http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership This presentation was made during the Asian Soil Partnership workshop that took place in Bangkok, Thailand 13-15 May 2015. This presentation was made by Ochirbat Batkhishig, and it presents Soils of Mongolia. ©FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. Soils of Mongolia
Ochirbat BATKHISHIG
Soil Science Society of Mongolia
Soil Department, Institute Geography
Mongolian Academy of Sciences
batkhishig@gmail.com
Bangkok 2015. 05.13

2. Topics
• Mongolian Soil resources
• Soil database development
• Soil conservation problems

3. Mongolia is Central Asian country, extra-continental
climate conditions.
Area 1 569 sq. km. Population 3.0 mln.
Average elevation is 1580 meter a.s.l.
Precipitation about 200 - 300 mm in year
South Gobi desert areas less than 100 mm
•January average air temperature -20o C
•July average air temperature +20о С
Transition from Siberian taiga
to Steppe and Gobi desert
Forest
8%
Cultivated
land
1%
Grazing
land
74%
other
17%

4. Specific of soil properties of Mongolia
• High elevation of territory and sporadically distribution of
permafrost. More than 80% of territory of Mongolia is higher than
1000 m above sea level
• Domination of soil forming process in the minus temperature,
short biological active period, 3-5 month in year
• Mountain, Forest, Steppe and Desert soils presented
• Slow process of chemical weathering and clay formation
• Carbonate accumulation in the steppe soils
• Gypsum in the Gobi desert soils
• Stony soil profile and Organic accumulation layer
• Paleo-cryomorphic features in the soil profile

5. Soil geographical regions
Khangai region:
Steppe, Meadow and Forest soils
Gobi region: Desert-steppe and Desert soils

6. Forest-taiga soil
Central Khentei mountain

7. Kastanozem soil

8. Kastanozem soil

9. Gobi desert Brown soil

10. Mountain tundra
8%
Forest taiga soil
9%
Stony Chernozem
7%
Stony Dark
Kastanozem
15%
Chernozem
1%
Dark Kastanozem
10%
Kastanozem
13%
Stony Gobi Brown
3%
Gobi Brown
14%
Desert Gypsic
11%
Salty soils
3%
Sand
2%
Peat cryomorphic
2%
Alluvial
2%
Soil resource of Mongolia
1.8
2.2
8.0
9.5
32.6
46.0
Peat cryomorphic
Alluvial
Mountain tundra
Forest taiga soil
Gobi desert soil
Steppe soil

11. Soil database of Mongolia
Soil map data
Whole country scale
1 : 500 000, 1 : 1 000 000, 1 : 2 500 000,
Central, north regions, scale 1 : 200 000, 1 : 100 000
Soil pedon data
Hard copy (More than 10 000 soil profile data)
Digital format Excel, Access
Soil data (mostly in Mongolian and Russian lang.)

12. Soil map database of Mongolia
• Bespalov N D, Soil map of Mongolia, 1951. Scale 1 : 5 000 000
• Andreev S I, Soil of Buyant river delta area, 1936
• Land Authority Office data 1970-1980
– Soil map 1 : 500 000,
• Soil map of Mongolia, scale 1:2 500 000, 1980
• Soil map of Mongolia, scale 1 : 1 000 000. 1981
– Using air photos
Before 2000
After 2000
Most soil maps on hardcopy
Digital soil maps
Soil maps of different regions of Mongolia
Soil map of Mongolia, scale 1: 500 000, 2013. IG MAS

13. Converting existing soil maps to the digital format
Source data
Soil maps of Mongolia , scale 1 : 1 000 000, 1981
Soil maps of Mongolia , scale 1 : 2 500 000, 1979
Soil map of different regions, scale 1 : 100 000, 1 : 200 000
Software
ARC Map 10.1
ERDAS Imagine 9.2
SOIL MAPPING OF MONGOLIA

14. Compiling New soil maps in different regions of Mongolia

15. ArcGIS ArcMap 10.1Soil mapping methods

16. Soil pedon data before 2000
• Morphological characteristics
• Soil horizon thickness
• General chemical properties
– Organic content, pH, Calcium carbonate,
exchangeable Ca, Mg, texture
• No coordinate location
(example: west to soum center 10 km)
• Not data about water physical properties
– Only soil texture (Russian classification, Kachinskii)
– Not much data about soil stone gravel content
• Soil fine material less than 1 mm (Russian)
• International standard is less than 2 mm.
Data available
Data lack

17. Mongolian soils divided by 2 parts
• Mountain soil
• Plain and intermountain valley soils
Distinguished 36 types
Soil classification of Mongolia
• Mongolia used geographical-genetical classification system, like Russian.
• Now renewing classification system

19. Soil degradation
Climate warming impact
• Soil cover drying, compacting and, sealing
• Soil organic decay acceleration
• Surface runoff increase due of topsoil compaction and
sealing, furthermore linear erosion expanding, creating
gullies and channels
• Soil water capacity decrease
• Soil salting
Human impact
• Agriculture soil fertility loss
• Overgrazing
• Mining
• Road erosion
• Forest cut

20. Agriculture soil degradation
• Total 0,7 million hectare area not more used as a
result of degradation.
• It is estimated that over the past 30 years about 35–
50 tons of soil have been lost from each hectare of
cultivated land due to wind erosion alone.
• 46.5% of arable land was degraded: 12.9% - strong,
28.2% - medium, 58.9 % slightly degraded.
•

21. Agriculture soil degradation
• Nearly 60% of total arable land or 0,7 million hectare area not
more used as a result of degradation.
Strong, 12.9
Medium, 28.2
Sligthly, 58.9
Arable land degradationof Mongolia, (%)
46.5% of arable land
was degraded:

22. Soil erodibility
Number of
samples
Average
humus
content
%
Decrease
percentage
comparing
with non
eroded soils
Non eroded
area
388 2.64
Slight 342 2.50 7.2
Moderate 195 2.08 21.3
Severe 88 1.60 39.4
Changes of soil erosion and humus content

23. Climate change
Last 70 years air temperature
increased by 2.10 C
(Ulaanbaatar)
Annual precipitation ranges
225.5-269.2 mm,
increased slightly by 10 mm
y = 0.0768x + 237.33
0.0
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
300.0
350.0
400.0
450.0
1961
1963
1965
1967
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
Precipitation, mm (UB station)
y = 0.0349x - 71.109
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
1958 1968 1978 1988 1998 2008
Air temperature, C (UB station)
•This is 2 - 3 times more than World
average
World is 0.6-0.7o C

24. Soil drying
Accelerating organic decay
Salinization increase
Crusting, sealing
Soil fertility loss
Wetland decline
Biodiversity decreases

25. Permafrost melting

26. Most soil degraded and polluted area
is Central Mongolia, where more
human impact
Soil erosion risk map
700 thousand km2 area occupied by arid land or Gobi desert
vulnerable for soil degradation

27. Human impact on soil
Forest cut
Mining
Road erosion
Overgrazing

28. Recent Activities
• In 2003 started Land privatization of Mongolia. Soil resource
becoming valuable and important.
• In 2010 Ministry of Environment of Mongolia adopted
regulatory document “Soil economic-ecological assessment”
• In 2012 Mongolian parliament adopted law ”Soil
conservation and Combating desertification”
• 2012-2014 Land authority department of Mongolia
implemented project activities to convert hard copy soil
maps of Mongolia 1:100 000, 1:200 000 scale (made in 1970-
80) to the digital formats.
• 2011-2013 Soil Science Department of Mongolian Academy
of Sciences implemented project “Digital soil mapping and
Renewing of Soil classification system”
• Soil survey Small projects in different regions of Mongolia
related to the mining and road construction activities.

29. Conclusions
• Soil database development is challenging
issue
• GIS based database system
• Processing of legacy dates
• Digital soil mapping methodology
• Soil classification renewing
• Soil conservation problem

30. Thank your
for attention