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KULUNDA

How to prevent the next "Global Dust Bowl"? – Ecological and Economic Strategies for Sustainable Land Management in the Russian Steppes: A Potential Solution to Climate Change

Thematic complex:
Natural resource use
Project duration:
01.10.2011 - 30.09.2016
Investigated countries:
Russia

The Kulunda Steppe is a typical example of a conversion region in temperate grasslands. From 1954 to 1963, approximately 420,000 km² of the steppe area was converted into large-scale intensive agriculture.
The large-scale intensive farming of the Kulunda steppe in recent decades proved to be inadequate regarding its regional environmental heterogeneities. The consequence is widespread soil degradation caused by erosion, decreased top soils and humus content, and thus a decreased concentration of sequestered carbon. Moreover, the groundwater and nutrient regime is unfavorably affected, fertility is declining, and a decreased yield of crops is the result.

KULUNDA aims at guiding the ongoing transformation process towards more sustainable land management practices. We expect KULUNDA to serve as a model for other converted areas of the Eurasian steppe region.

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		Prof. Dr. Daniel Müller

Prof. Dr. Daniel Müller

Deputy Head of Department Structural Change
Room: 239

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Project Staff

Dr. Zhanli Sun
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Prof. Dr. Daniel Müller
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Prof. Dr. Alexander Prischchepov

Dr. Ilkay Unay-Gailhard
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