Evaluation of some Agricultural Expansion Areas in the Eastern Desert of Egypt using GIS

LAND evaluation for agricultural planning in Asyut, Sohaag and
…… Qena governors was carried out based on soil survey data using
remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS).
Evaluation of land suitability is one of the most effective methods for
proper agricultural land use planning, as it evaluates the suitability of
land for a specific crop. The aim of this study is to use GIS and
Automated Land Evaluation System (ALES) to assess land capability
and crop suitability for various soils and biophysical conditions. The
present study was undertaken to demonstrate the usefulness of GIS
technologies coupled with soil data to assess crop suitability to
achieve sustainable cropping systems in the studied area. As input,
the model requires soil data, and for an assessment of the study area, a
total of 40 representative soil profiles was used to collect soil samples.
The capability evaluation gives four capability orders for agricultural
and reclamation land capability (i.e., C1, good, C2, moderate, C3, weak
and N, marginal), Moreover, the evaluation model gives four limiting
factors suborders,which are topography (t), soils (l) erosion risks (r)
and bioclimatic deficiency (b).
The suitability of selected field crops indicated that wheat is
highly to moderately suitable in different developmental areas. On
the other hand, cotton is high to permanent not suitable for different
development areas. Suitability of maize is similar to the cotton crop.
Selected vegetable crops, potato range from moderately high to
permanent not suitable. Tomatoes are high to permanent not suitable.
Land suitability of selected fruits, citrus is mainly permanent not
suitable for cultivation in different development areas. On the other
hand, the date palm and olive trees range from high to permanent not
suitable.