Determination of Soil Productivity Potentials: A Case Study in El-Sharkia Governorate of Egypt

 
 
 
 





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OIL productivity evaluation is a major concern in soil science. The current study was conducted to evaluate the productivity of soils in El-Sharkia Governorate of Egypt. The study area covers about 457586ha. It consists of eight major physiographic units: overflow mantel (OM), overflow basin (OB), decantation basin (DB), river terrace (RT), turtle back (TB), clay flat (CF), alkali flat (AF) and sand remnant (SR). One soil profile was taken from each unit. Land productivity index (LPI) was based on parametric approaches using GIS. The Storie land productivity index (SLPI) and the Requier land productivity index (RLPI) were used taking into account soil and topographic parameters using specific formulas, productivity classification for each mapping unit. Comparisons were made between SLPI and RLPI values obtained for the selected sites. From 38.02 to 61.77 % of the total area consist of excellent and good classes (I and II) in terms of agricultural use. The average class III represents from 10.64 to 23.75% of the total area, whereas 10.97 to 17.67 % of the total area has poor class IV. The remaining of the area (2.41 % to 19.75 %) showed low values of productivity due to management practices which did not meet productivity requirements (class V and VI).