Aral Sea
The Aral sea is located in Central Asia between
Kazakstan and Uzbekistan.
It once covered 25,659 sq mi (66,457 sq km) and was the fourth largest
inland body of water in the world.One of the large irrigation areas
is the Amu-Dar'ja delta in the south of the The Aral sea. The irrigated
area extends over approximately 28000 sq km, and is mainly used
for the cash crops cotton and rice. In the 20th century the irrigated
area in the The Aral sea region increased from about 3 Mio ha to over
8 Mio ha today. Along
the former shoreline salt has accumulated dueto evaporation and
solonchaks have developed. As a result of the strong NE winds in
this area, the salt is picked up and transported by aeolic processes
and through deflation lands on the irrigated fields in the south.
In addition the north of the Amu-Dar'ja delta used to be an important
ecosystem with a large variety of flora and fauna. The increasing
salinity and the water shortage have led to a vast degradation of
these areas. In addition the productivity of the agricultural fields
dropped significantly due to secondary salinization as a result
of capillary uprising of soil.
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