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Wadi El-Rayan wetland is an inland Egyptian Ramsar site of international importance, due to its rich biodiversity. The wetland constitutes two man-made lakes. The lakes size, particularly the Lower Lake, is in continuous reduction, and the vegetation productivity pattern is changing as result of deteriorating water and soil quality, domestic and industrial activities. This research was carried out to map the spatial and seasonal distribution of certain physico-chemical parameters of geo-referenced soil samples covering the two lakes parts using ordinary kriging GIS technique. The study utilized ArcGIS ver.10.7 software, and 76 soil samples collected from representative sites; 38 samples during winter and 38 samples during summer seasons. Soil data were analyzed statistically and geo-statistically based on best fitted semivariogram model. The results indicated high concentrations of some soil physical and chemical parameters, especially in summer and in the Lower Lake of Wadi El-Rayan. The summary statistics for soil parameters had shown that the median of some soil parameters is higher than the mean which indicated the presence of abnormal data. This finding has been approved through the spatial distribution mapping which clearly showed the differences in spatial and temporal distribution between the upper and lower lakes of Wadi El-Rayan. The study concluded that the generated spatial distribution maps using ordinary kriging method can be used as an effective tool in Wadi El-Rayan wetlands’ soil management.

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Background: "habitat classification models" are invaluable tools for species conservation, land-use planning, reserve design, and meta-population assessments, particularly at broad spatial scales". Globally, there are at least 23 schemes developed for habitat classification schemes. The pioneer attempts in Egypt for classifying habitats were started by the series of Kassas giving a concern about dry lands and desertification problems. The main purpose of this paper is to: 1) present a suitable model for large scale planning to support the decision making process towards the natural resources in Egypt, 2) standardize data collection on habitats which will assist in management and conservation of the Egypt's natural heritage.Results: This paper presents new GIS-based habitat classification hierarchy that contains 5 main habitat systems, 12 habitat sub-system and 36 habitat classes. One of the major outputs of this present scheme is to define the boundaries of the three classes (epipelagic -mesopelagic -bathypelagic) of the pelagic sub-system. Conclusion: This hierarchy represents a new GIS-based standardized habitats scheming for Egypt. It was designed to support the current efforts to define the key biodiversity hotspots as well as long term planning of biodiversity at the national level. This new habitat mapping/scheming, has considerable potential utility for conservation priority setting for Egypt; it could be used to design and update the existing protected areas network; it could be used to evaluate the protected areas system representativeness, and climate change impacts studies. It is recommended to link habitat classification and mapping efforts in Egypt to regional and global approaches.