Agriculture in Arid Regions of Mongolia: The Gobi Desert

Geographically, the Gobi Desert is situated in Central Asia between China and Russia. The Gobi Desert extends into North China (i.e., Taklamakan). The Gobi is a vast sandy/gravel desert terrain of 1,040,000 km 2 . The oases, valleys, and riverine regions support diverse native vegetation, crops, livestock, and birds. Annual precipitation ranges from 120 to 230 mm. Soils are extremely arid with low moisture content. Soils are classified as brown, pale brown, gray-brown, and gravely aridisol (or pebble desert). The Gobi Desert’s native botanical flora withstands droughts, high temperatures (+45°C) in summer, cold fronts (−15°C to −20°C), cold winds, and snow in winter (dzuds). Droughts and dzuds (35°C drop in a day) that occur in combination are disastrous to crops. Nomadic pastoralism is dominant in the Gobi region. Mongolian livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, asses, and camel) thrives despite the extreme environment. Sheep offer the valuable “cashmere” and meat. Saxaul, bindweed, wild onions, saltwort, and sophora are among the commonly found plant species. Crops like wheat, barley, potatoes, sunflower, melons, black currants, onions and fodder crops occupy only 1% area. The productivity of food grain crops and vegetables is low. Mongolians are adopting “greenhouse farming” to produce vegetables to overcome the extremes. Long-term programs like the “Great Green Wall” have helped in reducing the expansion of deserts.