Abstract <p>A significant volume of research work carried out on the study of desertification processes and aridization of dry lands and continental deserts has created the basis for differentiating seasonal (temporary) changes that contribute to the change in the characteristics of arid soils and the corresponding components of ecosystems by elements of a regime with humid conditions. The radical change in the degree of soil and vegetation moisture by season is associated with the emerging differences in the provision of soils with moisture from atmospheric precipitation in different periods of the year. The natural stage of the processes of eliminating the deficiency of soil moisture in the autumn–winter and winter–spring periods in the zone of arid lands of semi-desert and steppe complexes leads to an increase in the drying of the soil profile, enriching the root-inhabited layer with moisture to the level of soil water supply characteristic of humid regions. The duration of the period of use of accumulated moisture by plants over the specified periods is 60–70 days, where the ratio of air temperature and soil moisture is determined in the range optimal for the growth and development of plants. Identification of a period with an optimal ratio of heat and moisture with a certain duration in zonal conditions of desertification, including the highest stage of desertification, provides a basis for developing a technology that differs from the generally accepted zonal one and takes into account the conditions characteristic of a semi-desert climatic regime (Akimtsev, 1957; Biarslanov et al., 2021).</p>