Influence of Organic Fertilizers on the Restoration of the Biological Resource Potential of Natural Degraded Pastures in the Steppe Zone of Northern Kazakhstan

Abstract

The paper explores the opportunities for reducing the degradation of natural pastures and suggests an approach to their restoration using organic fertilizers. The work aims to determine the opportunities for restoring the biological resource potential of degraded pastures using organic fertilizers based on the principles of organic farming. In the steppe zone of Northern Kazakhstan, a study of the species composition of plants on degraded pastures was conducted. Species composition is an important factor in restoring degraded pastures and studying the effect of organic fertilizers on their productivity. Experiments utilized three types of organic fertilizers: Effluent, micropolydoc plus and BioMIX, compared against a control (unfertilized) site. The study showed the dominance of bluegrass, wormwood and feather grass communities, with Festuca valesiaca as the predominant species. The yield of the studied pastures ranged from 4.3-8.2 c/ha, while the lowest yield was noted at the control site (without fertilizers). Two-factor analysis of variance indicates that fertilizers have a significant impact on the yield (60.78%). The novelty of this research lies in its focused examination of organic fertilizers within a steppe ecosystem, highlighting significant improvements in pasture productivity.