Assessing the geoecological state of ecosystems in the Balkhash region

We examine the current ecological problems of the Balkhash region. An assessment is made of the ecological status of the territory and water resources among which Lake Balkhash and the Ili, Karatal and Lepsy were assessed as the most severely polluted rivers. Lake Balkhash is represented not only as a fishery water body but also as the unique center of the region’s ecological integrity. A rationale is provided for the need to carry out a geoecological monitoring as well as comprehensive measures for maintaining stability of the Lake Balkhash level, preventing the water bodies from pollution, the protection of the lakes’ floodplains, the preservation of tugai forests and saxaul vegetation, and a monitoring of desertification processes. Based on studying and analyzing the spatiotemporal physical-geographical characteristics of the territory of the Balkhash region, we constructed a fragment of the geoecological regionalization map. A study into the spatialregular distribution revealed the region’s dominant plant communities. The main pollution sources have been identified: mining industries, housing and communal facilities, influences from settlements, and agrocenoses, specifically irrigated agriculture. As a result of our investigations, it was found that all landscapes of the region have been undergoing changes due to anthropogenic impacts to become anthropogenic modifications of natural landscapes. It was further found that irrational consumption and ill thought-out strategies for utilization of biological resources, coupled with an inadequate scientific regulation of anthropogenic impacts, continue to inflict damage to the region’s bioresources. © 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.