How to Preserve Soil Health in Central Asia 2025 – Expert Opinion

Soil health in Central Asia is under pressure from energy projects and pollution. Dr Aydoğan Avcıoğlu explains how monitoring and bioremediation can protect land and food security.

...While soil is a dynamic, living resource that is susceptible to human intervention, people tend to think of it as a static resource.

- Dr Avcıoglu… in recent times in the Eurasian region much is being decided and done regarding energy policies and strategies, related national and international projects, which, even with all the possible precautions, directly impact the soil. What is the cost of these large-scale works in terms of soil pollution?

- Although our understanding of the effects of "mega projects" on the oil is limited from the scientific perspective due to less chance of scientists testing the hypothesis, the socio-economic consequences, alongside environmental ones, also accompany large energy projects such as oil, gas, coal, or nuclear.

While soil is a dynamic, living resource that is susceptible to human intervention, people tend to think of it as a static resource. Drilling wastes, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and even radionuclides can produce contamination in areas like Kazakhstan and Central Asia that lasts for millennia.

Further, radioactive isotopes from nuclear operations, heavy metals and combustion byproducts from refineries and power plants, and drilling mud, chemical additives and leaks in oil and natural gas fields all pollute the land over time. While infrastructure initiatives result in the loss of fertile topsoil, pipeline leaks alter microbiological equilibrium.

Among the most notable examples of this condition are the oil resources on Kazakhstan's Caspian coast and the former nuclear test sites at Semey. Once established, certain types of pollution may have long-lasting impacts, even though they develop gradually.
The exposure, through the projects mentioned above, of pollutants such as heavy metals changes the soil's chemical composition, structure, and even fertility, which can disrupt the groundwater as well as the food chain. Consequently, crops, livestock, and eventually, human beings, suffer. The "cost" thus goes beyond just the area of land rendered useless.

The extra expense that comes with decreased land and agricultural productivity, raised health risks, increased health issues for the local communities, and increased remediation costs stands to add onto the "cost" as well. The impacts of such actions also worsen over time, which in turn makes a far more effective and affordable to prevent rather than restore.

- Once the soil of very large areas, such as those involved in energy production and transportation — oil, gas, nuclear — is polluted by repeated human intervention, is it possible and sustainable to take action to repair the damage to the ecosystem, animals, and humans?

- Large-scale remediation of polluted soil is feasible, but it is very expensive and time-consuming. Cleaning soil requires care and precision, and contamination persists for many years, making it similar to removing oil from a sponge.

Different contamination kinds call for different methods. Bioremediation or phytoremediation works well for oil and gas operations. By employing specific microbes or plants (such as sunflowers or mustard), these methods can naturally lessen oil and gas emissions.

The top layer of soil must be physically peeled off and stored in secure locations in cases of extreme contamination, such as nuclear waste, or the soil is covered with impermeable materials. The massive soil cleanup effort at Fukushima offers a wealth of lessons.

The contaminated areas greatly decreased the movement of radioactive elements, such as cesium-137, from surface runoff into rivers by methodically removing and storing the top layer. Ecosystems and human populations were less threatened as a result.
However, the study demonstrated that these initiatives need unmatched money, a large logistical infrastructure, and long-term evaluation. Additionally, there may be additional environmental risks at the sites where the excavated soil is kept.

As a result, technical advancements are possible, but sustainability requires ongoing funding, frequent oversight, and community involvement. Most significantly, land use planning must prioritize preventive actions to avoid such severe pollution in the first place.

- What scientific projects that you think are urgent and also practically feasible would you like to propose to your Kazakh or otherwise Central Asian colleagues?

- Although there are a number of initiatives that could be implemented immediately, I think that identifying the issues might be the first step before acting. Given that soil is an essential component of the food chain and livestock in general for humankind's future, evaluating soil health should be the first step.

Monitoring vulnerable and impacted areas should be the first step in achieving this. In order to achieve the overall objective of comprehending the health of soil and related environments, where they are seen as living beings, this monitoring should not only address the soil but also encompass a vast ecosystem from terrestrial to water.

Second, it would be beneficial to comprehend the long-term effects of this pollution, as there have been nuclear weapons test sites over Kazakh territory and throughout the world, including French Polynesia and Johnston Atoll, since the 1940s ending with 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere.

For this study, topsoil sample across the country is needed, with a primary focus on measuring 137cs and 239+240Pu isotopes. On the one hand, this project might help understand the lasting legacy of these pollutants on the soil, on the other hand this project might provide a strong basis for soil erosion quantification since it provides a reference inventory over the country.

In addition to this task, a variety of soil physicochemical and biological indicators can be used in conjunction with radionuclide measurements to evaluate the general health of the soil and more accurately interpret the behavior of contaminants such as soil texture, organic carbon, major nutrients, etc.

By offering vital information on overall fertility assessment, crop management planning, and generally improved agricultural practices, these additional samples can enhance our understanding of soil health.
These projects would be an excellent way to begin evaluating the soil's current condition and to improve overall research relationships with other nations as these large-scale projects necessitate specialized knowledge on varying topics.

The Expert Profile:

Aydogan Avcioglu is a geographer with a master's degree in soil erosion and a doctorate (obtained in 2023) on badland landscapes that are described as erosional hotspots.

Currently, he works in the French Geological Survey, Risk Assessment Department on soil erosion modeling in Southern America and modeling spatial distribution of the radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ²³⁹+²⁴⁰Pu over Southern Hemisphere and equatorial zones with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).

He is interested in several aspects of climate hazards, including but not limited to the processes of land degradation, soil erosion, and wildfires. He has been in several countries for scientific purposes, such as Germany, Brazil, Switzerland, and Serbia during his PhD and France and Uruguay during his PostDoc research time.

Working internationally, he gained experience informing policymakers about his areas of expertise by sharing information with citizens in different socio-political contexts.

Interviewed by Pietro Fiocchi