Land suitability assessment of soils using geographic information system in the semi-arid area of Tunisia
1 National Agricultural Institute of Tunisia, University of Carthage, Soil Science and Environment Laboratory, Tunis-Mahragene 1082, Tunisia
2 Agricultural Sciences and Techniques Laboratory (LR16INRAT05), National Institute of Agricultural Research of Tunisia (INRAT), University of Carthage, Tunisia
3 Horticultural Sciences Laboratory, LR13AGR01, National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, University of Carthage, Tunis-Mahragene 1082, Tunisia.
4 Agronomic Sciences and Techniques Laboratory (LR16 INRAT 05), National Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water and Forests (INRGREF), University of Carthage, Tunis 1004, Tunisia
5 National Center for Cartography and Remote Sensing (CNCT), Ministry of National Defense, Tunis, Tunisia.
Research Article
GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 15(02), 076–084.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscarr.2023.15.2.0145
Publication history:
Received on 09 April 2023; revised on 16 May 2023; accepted on 18 May 2023
Abstract:
Land suitability maps are useful tools for protecting soil resources. The main objective of this study was to elaborate and assess soil suitability maps for different rainfed and irrigated crops. This study was conducted in the North-East area of Tunisia, three speculations were adopted (Cereals, arboriculture and vegetable crops) in both rainfed and irrigated conditions. Arithmetic multiplication methods were used based on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) classification based on Free and Open Source Geographic Information System (QGIS) tools and soil pedological properties, slope, elevation and climatic data. Overall, regardless of rainfed or irrigated conditions, results showed that the studied soils were particularly suitable (S1) for cereals crops and marginal suitable (S3) for arboriculture crops with 20.44 and 23.71%, respectively. More particular, we registered an improvement in soil land suitability under irrigated conditions for cereals with 28.63%. The findings indicated that using the GIS system, the soil in the study area is more suitable for cereals and then for arboriculture under irrigated conditions, which requires some improvement in use strategies and good management of the soil resources.
In our study area, where agricultural productivity and environmental and the impact of climate change are in a struggle, classifying land on the basis of soil capacity and suitability could help define the best agricultural practices to apply in order to preserve soil functions could help define the best agricultural practices to be applied in order to preserve soil functions.
Keywords:
Land suitability; Mapping; SIG; North Tunisia; FAO classification
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Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
