Soil quality indices for agricultural potentiality in shalateen area- Egypt- using remote sensing and GIS

Shalateen is considered one of the strategic areas for the security of Egypt from the south-eastern side which requires agricultural development. The objective of this study is to evaluate the soil quality using the integration of remote sensing and GIS. Thus, geopedological soil map was generated including the required soil characteristics. Twenty-six soil profiles were selected to represent the different mapping units. Assessment of soil quality is based on three main quality indices, chemical index (CI), physical index (PI), and fertility index (FI). The results revealed that chemical quality ranges from high to low quality, where most of the study area has a moderate quality. Physical quality varies from high to moderate, where most of the study area is classified as high quality. Fertility index in the study area fell into moderate and low classes. Finally, integration of the three indices showed that the study area is classified as a moderate soil quality. These results can be utilised to plan for the agriculture development taking into consideration the limiting factors and the potential use of the entire area.