Groundwater is critical for supporting socioeconomic development but has experienced gradual decreases in recent decades due to rapid population growth and economic development throughout the world. In recent years, the utilization of transboundary groundwater resources has received extensive attention globally. Because transboundary aquifers do not follow borders and are concealed, neighboring countries are prone to experiencing conflicts over the use of these transboundary groundwater resources. Therefore, an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the development potential of groundwater resources in these transboundary aquifers is necessary for the rational and fair use of those groundwater resources. Transboundary groundwater resources are an important water source for life, production, and ecological water use in Central Asia, which has a distinctive continental arid and semi-arid climate, and surface water resources in this region are relatively scarce. Considering the existing problems related to the utilization of groundwater resources in the transboundary aquifers in this region, we propose developing strategies for on-demand water abstraction, enhancing the ecological protection of transboundary aquifers, and strengthening international cooperation. This paper summarizes the distribution of 34 transboundary aquifers in Central Asia and analyzes the status and potential of groundwater resource uses in these transboundary aquifers.

Global agricultural lands are becoming saline because of human activities that have affected crop production and food security worldwide. In this study, the spatiotemporal variability of soil electrical conductivity (EC) in Central Asia was evaluated based on high-resolution multi-year predicted soil EC data, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover product, precipitation, reference evapotranspiration, population count, and soil moisture datasets. We primarily detected pixel-based soil EC trends over the past three decades and correlated soil EC with potential deriving factors. The results showed an overall increase in salt-affected areas between 1990 and 2018 for different land cover types. The soil EC trend increased by 6.86% (p < 0.05) over Central Asia during 1990–2018. The open shrub lands dominated by woody perennials experienced the highest increasing soil salinity trend, particularly in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan local areas, while there was a decreasing soil EC trend in the cropland areas, such as in Bukhara and Khorezm (Uzbekistan). The main factors that affect the variability of soil salinity were strongly associated with population pressure and evapotranspiration. This study provides comprehensive soil EC variations and trends from the local to regional scales. Agriculture and land resource managers must tackle the rising land degradation concerns caused by the changing climate in arid lands and utilise geoinformatics.

In the current context of climate change, water resources are an important source of the economy of Uzbekistan. The article assesses the climatic conditions of Sirdarya province for 2006-2018, groundwater resources for 2010-2018, their efficient use, the chemical composition of groundwater (chlorine and sulfate from anions, Cu, Be, Mo, As, Pb, Se from harmful heavy metals and Sr). Analysis of the time and space distribution of the amount of heavy metals in the groundwater of the province showed that their amount did not exceed the allowable limit. Changes in the amount of groundwater used for drinking, irrigation, industrial and technical purposes in the province were identified and evaluated, as well as scientific and practical recommendations for sustainable use and protection of groundwater resources.