Efficiency of winter precipitation accumulation measures in climatic conditions of the North Kazakhstan region

Zhanna Lutchenko, Oleg Solovyov, Vitalii Zaika, Vladimir Shvidchenko, Anzhelika Artys
Received: 15.10.2024 Revised: 29.04.2025 Accepted: 25.06.2025
Retrieved from Vol. 28, No. 7, 2025 Pages: 106-119
Download article Read article

Abstract

The study aimed to establish the patterns of formation of soil water resources due to winter precipitation using various agrotechnical methods in the steppe zone. The research methodology included field trials of various agronomic backgrounds with and without snow retention, followed by analysis of winter precipitation accumulation, changes in soil water regime and spring wheat productivity. The average snow depth in the variants with snow retention increased by 26.6-32% compared to the control without snow retention. Soil moisture reserves before sowing increased by 27.1-31.6% on fallow land and by 16-30% on stubble plots. Winter precipitation assimilation was most efficient on stubble backgrounds, where the moisture increase ranged from 21.8 to 37.5% compared to the initial values. The yield of spring wheat in areas with snow retention exceeded the control figures by 0.15-0.47 t/ha, reaching maximum values of up to 2.76 t/ha on the backstage pairs. The correlation coefficient between total water consumption during the growing season and yield was 0.83, indicating a high influence of the water regime on productivity. The established relationship between the amount of moisture in the snow and yield was moderate, with a coefficient of 0.42, especially in stubble plots. The obtained results confirm the high efficiency of snow retention technologies for increasing the water supply of crops and the sustainability of yields in the steppe conditions of Northern Kazakhstan. Their use is recommended to optimise the system of agrotechnical measures in the face of increasing climate instability

Keywords

snow accumulation; soil moisture; snow retention; backstage steam; autumn tillage; yield

  1. Allan, R.P., Barlow, M., Byrne, M.P., Cherchi, A., Douville, H., Fowler, H.J., Gan, T.Y., Pendergrass, A.G., Rosenfeld, D., Swann, A., Wilcox, L.J., & Zolina, O. (2020). Advances in understanding large-scale responses of the water cycle to climate change. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1472(1), 49-75. doi: 10.1111/ nyas.14337.
  2. Amami, R., Ibrahimi, K., Sher, F., Milham, P., Ghazouani, H., Chehaibi, S., Hussain, Z., & Iqbal, H.M. (2021). Impacts of different tillage practices on soil water infiltration for sustainable agriculture. Sustainability, 13(6), article number 3155. doi: 10.3390/su13063155.
  3. Avanzi, F., Ercolani, G., Gabellani, S., Cremonese, E., Pogliotti, P., Filippa, G., di Cella, U.M., Ratto, S., Stevenin, H., Cauduro, M., & Juglair, S. (2021). Learning about precipitation lapse rates from snow course data improves water balance modeling. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 25(4), 2109-2131. doi: 10.5194/hess-25-21092021.
  4. Baisholanov, S., Akshalov, K., Mukanov, Y., Zhumabek, B., & Karakulov, E. (2024). Agro-climatic zoning of the territory of Northern Kazakhstan for zoning of agricultural crops under conditions of climate change. Climate, 13(1), article number 3. doi: 10.3390/cli13010003.
  5. Blanchy, G., Watts, C.W., Richards, J., Bussell, J., Huntenburg, K., Sparkes, D.L., Stalham, M., Hawkesford, M.J., Whalley, W.R., & Binley, A. (2020). Time-lapse geophysical assessment of agricultural practices on soil moisture dynamics. Vadose Zone Journal, 19(1), article number e20080. doi: 10.1002/vzj2.20080.
  6. Canet-Martí, A., Morales-Santos, A., Nolz, R., Langergraber, G., & Stumpp, C. (2023). Quantification of water fluxes and soil water balance in agricultural fields under different tillage and irrigation systems using water stable isotopes. Soil and Tillage Research, 231, article number 105732. doi: 10.1016/j.still.2023.105732.
  7. Chabaniuk, Ya., Brovko, I., Kovtun, A., & Milova, M. (2024). Influence of meteorological conditions on the yield and seed quality of differently ripened soybean varieties in the central Forest-Steppe. Biological Systems: Theory and Innovation, 15(4), 73-85. doi: 10.31548/biologiya/4.2024.73.
  8. Convention on Biological Diversity. (1992, June). Retrieved from https://www.cbd.int/convention.
  9. Cowherd, M., Leung, L.R., & Girotto, M. (2023). Evolution of global snow drought characteristics from 1850 to 2100. Environmental Research Letters, 18(6), article number 064043. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/acd804.
  10. Dafflon, B., Léger, E., Falco, N., Wainwright, H.M., Peterson, J., Chen, J., Williams, K.H., & Hubbard, S.S. (2023). Advanced monitoring of soil-vegetation co-dynamics reveals the successive controls of snowmelt on soil moisture and on plant seasonal dynamics in a mountainous watershed. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11, article number 976227. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.976227.
  11. Demo, A.H., & Asefa Bogale, G. (2024). Enhancing crop yield and conserving soil moisture through mulching practices in dryland agriculture. Frontiers in Agronomy, 6, article number 1361697. doi: 10.3389/ fagro.2024.1361697.
  12. Ebner, P.P., Koch, F., Premier, V., Marin, C., Hanzer, F., Carmagnola, C.M., François, H., Günther, D., Monti, F., Hargoaa, O., Strasser, U., Morin, S., & Lehning, M. (2021). Evaluating a prediction system for snow management. The Cryosphere, 15(8), 3949-3973. doi: 10.5194/tc-15-3949-2021.
  13. Feifel, M., Durner, W., Hohenbrink, T.L., & Peters, A. (2024). Effects of improved water retention by increased soil organic matter on the water balance of arable soils: A numerical analysis. Vadose Zone Journal, 23(1), article number e20302. doi: 10.1002/vzj2.20302.
  14. Food and Agriculture Organization. (2020). Soil testing methods. Rome: FAO.
  15. Fu, Q., Hou, R., Wang, Z., & Li, T. (2015). Soil moisture thermal interaction effects under snow cover during freezing and thawing period. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, 31(15), 101-107.
  16. Gavahi, K., Abbaszadeh, P., Moradkhani, H., Zhan, X., & Hain, C. (2020). Multivariate assimilation of remotely sensed soil moisture and evapotranspiration for drought monitoring. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 21(10), 2293-2308. doi: 10.1175/JHM-D-20-0057.1.
  17. Islyami, A., Aldashev, A., Thomas, T.S., & Dunston, S. (2020). Impact of climate change on agriculture in Kazakhstan. Silk Road: A Journal of Eurasian Development, 2(1), 66-88. doi: 10.16997/srjed.19.
  18. Karatayev, M., Clarke, M., Salnikov, V., Bekseitova, R., & Nizamova, M. (2022). Monitoring climate change, drought conditions and wheat production in Eurasia: The case study of Kazakhstan. Heliyon, 8(1), article number e08660. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08660.
  19. Kazhydromet. (2024). Annual bulletin of monitoring the state and climate change of Kazakhstan for 2023. Retrieved from https://www.kazhydromet.kz/klimat/ezhegodnyy-byulleten-monitoringa-sostoyaniya-i-izmeneniyaklimata-kazahstana.
  20. Khan, M.I., Zhu, X., Arshad, M., Zaman, M., Niaz, Y., Ullah, I., Anjum, M.N., & Uzair, M. (2020). Assessment of spatiotemporal characteristics of agro-meteorological drought events based on comparing Standardized Soil Moisture Index, Standardized Precipitation Index and Multivariate Standardized Drought Index. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 11(1), 1-17. doi: 10.2166/wcc.2020.280.
  21. Kiewiet, L., Trujillo, E., Hedrick, A., Havens, S., Hale, K., Seyfried, M., Kampf, S., & Godsey, S.E. (2022). Effects of spatial and temporal variability in surface water inputs on streamflow generation and cessation in the rainsnow transition zone. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(10), 2779-2796. doi: 10.5194/hess-26-2779-2022.
  22. Kraaijenbrink, P.D., Stigter, E.E., Yao, T., & Immerzeel, W.W. (2021). Climate change decisive for Asia’s snow meltwater supply. Nature Climate Change, 11(7), 591-597. doi: 10.1038/s41558-021-01074-x.
  23. Martínez-Fernández, J., González-Zamora, A., & Almendra-Martín, L. (2021). Soil moisture memory and soil properties: An analysis with the stored precipitation fraction. Journal of Hydrology, 593, article number 125622. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125622.
  24. Meira Neto, A.A., Niu, G.Y., Roy, T., Tyler, S., & Troch, P.A. (2020). Interactions between snow cover and evaporation lead to higher sensitivity of streamflow to temperature. Communications Earth & Environment, 1(1), article number 56. doi: 10.1038/s43247-020-00056-9.
  25. Mezősi, G. (2022). Hydrological hazards. In G. Mezősi (Ed.), Natural hazards and the mitigation of their impact (pp. 137-212). Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-07226-0_4.
  26. Molden, D.J., Shrestha, A.B., Immerzeel, W.W., Maharjan, A., Rasul, G., Wester, P., Wagle, N., Pradhananga, S., & Nepal, S. (2022). The great glacier and snow-dependent rivers of Asia and climate change: Heading for troubled waters. In A.K. Biswas & C. Tortajada (Eds.), Water security under climate change (pp. 223-250). Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-5493-0_12.
  27. Oshergina, I., & Ten, E. (2023). Harnessing heterogeneity: Clustering Kazakh spring rapeseed for breeding value. International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics, 18(5), 1087-1095. doi: 10.18280/ijdne.180509.
  28. Pan, M., Zhao, F., Ma, J., Zhang, L., Qu, J., Xu, L., & Li, Y. (2022). Effect of snow cover on spring soil moisture content in key agricultural areas of Northeast China. Sustainability, 14(3), article number 1527. doi: 10.3390/ su14031527.
  29. Pavlova, Ya., & Litvinov, D. (2024). The influence of previous crops and tillage on available moisture reserves of chernozem typical for growing spring barley. Plant and Soil Science, 15(2), 32-41. doi: 10.31548/plant2.2024.32.
  30. Qi, W., Feng, L., Liu, J., & Yang, H. (2020). Snow as an important natural reservoir for runoff and soil moisture in Northeast China. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 125(22), article number e2020JD033086. doi: 10.1029/2020JD033086.
  31. Qin, Y., Abatzoglou, J.T., Siebert, S., Huning, L. S., AghaKouchak, A., Mankin, J.S., Hong, C., Tong, D., Davis, S.J., & Mueller, N.D. (2020). Agricultural risks from changing snowmelt. Nature Climate Change, 10(5), 459-465. doi: 10.1038/s41558-020-0746-8.
  32. Rucins, A., Bulgakov, V., Olexander, D., Holovach, I., Trokhaniak, O., & Yatsenko, S. (2024). Long-term dynamics of the spring moisture reserves with various methods of processing typical chernozem. Journal of Ecological Engineering, 25(10), 261-272. doi: 10.12911/22998993/192007.
  33. Salnikov, V., Talanov, Y., Polyakova, S., Assylbekova, A., Kauazov, A., Bultekov, N., Musralinova, G., Kissebayev, D., & Beldeubayev, Y. (2023). An assessment of the present trends in temperature and precipitation extremes in Kazakhstan. Climate, 11(2), article number 33. doi: 10.3390/cli11020033.
  34. Shahini, E. (2024). Economic assessment of the impact of climate change on agriculture in Albania and Ukraine. Ukrainian Black Sea Region Agrarian Science, 28(3), 55-66. doi: 10.56407/bs.agrarian/3.2024.55.
  35. Wilson, G., Green, M., Brown, J., Campbell, J., Groffman, P., Durán, J., & Morse, J. (2020). Snowpack affects soil microclimate throughout the year. Climatic Change, 163, 705-722. doi: 10.1007/s10584-020-02943-8.
  36. World Meteorological Organization. (2024). Guide to instruments and methods of observation. Retrieved from https://library.wmo.int/records/item/68660-guide-to-instruments-and-methods-of-observation.
  37. Xing, Y., & Wang, X. (2024). Precision agriculture and water conservation strategies for sustainable crop production in arid regions. Plants, 13(22), article number 3184. doi: 10.3390/plants13223184.
  38. Yan, W., Zhou, Q., Peng, D., Wei, X., Tang, X., Yuan, E., Wang, Y., & Shi, C. (2021). Soil moisture responses under different vegetation types to winter rainfall events in a humid karst region. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(40), 56984-56995. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-14620-z.
Lutchenko, Zh., Solovyov, O., Zaika, V., Shvidchenko, V., & Artys, A. (2025). Efficiency of winter precipitation accumulation measures in climatic conditions of the North Kazakhstan region. Scientific Horizons, 28(7), 106-119. https://doi.org/10.48077/scihor7.2025.106