ⅱ with lower elevations, artificial flooding should be carried out to restore the surface of the Aral Sea. Subregion Ⅲ and Subregion Ⅳ have severe salinization, making it difficult for vegetation to grow. In these subregions, it is recommended to cover and pave the areas with green biomatrix coverings and environmentally sustainable bonding materials. In Subregion Ⅴ located in the central and western parts of the South Aral Sea, surface water recharge should be increased to ensure that this subregion can maintain normal water levels. In Subregion Ⅵ and Subregion Ⅶ where natural conditions are suitable for vegetation growth, measures such as afforestation and buffer zones should be implemented to protect vegetation. This study could provide a reference basis for future comprehensive ecological management and restoration of the Aral Sea.展开更多
The greatest environmental disaster in Central Asiathe drying up of the Aral Seahas led to the formation of a new terrain, extending over 2.7 million hectares in Uzbekistan. This newly formed terrain is dynamically de...The greatest environmental disaster in Central Asiathe drying up of the Aral Seahas led to the formation of a new terrain, extending over 2.7 million hectares in Uzbekistan. This newly formed terrain is dynamically developing, with emerging soil formations replacing bottom sediments. This paper analyzes the results of a study on soil formation in the eastern part of the dried-up seabed, focusing on the influence of natural processes occurring there.展开更多
The shrinkage of the Aral Sea,which is closely related to the Amu Darya River,strongly affects the sustainability of the local natural ecosystem,agricultural production,and human well-being.In this study,we used the B...The shrinkage of the Aral Sea,which is closely related to the Amu Darya River,strongly affects the sustainability of the local natural ecosystem,agricultural production,and human well-being.In this study,we used the Bayesian Estimator of Abrupt change,Seasonal change,and Trend(BEAST)model to detect the historical change points in the variation of the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya River and analyse the causes of the Aral Sea shrinkage during the 1950–2016 period.Further,we applied multifractal detrend cross-correlation analysis(MF-DCCA)and quantitative analysis to investigate the responses of the Aral Sea to the runoff in the Amu Darya River,which is the main source of recharge to the Aral Sea.Our results showed that two significant trend change points in the water volume change of the Aral Sea occurred,in 1961 and 1974.Before 1961,the water volume in the Aral Sea was stable,after which it began to shrink,with a shrinkage rate fluctuating around 15.21 km3/a.After 1974,the water volume of the Aral Sea decreased substantially at a rate of up to 48.97 km3/a,which was the highest value recorded in this study.In addition,although the response of the Aral Sea's water volume to its recharge runoff demonstrated a complex non-linear relationship,the replenishment of the Aral Sea by the runoff in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River was identified as the dominant factor affecting the Aral Sea shrinkage.Based on the scenario analyses,we concluded that it is possible to slow down the retreat of the Aral Sea and restore its ecosystem by increasing the efficiency of agricultural water use,decreasing agricultural water use in the middle and lower reaches,reducing ineffective evaporation from reservoirs and wetlands,and increasing the water coming from the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River to the 1961–1973 level.These measures would maintain and stabilise the water area and water volume of the Aral Sea in a state of ecological restoration.Therefore,this study focuses on how human consumption of recharge runoff affects the Aral Sea and provides scientific perspective on its ecological conservation and sustainable development.展开更多
Coexisting quartz, feldspar and biotite vary widely in their δ18O values and display a remarkable 18O/16O disequilibrium relation; especially, a quartz-feldspar reversal (△ 18OQUartz_feldspar< 0) exsists in the A...Coexisting quartz, feldspar and biotite vary widely in their δ18O values and display a remarkable 18O/16O disequilibrium relation; especially, a quartz-feldspar reversal (△ 18OQUartz_feldspar< 0) exsists in the Aral granite pluton of the Altay Mountains, northern Xinjiang. The 18O / 16O exchange reaction definitely occurred between granite and water. Initial δ18O values of the granite and exotic fluid are evaluated by the mass balance consideration. The conventional method of discrimination between various magma derivations simply with δ18O values of either whole rock or separate minerals is misleading and unreliable. Experiments carried out by the authors show that the 18O / 16O exchange reaction is not accompanied by what geologists describe as petrological and mineralogical alteration effect. This decoupling relation implies that exchange reaction occurs at a relatively high temperature during subsolidus-postmagmatic cooling of magmas. The exchange mechanism is mainly diffusion-controlled. It is demonstrated through quantitative modelling that the hydrothermal system associated with the Aral pluton is long-lived (0.8-6 Ma), with a relatively high fluid flow rate (3 ×10-14 mol. s-1) and high W/ R ratio (0.79-6.14). This means that an intense flow and convection may exist at the midcrustal level of erogenic magmatic arcs.展开更多
The Aral Sea was one of the largest lakes in the world before it started to shrink in the 1960s due to water withdrawal for agricultural irrigation. Precipitation decreased from 9.4 kmin 1960 to 3.2 km3 in 2009, and a...The Aral Sea was one of the largest lakes in the world before it started to shrink in the 1960s due to water withdrawal for agricultural irrigation. Precipitation decreased from 9.4 kmin 1960 to 3.2 km3 in 2009, and annual river inflow into the Aral Sea decreased from 31.5 km3 in 1998 to 5.2 km3 in 2009. Comparison on the hydrological data of the Aral Sea between 1960 and 2009 showed the evaporation, water surface area, and water volume decreased by 90%, 80%, and 88%, respectively. This study employs the observed values of water volume, precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and salinity to estimate water volume and salinity from 1960 to 2009, and the efficiency coefficients for predicted water volume and salinity are o.975 and 0.974, respectively. Regression equations calculated from the observed data are used to predict precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and salinity from 20lO to 2021, and the results are then applied in the estimation of water volume and salinity Our estimates suggest that salinity will increase to around 200 g/L and water volume will decrease to around 83 km3 in 2021.展开更多
The increase of irretrievable river water withdrawals and regulation of river flow has a negative effect on the natural regime of the Aral Sea. The Ainu Darya River and the Syr Darya River Basins are the largest irrig...The increase of irretrievable river water withdrawals and regulation of river flow has a negative effect on the natural regime of the Aral Sea. The Ainu Darya River and the Syr Darya River Basins are the largest irrigated farming areas. Their favorable soil and climatic conditions ensure guaranteed yields of various crops on irrigated lands. Since 1961, for the drastic increase of irretrievable river water withdrawal, mainly for irrigation, the inflow of fiver water into the Aral Sea has started to decrease significantly, accordingly the sea's hydrological and hydrochemical regimes disrupted dramatically. The sea level has continued to drop as evaporation exceeds inflow. This negatively transforms the natural environment and worsens socio-economic conditions in Priaralie as a whole, especially in the lower reaches of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, where natural conditions are largely determined by the sea's impact. At present, this causes desertification of the nonirrigated zone in the deltas, spreading to new areas as the Aral Sea dries out.展开更多
The gradual shrinkage of the Aral Sea has led to not only the degradation of the unique environments of the Aral Sea,but also numerous and fast developing succession processes in the neighborhood habitats surrounding ...The gradual shrinkage of the Aral Sea has led to not only the degradation of the unique environments of the Aral Sea,but also numerous and fast developing succession processes in the neighborhood habitats surrounding the sea.In this study,we investigated the vegetative succession processes related to the Aral Sea shrinkage in the Eastern Cliff of the Ustyurt Plateau in Republic of Uzbekistan,Central Asia.We compared the results of our current investigation(2010–2017)on vegetative communities with the geobotany data collected during the 1970s(1970–1980).The results showed great changes in the mesophytic plant communities and habitat aridization as a result of the drop in the underground water level,which decreased atmospheric humidity and increased the salt content of the soil caused by the shrinkage of the Aral Sea.In the vegetative communities,we observed a decrease in the Margalef index(DMg),which had a positive correlation with the poly-dominance index(I-D).The main indications of the plant communities'transformation were the loss of the weak species,the appearance of new communities with low species diversity,the stabilization of the projective cover of former resistant communities,as well as the appearance of a new competitive species,which occupy new habitats.展开更多
As a result of the Aral Sea shrinkage, the unique freshwater body has given place to a huge bitter-saline lake with an area 3.5 times less, volume 6 times less and water salinity 10 times larger than in 1960, and the ...As a result of the Aral Sea shrinkage, the unique freshwater body has given place to a huge bitter-saline lake with an area 3.5 times less, volume 6 times less and water salinity 10 times larger than in 1960, and the saline desert at the interface between three sand deserts with an area of more than 5 million ha, being unstable ecological zone. The exposed ground is illustrative of arid salt-accumulation, where was created specific type of soil-costal solonchak. The origination of life in the soil of the dried bed starts long before the occurrence of external characteristics. This process can be traced only by studying the microbiological composition of soil. Research in this direction, was conducted in order to determine the microbiological composition of soil for horizons of one typical profile of solonchak. The research objective was to determine microorganism species in the soil on the dried seabed, identify changes in the microorganism community along the soil profile and dependence on duration of the drying process. Additionally, we paid attention to a vegetation effect on the composition of microorganisms. Soil samples were taken along a transect from the sea to the mainland, selected from the different depth of soil profiles taken under or near plant (saxaul). The method Gas chromatography mass-spectrometry was used. Bacteria of the community of microorganisms in different parts of the soil cover on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea and on the mainland belong to five bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria Actinobacteria Firmicutes Bacteroidetes and Deinococcus-Thermus. In general, 59 bacterial species of 43 genera were reconstructed. The total population varied from 105 cells/g to 108 cells/g of the soil. The association Aeromonas hydrophila-Arthrobacter sp. played the key role at the first stages of the soil formation process on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea. This association is followed by salt-resistant Agrobacterium sp. and humus-accumulating Propionibacterium freudenreichii, activity of which is also very important for the formation of the soil cover. The studying properties of the dried seabed cover of both salt composition and microbiological composition made it possible to trace the formation of primary soil on marine sediments with the subsequent formation of desert-type soil.展开更多
The term ‘biological resources' here means a set of organisms that can be used by man directly or indirectly for consumption. They are involved in economic activities and represent an important part of a country&...The term ‘biological resources' here means a set of organisms that can be used by man directly or indirectly for consumption. They are involved in economic activities and represent an important part of a country's raw material potential. Many other organisms are also subject to rational use and protection. They can be associated with true resource species through interspecific relationships. The Caspian and Aral Seas are continental water bodies, giant saline lakes. Both categories of species are represented in the benthic and pelagic communities of the Caspian and Aral Seas and are involved in human economic activities. The most important biological resource of the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea is their ichthyofauna, represented by both aboriginal species and species introduced by man in the 20 th century. Among invertebrates, the main biological resource of these saline lakes is the brine shrimp A rtemia. The physical state of the Caspian as a water body is relatively stable but its biological resources are very seriously af fected by irrational use. The Aral Sea since the second half of the 20 t h century has experienced catastrophic anthropogenic regression, which has led to the almost complete loss of its biological resources due to salinization. However, thanks to efficacious engineering measures, it has now become possible to preserve its northern part(Small Aral) and rehabilitate it, lowering the salinity to its former state. The result has been the restoration of its fish biological resources. In the southern part of Aral(Large Aral), which turned into a group of separated hypersaline reservoirs, the only resource species currently available is the brine shrimp A rtemia. The main environmental threats for biological resources of the future Caspian and Aral as well as potential solutions are considered.展开更多
基金supported by the Key R&D Program of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China(2022B03021)the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA20030101)the Tianshan Talent Training Program of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China(2022TSYCLJ0011).
文摘The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world but it has shrunk dramatically as a result of irrational human activities, triggering the "Aral Sea ecological crisis". The ecological problems of the Aral Sea have attracted widespread attention, and the alleviation of the Aral Sea ecological crisis has reached a consensus among the five Central Asian countries(Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). In the past decades, many ecological management measures have been implemented for the ecological restoration of the Aral Sea. However, due to the lack of regional planning and zoning, the results are not ideal. In this study, we mapped the ecological zoning of the Aral Sea from the perspective of ecological restoration based on soil type, soil salinity, surface water, groundwater table, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), land cover, and aerosol optical depth(AOD) data. Soil salinization and salt dust are the most prominent ecological problems in the Aral Sea. We divided the Aral Sea into 7 first-level ecological restoration subregions(North Aral Sea catchment area in the downstream of the Syr Darya River(Subregion Ⅰ);artificial flood overflow area in the downstream of the Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅱ);physical/chemical remediation area of the salt dust source area in the eastern part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅲ);physical/chemical remediation area of severe salinization in the central part of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅳ);existing water surface and potential restoration area of the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅴ);Aral Sea vegetation natural recovery area(Subregion Ⅵ);and vegetation planting area with slight salinization in the South Aral Sea(Subregion Ⅶ)) and 14 second-level ecological restoration subregions according to the ecological zoning principles. Implementable measures are proposed for each ecological restoration subregion. For Subregion Ⅰ and Subregion Ⅱ with lower elevations, artificial flooding should be carried out to restore the surface of the Aral Sea. Subregion Ⅲ and Subregion Ⅳ have severe salinization, making it difficult for vegetation to grow. In these subregions, it is recommended to cover and pave the areas with green biomatrix coverings and environmentally sustainable bonding materials. In Subregion Ⅴ located in the central and western parts of the South Aral Sea, surface water recharge should be increased to ensure that this subregion can maintain normal water levels. In Subregion Ⅵ and Subregion Ⅶ where natural conditions are suitable for vegetation growth, measures such as afforestation and buffer zones should be implemented to protect vegetation. This study could provide a reference basis for future comprehensive ecological management and restoration of the Aral Sea.
文摘The greatest environmental disaster in Central Asiathe drying up of the Aral Seahas led to the formation of a new terrain, extending over 2.7 million hectares in Uzbekistan. This newly formed terrain is dynamically developing, with emerging soil formations replacing bottom sediments. This paper analyzes the results of a study on soil formation in the eastern part of the dried-up seabed, focusing on the influence of natural processes occurring there.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42230708)the Joint CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) & MPG (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) Research Project (HZXM20225001MI)the Tianshan Talent Project of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China (2022TSYCLJ0056)。
文摘The shrinkage of the Aral Sea,which is closely related to the Amu Darya River,strongly affects the sustainability of the local natural ecosystem,agricultural production,and human well-being.In this study,we used the Bayesian Estimator of Abrupt change,Seasonal change,and Trend(BEAST)model to detect the historical change points in the variation of the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya River and analyse the causes of the Aral Sea shrinkage during the 1950–2016 period.Further,we applied multifractal detrend cross-correlation analysis(MF-DCCA)and quantitative analysis to investigate the responses of the Aral Sea to the runoff in the Amu Darya River,which is the main source of recharge to the Aral Sea.Our results showed that two significant trend change points in the water volume change of the Aral Sea occurred,in 1961 and 1974.Before 1961,the water volume in the Aral Sea was stable,after which it began to shrink,with a shrinkage rate fluctuating around 15.21 km3/a.After 1974,the water volume of the Aral Sea decreased substantially at a rate of up to 48.97 km3/a,which was the highest value recorded in this study.In addition,although the response of the Aral Sea's water volume to its recharge runoff demonstrated a complex non-linear relationship,the replenishment of the Aral Sea by the runoff in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River was identified as the dominant factor affecting the Aral Sea shrinkage.Based on the scenario analyses,we concluded that it is possible to slow down the retreat of the Aral Sea and restore its ecosystem by increasing the efficiency of agricultural water use,decreasing agricultural water use in the middle and lower reaches,reducing ineffective evaporation from reservoirs and wetlands,and increasing the water coming from the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River to the 1961–1973 level.These measures would maintain and stabilise the water area and water volume of the Aral Sea in a state of ecological restoration.Therefore,this study focuses on how human consumption of recharge runoff affects the Aral Sea and provides scientific perspective on its ecological conservation and sustainable development.
基金This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant No. 49373164)the President's Funds of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Coexisting quartz, feldspar and biotite vary widely in their δ18O values and display a remarkable 18O/16O disequilibrium relation; especially, a quartz-feldspar reversal (△ 18OQUartz_feldspar< 0) exsists in the Aral granite pluton of the Altay Mountains, northern Xinjiang. The 18O / 16O exchange reaction definitely occurred between granite and water. Initial δ18O values of the granite and exotic fluid are evaluated by the mass balance consideration. The conventional method of discrimination between various magma derivations simply with δ18O values of either whole rock or separate minerals is misleading and unreliable. Experiments carried out by the authors show that the 18O / 16O exchange reaction is not accompanied by what geologists describe as petrological and mineralogical alteration effect. This decoupling relation implies that exchange reaction occurs at a relatively high temperature during subsolidus-postmagmatic cooling of magmas. The exchange mechanism is mainly diffusion-controlled. It is demonstrated through quantitative modelling that the hydrothermal system associated with the Aral pluton is long-lived (0.8-6 Ma), with a relatively high fluid flow rate (3 ×10-14 mol. s-1) and high W/ R ratio (0.79-6.14). This means that an intense flow and convection may exist at the midcrustal level of erogenic magmatic arcs.
文摘The Aral Sea was one of the largest lakes in the world before it started to shrink in the 1960s due to water withdrawal for agricultural irrigation. Precipitation decreased from 9.4 kmin 1960 to 3.2 km3 in 2009, and annual river inflow into the Aral Sea decreased from 31.5 km3 in 1998 to 5.2 km3 in 2009. Comparison on the hydrological data of the Aral Sea between 1960 and 2009 showed the evaporation, water surface area, and water volume decreased by 90%, 80%, and 88%, respectively. This study employs the observed values of water volume, precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and salinity to estimate water volume and salinity from 1960 to 2009, and the efficiency coefficients for predicted water volume and salinity are o.975 and 0.974, respectively. Regression equations calculated from the observed data are used to predict precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and salinity from 20lO to 2021, and the results are then applied in the estimation of water volume and salinity Our estimates suggest that salinity will increase to around 200 g/L and water volume will decrease to around 83 km3 in 2021.
文摘The increase of irretrievable river water withdrawals and regulation of river flow has a negative effect on the natural regime of the Aral Sea. The Ainu Darya River and the Syr Darya River Basins are the largest irrigated farming areas. Their favorable soil and climatic conditions ensure guaranteed yields of various crops on irrigated lands. Since 1961, for the drastic increase of irretrievable river water withdrawal, mainly for irrigation, the inflow of fiver water into the Aral Sea has started to decrease significantly, accordingly the sea's hydrological and hydrochemical regimes disrupted dramatically. The sea level has continued to drop as evaporation exceeds inflow. This negatively transforms the natural environment and worsens socio-economic conditions in Priaralie as a whole, especially in the lower reaches of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, where natural conditions are largely determined by the sea's impact. At present, this causes desertification of the nonirrigated zone in the deltas, spreading to new areas as the Aral Sea dries out.
基金This study was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA20020101).We also thank for the project"Modern Trends in the Development of Vegetation and Fauna of Ustyurt in the Process of Desertification"(F3MВ-2016-0910183457),which is supported by the Ministry of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
文摘The gradual shrinkage of the Aral Sea has led to not only the degradation of the unique environments of the Aral Sea,but also numerous and fast developing succession processes in the neighborhood habitats surrounding the sea.In this study,we investigated the vegetative succession processes related to the Aral Sea shrinkage in the Eastern Cliff of the Ustyurt Plateau in Republic of Uzbekistan,Central Asia.We compared the results of our current investigation(2010–2017)on vegetative communities with the geobotany data collected during the 1970s(1970–1980).The results showed great changes in the mesophytic plant communities and habitat aridization as a result of the drop in the underground water level,which decreased atmospheric humidity and increased the salt content of the soil caused by the shrinkage of the Aral Sea.In the vegetative communities,we observed a decrease in the Margalef index(DMg),which had a positive correlation with the poly-dominance index(I-D).The main indications of the plant communities'transformation were the loss of the weak species,the appearance of new communities with low species diversity,the stabilization of the projective cover of former resistant communities,as well as the appearance of a new competitive species,which occupy new habitats.
文摘As a result of the Aral Sea shrinkage, the unique freshwater body has given place to a huge bitter-saline lake with an area 3.5 times less, volume 6 times less and water salinity 10 times larger than in 1960, and the saline desert at the interface between three sand deserts with an area of more than 5 million ha, being unstable ecological zone. The exposed ground is illustrative of arid salt-accumulation, where was created specific type of soil-costal solonchak. The origination of life in the soil of the dried bed starts long before the occurrence of external characteristics. This process can be traced only by studying the microbiological composition of soil. Research in this direction, was conducted in order to determine the microbiological composition of soil for horizons of one typical profile of solonchak. The research objective was to determine microorganism species in the soil on the dried seabed, identify changes in the microorganism community along the soil profile and dependence on duration of the drying process. Additionally, we paid attention to a vegetation effect on the composition of microorganisms. Soil samples were taken along a transect from the sea to the mainland, selected from the different depth of soil profiles taken under or near plant (saxaul). The method Gas chromatography mass-spectrometry was used. Bacteria of the community of microorganisms in different parts of the soil cover on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea and on the mainland belong to five bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria Actinobacteria Firmicutes Bacteroidetes and Deinococcus-Thermus. In general, 59 bacterial species of 43 genera were reconstructed. The total population varied from 105 cells/g to 108 cells/g of the soil. The association Aeromonas hydrophila-Arthrobacter sp. played the key role at the first stages of the soil formation process on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea. This association is followed by salt-resistant Agrobacterium sp. and humus-accumulating Propionibacterium freudenreichii, activity of which is also very important for the formation of the soil cover. The studying properties of the dried seabed cover of both salt composition and microbiological composition made it possible to trace the formation of primary soil on marine sediments with the subsequent formation of desert-type soil.
基金supported by the program of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences“No.41.Biodiversity of natural systems and biological resources of Russia”by the theme of the State assignment for 2017–2019“AAAA-A17-117030310206-6
文摘The term ‘biological resources' here means a set of organisms that can be used by man directly or indirectly for consumption. They are involved in economic activities and represent an important part of a country's raw material potential. Many other organisms are also subject to rational use and protection. They can be associated with true resource species through interspecific relationships. The Caspian and Aral Seas are continental water bodies, giant saline lakes. Both categories of species are represented in the benthic and pelagic communities of the Caspian and Aral Seas and are involved in human economic activities. The most important biological resource of the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea is their ichthyofauna, represented by both aboriginal species and species introduced by man in the 20 th century. Among invertebrates, the main biological resource of these saline lakes is the brine shrimp A rtemia. The physical state of the Caspian as a water body is relatively stable but its biological resources are very seriously af fected by irrational use. The Aral Sea since the second half of the 20 t h century has experienced catastrophic anthropogenic regression, which has led to the almost complete loss of its biological resources due to salinization. However, thanks to efficacious engineering measures, it has now become possible to preserve its northern part(Small Aral) and rehabilitate it, lowering the salinity to its former state. The result has been the restoration of its fish biological resources. In the southern part of Aral(Large Aral), which turned into a group of separated hypersaline reservoirs, the only resource species currently available is the brine shrimp A rtemia. The main environmental threats for biological resources of the future Caspian and Aral as well as potential solutions are considered.