# The Soils of Natural (In Situ) Coenopopulations of _Taraxacum kok-saghyz_ [PERSON] in Kazakhstan
## 3 Results  
Soil is a natural formation consisting of soil horizons formed as a result of the transformation of surface layers of the lithosphere under the influence of water, air, and living organisms. Morphological features generally accepted in soil science are as follows: coloring, structure, composition, granulometric texture, new formations and inclusions, structure, and thickness of the soil profile. Alluvial meadowy alkaline soils in the studied area are formed within the floodplain of the Kegen River under grass-forb meadows at absolute altitudes from 1798 m of \"Zhalauly\" to 1962 m of Tuzkol Lake. Parent rock materials are basically loess-like loans, and in some places, there are red-colored clays, Paleogene-Neogene, and crushed stony sediments. Boiling of soil carbonates from HCI--from the surface. Visible carbonates appear in the lower part of the humus and underhumus horizons. The location of soil profiles in areas of natural vegetation of the TKS is presented in Figure 1.  
Morphogenetic features and physicochemical properties of the studied soils' in situ populations of TKS in comparison with the nearby area where TKS is absent. Soil profile cut 01O--alluvial meadowy alkaline middle loamy soil of TKS population \"Zhalauly\" (43 deg4'12.67'' 79 deg9'9.76'', H = 1798 m). The floodplain of the Kegen River is directly at the riverbank. The soil profile is cut on the ground surface (Figure 2). Mixed herbs-sedgy vegetation: _Carex_[28], _Artemisia_[29], _Achillea_[30], and _Taraxacum_[31]. Projective cover 100%. Plants 3-5 cm are eaten by cattle. Effervescence from HCI starting from 10 cm. Salts from 10 cm, numerous fibers. Depth 100 cm. Humus-accumulated horizon (A + B) 27 cm. The upper soddy soil horizon (A1\({}^{\text{s}}\) = 0-10 cm) is a brownish-darkish-gray, fresh, compacted, strongly radiculose, granulated, medium loam soil. The lower horizon (B1\({}^{\text{sk}}\) = 10-27 cm) is gray with numerous salt fibers, compacted with sparse roots, and is a sharply ribbed, granulated, medium loam soil. The carbonate soil horizon (B\({}_{\text{C}}\) CK = 27-57 cm) is grayish-white with salt fibers and freshly compacted, clumpy clay loam. The buried soil horizon (B1\({}^{\text{bur}}\) = 57-80 cm) is dark gray, freshly compacted, clumpy, clay loam. The soil horizon (C = 80-100 cm) is silty-whitish whitish-light gray, moisty, compacted light loamy soil. Figure 1: Location of soil profiles at natural vegetation sites of _T. kok-saghyz_. Profiles 01O, 03O, 05O, and 06O with TKS population, and 02O, 04O, 0.7O, and 08O without TKS. Settlements: Zhalauly, Kegen, Saryzhas, and Lake Tuzkol. Soil is characterized by determining the content of humus, total and active forms of macronutrients and micronutrients, availability of exchangeable cations, degree of calcareousness, reaction of soil medium, and other indicators. In the upper horizon, the content of humus is 9.0%, with a depth reduction of up to 0.4% and total nitrogen of 0.4% (Table A1). CO\({}_{2}\) content increases in the carbonate horizon with a depth from 5.0% to 6.4-6.9%. The aggregate of absorbed alkali (Ca, Mg, Na, K) in the upper horizons is 34.26-40.79 mg-eq. per 100 g of soil. The quantitative composition of absorbed alkali varies widely by horizon, but exchangeable Ca\({}^{2+}\) dominates everywhere (54-84% of the total). The involvement of Mg\({}^{2+}\) in the absorbing complex is significant (3-36% of the total). Soil solution reaction is alkaline (pH = 8.3-8.6). The content of easily hydrolyzed nitrogen in the sod horizon is 218.4 mg/kg, with the depth gradually decreasing up to 61.6 mg/kg in the carbonate horizon. The content of mobile phosphorus decreases sharply down the profile from 90 to 3 mg/kg of soil. The content of exchangeable potassium in the upper horizons is 1320-1000 mg/kg, with subsequent decreases up to 280 mg/kg.