Some Results of the Implementation of Programs to Combat Desertification in Black Earth and Kizlyar Pastures

Abstract—The Western Caspian Sea is a traditional zone of pastoral animal husbandry based on natural fodder lands. Intensive and unsystematic use of bioresources of sandy pastures in the 1980s led to the formation of the first man-made desert in Europe. For more than 35 years, programs aimed at curbing the processes of desertification of the territory have been implemented on the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia. This article discusses some of the results of the implementation of programs to combat desertification. Data are given on the scale of phytomeliorative measures carried out over the past 35 years in three constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The achieved results are analyzed and their shortcomings are noted. Measures are proposed that will help to overcome further degradation of the territory and improve the pasture economy of Kalmykia.