EVALUATION OF LAND RESOURCES IN SOME AREA OF KAFR EL-SHEIKH GOVERNORATE, USING REMOTE SENSING (RS) AND GIS TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Evaluation of land resources is required to achieve their sustainable development and productivity. The study’s aim was to evaluate the land capability and suitability for some main crops in some area of Kafr El-Sheikh governorate at the north of Nile Delta, Egypt utilizing of Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. The Applied System of Land Evaluation (ASLE) model was used for performing the land evaluation and produce its maps. Figure shapes of the study area were explanation using a Sentinel-2 image, digital elevation model (DEM) and field survey. Three main geomorphic unites were identified namely a) Flood Plain that is the largest unit occupying 72.96% from the study area and including River Terraces (High, Moderate and Low) and Basins (Overflow and Decantation Basins), b) Lacustrine plain and c) Marine plain. Samples from Eleven soil profiles were collected to represent different landform units of the study area, analyzed in the Laboratory. Results of land evaluation using ASLE model indicated that, the most of the studied area (73.25%) have Fair (C3) capability class. There are 24.87% from the area having C4 and the remaining (1.88%) have very poor class (C5). The evaluation of land suitability for the selected crops indicated that, wheat, barley and date palm are highly (S1) to moderately suitable (S2) for growing in the Most areas of the study area. Maize is moderately suitable (S2), while Onion and Citrus are moderately (S2) to not suitable (NS) in most of the studied area.