## 5 Conclusions  
Data analysis registers local soil contamination in terms of mobile forms of copper, zinc, cadmium, cobalt and nickel.  
The amount of copper reached 28.5 mg kg\({}^{-1}\), which is clearly expressed in dry-steppe, semi-desert and desert soils within the southwestern Balkhash region. Zinc values in various directions range from 7.8 to 75.1 mg kg\({}^{-1}\).  
High levels of zinc were found in the territory of the reserve (Kogaly cordon), up to 46.0 mg kg\({}^{-1}\). The presence of lead in the soils was found throughout the study area at significant concentrations up to 14.0-15.9 mg/kg. It is localized to rice fields (Bereke village).  
The cadmium concentrations in the soils are higher than the standards that were recorded throughout the study area by up to 6.5 mg kg\({}^{-1}\), from the central to the southwestern parts. The behavior and the concentrations of cadmium are associated with soil pH, which affects the active migration ability of this metal.  
The concentrations of cobalt throughout the study area range from 6.7 to 20.6 mg kg\({}^{-1}\), and the nickel concentrations range from 11.3 to 22.2 mg kg\({}^{-1}\), respectively. The spatial distribution of the cobalt and nickel concentrations shows the same pattern of soil pollution, with high values in the northern and eastern parts of the study area.  
All of the heavy metals found in the soils were arranged in decreasing order of their concentration as follows: Zn > Ni > Co > Cu > Pb > Cd.  
The visualization of the spatial distribution of the metal content of the soil cover reflects the influence of the Balkhash metallurgical plant and other sources of pollution located on the northern shore of Lake Balkhash. Although some of the metal concentrations are lower than in other polluted areas of the world, currently, the study area is experiencing a technogenic load, which in the future may lead to an ecological crisis and the disruption of the natural balance. This crisis can negatively affect plans for the reintroduction of the Turanian tiger to the natural reserve of \"IIi-Balkhash\". That is why continuous monitoring of the metal load in the soils of the study area is recommended. Political and technological decisions and innovations must be realized to prevent further pollution. Specifically, in terms of heavy metals, it is always better to prevent their distribution in the environment and impact due to the fact that their withdrawal or transformation is nearly impossible.  
Conceptualization, A.M., C.O. and L.I.; methodology, A.M., C.O. and L.I.; software, A.M. and L.I.; validation, C.O., A.M. and L.I.; formal analysis, A.M., C.O., L.I. and Z.S.; investigation, A.M., L.I, A.Z. and B.S.; resources, A.M. and L.I.; data curation, A.M.; writing--original draft preparation, A.M., L.I. and C.O.; review and editing, C.O. and Z.S.; visualization, L.I., A.Z., B.S. and M.K.; supervision, C.O. and A.M.; project administration, A.M.; funding acquisition, A.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
The work was carried out in the framework of grant funding by the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. AP09260361 \"Geoeecological monitoring of the deposit environment of Iii River Delta and Iii-Balkhash State Natural Reserve\".  
We did not use humans or living animals in the research process. In this regard, our research does not apply to the requirements of the Helsinki Convention.  
**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Acknowledgments:** We acknowledge the support of the Kazakh state for the scientific and technical program IRN No. AP09260361 <<Geoecological monitoring of the deposit environment of Ili River Delta and Ili-Balkhash State Natural Reserve>> for project funding and permanent support by the Institute of Geography and Water Security, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Almaty, Kazakhstan.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.