Spatial Distribution of Soil Quality and Health Index for the Umm Al-Naaj Marsh in Maysan

Abstract

The Umm Al-Naaj Marsh was chosen in Maysan province, and it is one of the sections of Mar Al-Hawza, which is one of the most prominent Iraqi marshes in the south. The marshes are located between latitudes 30 35 and 32 45 latitudes and longitudes 13 46 and 48 00. The area of the study area is 76479.432142 hectares to evaluate soil quality and health index and their spatial distribution based on measuring physical, chemical, biological and fertility traits and calculating the total quality index for those characteristics. Using an auger drilling machine, we collected 50 randomly selected surface samples, evenly distributed across the study region, from Al-Aq 0.0–0.30 m, noting their precise locations along the way. Soil health and quality were evaluated by determining the weight of evidence for physical, chemical, biological, and fertility parameters. The percentage of the second class in relation to the physical properties of the soil, which corresponds to the moderate variety of soil health, reached 100% of the study area. As for the chemical traits, the first class (poor) recorded 5.5%, the second class (moderate) 94%, and the third class (good) 0.5% of the area study area, While the percentage of the second class (moderate) for biological traits was 99.99%, and the first class (poor) appeared by 0.002% of the entire study area. As for the fertility traits, the first class (poor) appeared by 46%, the second class (moderate) by 68% and the third class good) by 6% of the study area. In comparison to the total quality index, the moderate variety accounted for 100% of the soil quality and overall health index in the study area, whereas the poor and good cultivars were nowhere to be found.