Wetland's Revegetation Impact on Some Soil Propertis at Manzala Region, Egypt.

Abstract

This study was done on wetlands of Manzala Lake, northeastern Nile Delta of Egypt, to evaluate the changes of some soil properties after rehabilitation and cropping for 10 years. Soil samples (0-80 cm depth) were collected randomly from selected sites in 4 reference wetlands sites and 4 cultivated sites with rice and cotton. Soil properties showed marked variation across the soil profiles. The obtained results showed that cultivation significantly accounted for the variance in soil properties between reference and cultivated wetland. Bulk density (Bd), hydraulic conductivity (K) and the electric conductivity (EC) were decreased while; total porosity (Tp), available water capacity (AWC) and organic matter (OM) were increased under cultivated areas compared with the reference wetlands. A significant difference in most of these soil properties under both rice and cotton was found between cultivation periods. The results also show that soil properties varied according to the cultivated crop. This study indicated a trend toward progressive soil development following wetland revegetation. Development of wetlands should be done.