ESTABLISHMENT OF SOIL RESOURCES DATABASE IN QALUOBIA GOVERNORATE FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE UTILIZATION

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is building a soil resources database for Qaluobia Governorate for sustainable agriculture usage. Qaluobia Governorate is located on the eastern of the Nile River, near the Delta apex. It is bounded from the south by both Cairo and Giza Governorates, from the north by Dakahlia and Gharbia Governorates, from the east by Sharkia Governorate and from the west by Monofia Governorate. To achieve the aim of this study, Landsat 5 TM (1990), Landsat 7 ETM+ (2003), SPOT 4 (2007), SPOT 4 (2011) and Landsat 8 (2013) satellite images were used in this study. Cadastral maps (1:2500) were updated from aerial photographs dated 1985 for Qaluobia Governorate (761 maps). The maps were used as benchmark for the study area. ENVI (4.8) software was used in this study for image processing, while ArcGIS (10) was used for building the database and getting the final outputs. The existing layers from other research studies were used for building the database. These layers are soil map, drainage, canals and roads networks. Soil profiles from previous studies (96 profiles) were collected and twelve soil profiles were dug at different locations of El - Qaluobia Governorate. The Geometric correction implemented on SPOT 4 image 2011 and SPOT 4 image 2007. Image to image method (Landsat 2003 to SPOT4 2011) was used with ground control points. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) between two images was less than 0.36 pixels. Maximum likelihood classifier is the type of the supervised classification used to track changes in land use/land cover of the study area. The output is a thematic raster layer (i.e. classified image). Accuracy assessment was conducted using 289 points from field data in ETM image 1990, 300 points in ETM image 2003 and 203 points in spot 2011. The classified images were raster layers that were converted into vector layers. These vector layers were converted into shape files that were exported to Arc GIS program for further analysis. The layers collected from previous studies were updated (i.e. 2006 updated to 2013) based on satellite image 2013. The layers are irrigation and drainage canal, roads network and soil map. The collected profiles and the current profiles were used for mapping of some soil characteristics. IDW interpolation method was employed for mapping five soil characteristics in Qaluobia Governorate. The mapped soil characteristics include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), texture classes and calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Land use/Land cover of Qaluobia Governorate The major class in the investigated area was the agriculture areas which represented 56.8 % from the total area of the governorate while the urban areas represented 34 %, the bare land areas were 7.6 % and finally the water bodies represented 1.6 %. The results showed that cultivated soils class decreased in the period from 1990 to 2013. It presented 74.5 % from total area at 1990, 71.2 % at 2003, 70.6% at 2007, 67.2% at 2011 and 56.7% at 2013. The urban areas increased at the same period as following; 11.2% at 1990, 16.1% at 2003, 18.1% at 2007, 23.5% at 2011 and finally 34.2% at 2013. The current investigation displays the loss area in each soil class in the soil map from 1990 to 2013. The loss area in the Typic Quartizipsamments was 50.38 km2, while in the Vertic Torrifluvents the loss area was 161.25 km2. However Typic Torriorthents lost 9.92 km2 and Typic Torrifluvents lost 16.31 km2.