AGROECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF LAND RESOURCES IN NORTHERN NILE DELTA: A CASE STUDY IN KAFR EL-SHEIKH GOVERNORATE | ||||
| Journal of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Engineering | ||||
| Article 2, Volume 28, Issue 12, December 2003, Page 8481-8498 PDF (737.61 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jssae.2003.247782 | ||||
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| Authors | ||||
| H. M. Gaber,1; M. H. Bahnassy2; A. S. Suliman3; T. A. EI-Bana4 | ||||
| 1Soli and Water Science Department, College of Agriculture (EI-Shaby), Alexandria Unlverslty | ||||
| 2Soli and Water Science Department, College of Agriculture (EI-Shaby), Alexandria Unlverslty | ||||
| 3Soli and Water Science Department, College of Agriculture (EI-Shaby), Alexandria Unlverslty | ||||
| 4Soli and Water Science Department, College of Agriculture (EI-Shaby), Alexandria Unlverslty | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| An agro-ecorogical land quality evaluation 01 an area In Kafr EI-5heikh Governorate was determined using the MicroLEIS IP (Integrated Package) which included the assessment of the general land use capabilily (Cervatana model), land suitability for different agricultural crops (Almagra model). prediction of the productivity 01 maize and wheal (Albero model), and assessment of the vulnerability of land and groundwater to agrochemlcal contaminations (Arenal model). According to the model prediction, most 01 the study area was classified as 521. which indicate good capability with soil being the limiting factor. Land included In this class has certain topographic and eoaphlc limitation. which somewhat reduce the productive capability of certain crops. The geo-spalial distribution of the soil suitability in the study area indicated that more than 80% 01 the area is classified as moderately suitable soils (S2) for cotton cullivationjt)n the other hand, more than 77% is classified as 52 for corn cultivation, however two soil profiles (9 and 10) indicated poor suitability lor corn (S4 and S5) due to their high soil salinity. Furthermore, the model predicted that approximately 59 and 64% of the study area has marginally suitability (53) for wheat and sugar beet respectively. Since MicroLEIS model does not include soil suitability lor rice cultivation, it was carried out manually according to the same principles applied in MicroLEIS model. The result indicated that more than 55% of the stUdy area has high suitability for rice cultivation. Soil productivity prediction (Albero Model) was performed for corn and wheat assuming best management practices (8MPs). The model predicted an average yield for corn to be 5,174 Kglha, which is in agreement with the local average (4,970 Kglha.), however the national average is 10,420 Kg/ha. It was noticeable that farmers, using their indigenous and local knowledge, stay away from corn cultivation in this area. The model predicted that average yield for wheat to be 6,275 Kg/ha, which is dose to being equal to the nalional average (6.041 Kg/ha), while the actual local average yield is 4,068 Kg/ha. Vulnerability of land and groundwater to contamination by agrochemical compounds was predicted using Arenal model. The model predicted that 81.68% of the study area was classified as low vulnerability (V2) while Ihe rest o( the area (18.32%) was classified as moderate vulnerability (V3). Detection of land use changes using two satellite images acquired in 1985 and 1999, indicated Ihat cultivated soil was the dominant land use, which increased (rom 47.50% in 1984 to 58.35% in 1999 due to the new land reclarnatlon projects in the area. The urbanization area increased from 3.08% in 1985 to 7.94% in 1999. Two types were introduced to the area and detected In the 1999 image only. which were the fish farms (6.17%) and citrus trees (4.93%). | ||||
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