Soil Conditions of Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

The New Valley Governorate in Egypt is one of the most encouraging territories for agriculture expansion. Therefore, it was necessary to study the land resources in those new areas and understand the spatial nature to determine development priorities. The New Valley governorate holds a zone of around 376.505 km2. Dakhla Oasis is one of the high need areas for future improvement in Egypt. Also it is considered to be one of the potential priority areas for agricultural development and one of the largest depressions in the Western Desert of Egypt. The evaluation of the land characteristics and its response to the agricultural service operations are very important to agriculture production, planners, land users, feasibility studies, design for land development projects and various engineering works. Furthermore, understanding the most accurate use of soil for specific purposes is necessary to take advantage of all available land resources. This chapter illustrates soil classification, maps, assessing their productivity and suitability for specific crops using remote sensing and GIS techniques in Dakhla Oasis. The dominant soil classification in Dakhla Oasis is the following; Typic Haplargids, Typic Torriorthents, Typic Torripasamments, Typic Haplotorrerts and Vertic Torriorthents, Typic Natrargids, Salic Natrargids, Sodic Haplosalids and Sodic Haplocalcids. The studies showed that most Dakhla Oasis soils are high, moderate and marginal for wheat, sugar, cotton, sunflower, beet, soya bean, maize, watermelon, potato, alfalfa, peach, olive, and citrus. However, Dakhla Oasis soils have some limiting factors for agricultural production such as high soil salinity, sodium saturation, high content of lime, and soil depth. Finally, joining between remote and GIS is a useful asset for sustainable agricultural development. Different soil maps can give an overview for decision-makers and those interested in developing agricultural development in Dakhla Oasis.