Changing land use
A substantial increase of desertification in the Volgograd Region occurred before the 1990s, the main human-induced factors being ploughing of marginal lands together with the growth of livestock numbers. Stocking level increase in years with favourable weather was twofold, in the years with average weather conditions 4 times, in unfavourable years 8.5 times. Even the threefold decrease of the total number of livestock observed in the past decade did not result in a considerable improvement of the state of pastures (with the exception of remote homesteads). Since 1991 began a sharp decrease of the gross agricultural output in the region. Decrease of production output and incomes (less than half compared to 1990) resulted in a lower demand for agricultural machines, equipment, fertilizers, pesticides, etc., especially in the semi-desert Zavolzhje steppe. In 1999-2000 the region's administration considered the expediency and possibility of moving population from the southern part of Pallasovsky region to regions with a more favourable natural situation. At present many former cultivated lands are abandoned or set-aside. Agricultural lands occupy 76.8%, the arable land 51.7%, the hayfields 1.8%, the pastures 23.2%, the forests 3.4% of the total area of the oblast.
At the beginning of XXI century the area of eroded land in the oblast made up 2,220,500 ha (26% of agricultural lands). Arable land occupies the major part of it - 1,346,000 ha. The area of deflated soils made up 87.300 ha (1%), of which 46.800 ha on arable land. Saline land covered 1,436,500 ha (17%) by the beginning of 2001, including 691.600 ha on arable land. Great damage was caused to pastures - 3/4 of their area is at different stages of degradation. Only 40.000 ha are used for irrigation, 76% of the formerly irrigated lands was withdrawn because of land abandonment and secondary salinization with rising water table as the main consequences of irrigated agriculture. Soil organic matter losses due to erosion reach are taking place at 2-3 times the speed of accumulation.
In Zavolzhje semi-desert the use of intra-zonal soils on brackish lagoons and depressions of the mesorelief as the most productive areas was a long-term practice. Such system of land use was well combined with traditional meat-wool stockbreeding. Depressions occupy 10-15% of the study area. Brackish lagoons under cheap border irrigation were commonly used for haying as well for grazing on harvested field and in the 1970-80s yielded 500.000 tonnes of hay in Volgograd Oblast. Currently only one half from 58.600 ha is used and the hay yield is usually not more than 2 t ha-1 instead of the expected 3.5-4 t ha-1.
