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Afforestation of the Aral Sea dried floor

International Workshop. Konya, Turkey, 28-31 May 2012








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    Journal article
    Why is artificial afforestation crucial for restoring nature? Studies on the dried bottom of Aral Sea, Kazakhstan
    XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022
    2022
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    The Aral Sea, formerly the fourth largest inland lake located in Central Asia, has reduced dramatically as it lost most of its volume due to the large-scale water withdrawal for the cultivation of irrigated crops starting from the 1960s. The desiccated seafloor has become a source of salt, sand, and dust transfer to the adjacent regions, negatively affecting human health and the environment by inhibiting the survival and growth of the vegetation. In response, to stabilize the saline sand blowing from the Aral seabed, multiple domestic and international efforts have been performed to establish vegetation cover with indigenous trees of Haloxylon species as well as other salt- and water-stress tolerant woody and herbaceous plants of the region. As part of the afforestation project supported by the Korea Forest Service (South Korea) in Kazakhstan, field studies examined the impacts of the afforestation on carbon stock and soil quality. The summarized findings are as follows: 1) growth of planted seedlings indicates the measurable sequestration of carbon, which ultimately help to estimate its contribution to climate change mitigation by calculating the atmospheric greenhouse gas reductions; 2) afforestation increased the soil organic matter content which is closely related to soil fertility; 3) afforestation improved soil chemical properties for plants and soil microbes; 4) soil amelioration effects by the afforestation were statistically similar to those by natural vegetation succession. However, the soil conditions in the natural succession area improved after almost 50 years versus about 15 years in the afforested area. This signifies the relative efficiency of afforestation activities and thus helps justify the investments made. Based on the studies, we recommend further research to raise the efficiency of afforestation in arid areas, thereby reinforcing ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation. Keywords: Aral Sea; afforestation; desertification; climate change; restoration; soil amelioration; carbon stock ID: 3615605
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    Programme / project report
    Enduring land and cultural sustainability for Ngāti Porou through afforestation subsidies
    Overview
    2014
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    This is a Māori/Ngati Porou-led PES scheme that makes use of government afforestation subsidies and foreign direct investment to enable one of the tribe’s commercial bodies, Ngāti Porou Whanui Forests Limited (NPWFL) to become a provider of environmental services by undertaking afforestation activities to mitigate severe soil erosion and its negative effects on the Ngāti Porou community.

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