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Natural and climatic features of the soil cover formation of Turkestan region of the Republic of Kazakhstan are identified by a set of hydrological and bioclimatic factors serving as important environment-forming functions, which are reflected in the landscape organization of the territory. When assessing soil resources of agricultural landscapes, integrated index of soil fertility was applied – the “soil index,” which takes into account the reserves of humus, mineral elements, and hydrolytic acidity. Based on monitoring observations (1996–2019) of soil fertility in agricultural landscapes (agricultural lands) of Turkestan region, assessment of soil resources was performed, which showed that in general, the generalized “soil index” ranges from 1.086 to 4.800 units depending on natural features of the territory. It is found that the “soil index” in agricultural landscapes is significantly less than its maximum value (20.000 units), which suggests a pronounced humus deficiency, showing low soil fertility in all agricultural landscapes. To assess the soil resources of agricultural landscapes in Turkestan region, a new approach was applied, which is based on the assessment of energy costs for the soil formation process, which enables to quantitatively reflect the radiation balance of the earth surface, heat, and moisture supply of agricultural land for 1941–1960 and 2001–2020. The indicators applied are subject to the law of vertical zonation and change from the mountain to the arid zone, where the potential energy costs for soil formation range from 82.2–101.9 to 129.4–135.5 kJ/cm2, and natural energy costs energy costs for soil formation from 17.2–21.7 to 121.7–125.2 kJ/cm2.

The article presents the scientific results of a study assessing agroclimatic resources in agricultural landscapes located in various natural zones of the Turkestan region of the RK (Republic of Kazakhstan). The research methods included classical and modern methods of mathematical statistics using digital technology and time series graphs to develop a mathematical model for climatic and hydrological indicators. Assessment of changes in indicators of agroclimatic resources in agricultural landscapes for 1941-2020 showed that the sum of air temperature, evaporation from the water surface and radiation balance of the daytime surface, characterising the energy resources of landscapes, increased by 10-15%, which contributes to increase in the total water consumption of agricultural land by 10-12%. Meanwhile, the decreasing tendency of the amount of precipitation by 5-10% in all natural climatic zones of the region has become one of the factors leading to a decrease in the natural moisture supply of the soil and vegetation cover of landscapes by 10-15%, acting as important environment-forming and ecological functions. The combined impact of these environment-forming factors has become the key reason for the increase in the deficit of agricultural land water consumption by 15-20%, the reduction of solar energy costs for the soil-forming process by 10-15% and the increase of the climate aridisation, and has become a signal for the need in the safety of agricultural activities, requiring the development of a set of adaptive measures to mitigate this process in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]