The publication of this Handbook was supported by the Russian Federation

I.P. Aidarov (Russia)
The monitoring of  soils as a natural resource should cover all irrigated and non-irrigated sites 
within river basins independently of  their legal status and land use systems and include agricultural 
territories, water areas, nature conservation sites, etc.
This type of  monitoring is targeted to integrate all kinds of  natural ecosystems, all kinds of  natural 
resources and all kinds of  amelioration systems (hydrotechnical, agrotechnical, agrochemical, 
agro-sylvicultural, chemical, etc.).
The monitoring should also include assessments of  criteria, indicators and parameters, which are 
used in existing models and methodologies for planning land amelioration. On the basis of  the 
data obtained, new improved methods of  quantitative evaluation of  dynamics of  natural processes 

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Soil salinity manаgement manual | Part I.Soil salinity management in the Eurasian Region 
can be developed. The existing methods and models for designing the land amelioration system 
are presented later in Chapter 3.
Monitoring soils as a natural object should include an assessment of  the health of  natural 
ecosystems under conditions of  irrigation. A need for such monitoring is associated with an 
interaction between ecology and economy. The former studies bio-abiotic interactions, while the 
latter involves the management of  such interactions [2, 3]. The degradation of  natural ecosystems 
leads to a reduction in their environmental and agricultural role in climate change, the condition 
of  water and soil resources and public health. 
Monitoring of  the ecosystem condition should include the following:
•  assessment of  changes in the regional water turnover and the frequencies of  droughts and 
dry desiccatingwinds;
•  assessment of  changes in the natural structure and composition of  biotic and abiotic systems;
•  evaluationoftheactualecologicalvalueofthosesystems;
•  evaluationoftheecosystemstabilitylevel;
•  costassessmentofthelossofecosystemservices(ecologicaldamages).
Main criteria and indicators for the monitoring of  soil as a natural resource are presented in