Wind erosion is a serious growing problem in the cultivated steppe regions of Central Asia. Under current and future climatic conditions, real field data to derive sustainable cropping recommendations is lacking. To investigate the wind erosion potential on arable land, Moritz Koza, Dr. Gerd Schmidt, and the wind erosion experts Dr. Roger Funk (Zalf) and Dr. Miriam Marzen (Universityät Trier) conducted a joint field campaign in the dry steppes of Kazakhstan in early June. With the support of the Barayev Research and Production Center for Cereal Crops and our local expert Kanat Akshalov, mobile wind tunnel experiences were conducted on different surfaces throughout northeastern Kazakhstan. The productive fieldwork was accompanied by extreme heat, dust devils, and fruitful discussions. It was a pleasure to merge knowledge about wind erosion from different dry ecozones of the world and we thank all participants for the good teamwork and hope for joint research in the future.
Looking for a thesis topic? Interested in erosion? Please get in touch with Moritz Koza.