Abstract
The Pavlodar Region, located in the northeastern part of Kazakhstan, is an industrially and economically developed area endowed with substantial land resources. Due to the intensive exploitation of natural resources, low resilience to anthropogenic impacts, and the widespread manifestation of degradation processes, a comprehensive study of the region and environmental condition is highly relevant. The aim is to address issues of environmental protection and to develop strategies for sustainable land use. To provide a detailed characterization of the Pavlodar Region, a wide array of literary sources, analytical reference materials, and cartographic data were utilized, forming the basis of a GIS. This GIS includes parameters describing the state of natural and anthropogenic landscapes, as well as assessments of various degradation processes. It is used to analyze the region’s land resources, land use patterns, and the associated ecological risks, especially concerning soil cover. Natural conditions, the intensity of agricultural activity, and the environmental status of administrative units within the region were compared using unified, ranked scales. According to the proposed approach, the overall environmental situation and degree of land degradation across most of the region are assessed as unfavorable. The most critical conditions are observed in the Aktogay, Aksu (city), Pavlodar, Pavlodar (city) districts. Soil composition analysis indicates that nearly 70 % of the region’s soils belong to the valuable category of arable land. More than 36 % of dark chestnut soils—the most fertile in the region—are in a critical state, as well as over 15 % of medium chestnut (low-humus dark chestnut) soils, which are also widely used in agriculture. The developed GIS serves as an effective tool for the integrated analysis of cartographic and statistical data reflecting the region’s natural and socio-economic conditions, land use practices, and existing and potential anthropogenic impacts on the environment.