MORPHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIO-CHEMICAL EVALUATION OF SOME SOILS IN THE WESTERN BACK OF SUEZ CANAL

Abstract

Detecting of soil problems and their attributes in the desertic zone as well as the significance for sustainable agriculture development are important aspects. Concerning the horizontal expansion policy in Egypt, the desertic soils adjacent to both Suez Gulf and Suez canal as a basic natural resource are considered as the promising components. Thus, the current work is conducted to identify the different properties of the soils developed on the major geomorphic units, with emphasis on land evaluation for agricultural purposes and land suitability for the main crops.

The area under investigation is situated between longitudes 31° 58' to 32° 32' E, and latitudes 29° 40' to 30° 40 N.

Seventeen soil profiles were selected to represent the major physiographic units dominated in the studied areas, i.e., out wash plain (profiles 1 & 10), wadi plains (profile 2) alluvial fans (profiles 3&4), lake beaches (profile 5), wind blown sandy deposits (profiles 6, 7, 9 & 16), river terraces (profiles 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15) and wadi EI-Tumialate formations (profile 17).

The results of analytical data revealed the following:

Soils do not only differ in parent material origin, but also in relief and geological age which are more selected to physiographic position and environmental deposition history.

The field studies indicate that the studied soils are derived from different parent materials, such as fluvio-marine (profile 1), fluvial (profiles 4 &17), lacustrine (profile 5), desertic siliceous formations (profiles 6, 7, 8,