Land Evaluation Model of Physiographic-Soil Units for Specific Agriculture Land Use in Beni Suif Area, Egypt

Abstract

The area of Beni Suif is considered a good model for representing many of the landscape features in Egypt. So, it was selected to be identified within the context of physiography, soil classification and land evaluation for specific agriculture land use. This area includes both the continental alluvium of River Nile and desert sediments, that were derived from local parent rocks. The physiographic features were identified, using visual interpretation of aerial photographs and Landsat data ETM7 (Enhanced Thematic Mapper 7), according the applied physiographic approach, and found to be as pediplain, bajada, alluvial terraces, wadis, aeolian plain and River Nile deposits. The meandering River Nile deposits were subdivided as Nile meandering belt (river bank, ox-bow bars and levees) and Nile alluvial plain, the later landforms whether is flat or almost flat slightly depressed. The rock structures were delineated as dissected cuesta of summits and fronts or as rock outcrops. Forty mini pits were located and studied for setting up a characteristic map legend. The differences were represented by twelve soil profiles to be fully described and soil samples were selected for laboratory analyses. Soil taxa were categorized according to the key of Soil Taxonomy (USDA, 2003) till the soil family level into: i)The Aridisols, soil families are a) Lithic Haplocalcids, loamy skeletal in pediplain and b) Typic Calcigypsids, sandy skeletal in bajada. ii) The Vertisols include a) Typic Haplotorrerts, clayey (semectitic) in the flat alluvial plain and b)Halic Haplotorrerts, clayey, (semectitic) in the slightly depressed alluvial plain. iii) The Entisols include a) Typic Torriorthents, fine loamy in the river bank, b) Typic Torriorthents, clayey over fine loamy in levee and c) Typic Torriorthents, loamy skeletal in alluvial terraces. In the ox-bow bars the soils are in a complex pattern of a) Typic Torriorthents, sandy and b) Typic Torriorthents, coarse loamy. Soils of wadis, soils are found in a complex pattern of a) Typic Torrifluvents, fine loamy over sandy, (calcareous) and b) Typic Torrifluvents, loamy skeletal. As for aeolian plain, the soils are Typic Torripsamments. All the studied soils are mixed, except those of Vertisols, and hyperthermic.The physiographic-soil units were evaluated for agriculture specific use of certain crops to asses the supreme current and potential suitability for the different crops to give the maximum output. The land suitability is presented on the physiographic-soil units as land suitability guide maps for alfalfa, barley, cotton, maize, sorghum, sunflower, tomato, wheat, banana, citrus, guava, mango and olive.