Document Type : Original Research
Authors
1
Soil and water, agriculture, NVU,Dakhla, New Valley.
2
Soils & Water Dept., Fac. of Agric., Al-Azhar Univ., Assiut, Egypt.
3
Soils and Water Dept., Fac. of Agric New Valley University, Egypt.
4
Pedology Dept., Water Resource and Desert Land Division, Desert Research Center, Egypt
Abstract
This study focuses on evaluating the spatial variability of soil properties, both physical and chemical, pertinent to agricultural land assessment in El-Dakhla Oasis, New Valley, Egypt. The objective is to map these properties across a broad scale for enhanced agricultural insights. The research encompasses an area of approximately 14,000 Fadden (5,891.2 ha) within El-Dakhla Oasis, situated about 25 km northwest of Mut District, at coordinates 28º 49ʹ 13.33ʺ to 28 º 52 ʹ 48.78 ʺ E and 25 º 34 ʹ 30.41ʺ to 25 º 39 ʹ 44.66 ʺ N. This area includes the agricultural outskirts of the villages El-Qasr, Al-Mushiya, and El-Jadidah. The soil texture ranges from coarse to moderately coarse, predominantly comprising loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam, and clay loam. The area exhibits low values in field capacity, wilting point, and available water content, especially in zones with reduced silt and clay fractions, where available water is commonly less than 10%. Soil pH varies significantly, ranging from 3.74 to 11.68, with acidic conditions prevailing in the northwestern parts and more alkaline conditions in the southeast. Soil salinity, measured as electrical conductivity (ECe), varies from 0.22 to 21.78 dS/m. Organic matter content in the soil ranges from 0.34 to 1.27%, while total calcium carbonate (CaCO3) percentages vary between 2.0 and 4.0%. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) are generally low, with values below 13 and 15, respectively. Lastly, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soils spans from 2.31 to 9.07 cmol(+)/kg.
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