Abstract
The article presents data on soil fertility in pastures of the foothill-steppe zone with steppe cereals, legumes and wormwood herbs, located at altitudes of 1100-1600 m, and the foothill-dry steppe zone with wormwood and cereals, located at altitudes of 850-1100 m. The foothill-steppe zone is characterized by light loamy sierozems with a humus content of 3.8-3.9%, decreasing to 1.47% in degraded areas. The content of absorbed bases varies from medium to high. The content of total nitrogen in the soils is low. The soils are deficient in mobile phosphorus. The content of mobile potassium is high. In general, a slight deficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus is observed in the soil, which indicates the need for surface application of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers. The granulometric properties of the soil are favorable for the growth and development of grasses on the studied pastures.