Application of GIS Techniques and ASLE Program for Soil Fertility Assessment at Samannoud District, Gharbia Governorate, Egypt.

Abstract

OIL FERTILITY assessment and soil fertility mapping can provide insights for appropriate strategies to select crops suitable for soils and to build a decision making framework to help farmers and improve land management. This study's primary goal was to assess the soil's level of fertility and land suitability for some strategic crops using ASLE software and GIS techniques in some soils at Samanoud District, Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. For this aim, 17 soil samples were randomly distributed over the study area according to locations using GPS. The studied area covers about 166.2 km 2 . In the southern and western regions of the study area, higher clay values were found. The concentrations of N, P and K were evaluated as low or medium based on their availability in the studied area. In the northern regions of the examined area, there was a higher concentration of OM and available P. On the other hand, higher available N levels were seen in the southern regions. Meanwhile, the higher available K values were recorded close to the center of the study region. According to the ASLE program, there are two classes of fertility index data outputs in the area under study: (i) Fair-C3 and (ii) Poor-C4. The soils in the study area were very suitable for growing wheat (S1) and fitted into two classes: very suitable (S1) and suitable (S2) for maize cultivation. In addition, the studied area fitted into three classes including very suitable classes (S1), suitable (S2), and currently unsuitable (N1) for faba bean cultivation. However, the studied area was classified into moderately suitable (S3) and marginally suitable (S4) for rice cultivation. In essence, the appropriate field crops could be categorized according to its suitability as follows: wheat, maize, faba beans, and rice. Such data might help in supporting decision makers for optimum soil management.