ASSESSING SUSTAINABLE RANGELAND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN KAZAKHSTAN

The most vulnerable rangeland areas affected by soil erosion are areas where annual precipitation is between 100 and 400 millimenters (mm)/year. With low plant density and minimal canopy and ground cover, arid and semi-arid areas are prone to both wind and water erosion. Overall, the climate regime, lack of vegetative cover, and altered plant community structure due to historic overgrazing in Kazakhstan makes their rangelands extremely vulnerable to accelerated soil erosion and land degradation from both wind and water erosion increasing risks of unstainability and loss of livestock forage production. In order to assess and/or manage rangelands, one must have knowledge of the soil type, and the classification and density of present vegetation on-site in contrast with potential vegetation for determining risks of degradation and lost forage potential. It is proposed that USDA and its Kazakhstan partners develop a multiphase approach that would include the following technology development, data collection, data analysis, and training programs. This approach would enable the assessment of the aerial extent of rangeland degradation and techniques for prioritizing areas in need of restoration in Kazakhstan and the western United States. Training Goals: 1) Demonstrate concepts and processes to develop Ecological Site Descriptions (ESD). 2) Demonstrate USDA National Resources Inventory (NRI) monitoring technology data collection techniques. 3) Demonstrate use on Indicators of Rangeland Health qualitative assessment technique 4) Demonstrate use of Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) to assess environmental status of the site and assess risk of sustainability as a function of potential and actual soil erosion at the site scale. 5) Demonstrate use of KINEROS2 watershed tool implemented through the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) GIS interface to assess location of degraded rangelands, determine priority, location, and potential benefits from watershed scale restoration. Data Collection Goals: 1) Develop a systematic method to collect National Resources Inventory (NRI) information to assess status and health of rangelands across Kazakhstan; such that, local, regional, and national status reports can be developed. 2) Develop a systematic method to collect, soil, vegetation, topographic, and climate data information to assess status and health of rangelands across Kazakhstan, such that, local, regional, and national status reports can be developed. Assessment Goal: 1) Assess animal health & productivity linked to achieving sustainable grazing systems. 2) Assess benefits of hillslope and watershed scale revegetation treatments in reducing runoff, soil loss, sediment yield, and increasing forage potential and health of the land across target rangeland watershed. Restoration Goals: 1) Develop technology, techniques, and plant materials to restore degraded rangelands. 2) Develop equivalent of USDA Ecological Site Descriptions for providing information to livestock producers on how to manage rangelands in a sustainable manner to have safe and secure food and water supplies .