Sustainability of agriculture in Uzbekistan is threatened by the degradation of land and water resources. Double land-locked Uzbekistan with its arid climatic conditions, transboundary water resource origin and deteriorated irrigation infrastructure and institutional management has been striving to meet its food security, increase agricultural export and sustain environment. The paper presents the analysis of the extent and characterization of salt-prone land and water resources trends in arid Uzbekistan with focus on Bukhara oasis and reviews management strategies for improvements.

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The main goal of this article is to understand the trends of spatial- temporal changes of vegetation cover in relation to soil salinity under different land use patterns in Central Kyzylkum of Uzbekistan. For mapping the spatial distribution of plant communities, two main factors (soil salinity and vegetation classification) were recorded for assessing transect-ecological zones (TEZ) of vegetation cover in Central Kyzylkum. For assessing the ongoing processes of degradation of vegetation cover and its changes, we selected satellite images (Landsat TM, ETM+) for beginning of seasonality within the early period of April, 1987 and May, 2010; and seasonal variation of vegetation (greenness) in various plant communities was monitored at ecological scales within the TEZ. Computerized regression for spring seasons with environmental driving factors influencing plant biomass for different plant communities including dominate species of Artemisia and Salsola; which is appropriate for phytoindicators were modified and designed for different ecological scales of desert zones in Central Kyzylkum.

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Agricultural sustainability and food security in arid and semi-arid areas of the Aral Sea Basin are limited by the salinization of arable land, and by water availability. The biological potential of some agricultural crops to withstand the salinization and water deficit may become a key component of farming systems. Several crops were selected for this study to investigate their performance under saline water and soil conditions in Karakalpakstan. Growth performance and yield productivity were analyzed in the downstream arid zone of the Aral Sea Basin at two soil salinity levels, calculated as total dissolved salts (TDS): low saline (< 0.9 g/L), and medium saline (> 1.5 g/L) for corn varieties Uzbekiston 601 ЕСВ and Karasuv 350 AMB, sorghum varieties Korabosh and Karlik of Uzbekistan, and the recently released pearl millet variety Hashaki1. Due to deficit of fresh water, mineralized (3.0-9.0 g/L) surface water was applied for irrigation twice during the growing season at 800 m3/ha. Greater soil salinity adversely affected growth performance measurements (plant survival, plant density, plant height) and yield components of maize and to a lesser extent sorghum and pearl millet. Average threshold salinity levels for examined corn, sweet sorghum and pearl millet varieties ranged from 2.60 to 8.5 dS m^-1 and from 2.4 up to 4.6 dS m^-1 for sorghum entries respectively. Corn fields on medium saline soils with heavy texture showed a reduction in green and dry biomass of over 50%.

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The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension created the Nevada Range Management School (NRMS) in 2005 to improve the sustainability of grazed rangelands. In Nevada, USA, over 670 individuals have attended two or more of NRMS modules. In 2011, the United States Forest Service International Program (USFS-IP) invited the NRMS cadre to help develop a similar curriculum for the Middle Atlas region of Morocco. Versions of this curriculum were also taught in 2014 to international participants in the USFS-IP International Rangeland Seminar and Agricultural Extension staff in the Republic of Georgia. The curriculum’s foundation modules address plant growth, development, physiology and grazing, and the timing and duration of grazing, and routinely received high marks for clarifying important concepts and providing knowledge the recipients could use to improve grazing management. International participants also identified numerous approaches to apply this knowledge in their own countries. Observation and feedback from program participants in Morocco and the Republic of Georgia indicate that application of knowledge gains is difficult when there is little or no control of when livestock access the grazing lands.

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