The current investigation aims to identifying the land and water resources in the area east of desert part of Menoufia governorate west of Rashid Nile branch. This study covers the soil geomorphological and pedological characteristics including classification, land capability evaluation and assessment the land suitability for certain main crops. Change detection of land use/land cover (LULC) classes between the years 2001 and 2020 are also carried out. The integration of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques were used to perform this work.
The interpretation of satellite image of the study area indicated that, there are three main identified geomorphic units including seven subunits in this area. These units are 1) Depressions, 2) Sand Sheets including Low, Moderate and High Terraces landforms, and 3) Old Deltaic Revere Terraces including Low, Moderate and High Terraces landforms. Twenty soil profiles were selected representing these landforms
The land and site features are observed and registered. Soil profiles were dug and morphologically described. Samples were collected representing the subsequent layers in each profile as well as irrigation water samples were taken for integrated physical and chemical analysis.
The studied area has almost flat topography with an elevation between 7 to 171 m. above sea level. The studied soils are deep with well drainage system. These soils have light texture mostly sand and loamy sand to sandy loam with weak granular structure and some layers have single grains. Their consistence varied from slightly hard to soft when dry and friable when moist. All of these soils are non-saline to slightly saline and non-sodic having slightly alkaline reaction. Most of the studied soils are slightly to moderately calcareous and few are strongly calcareous according their CaCO3 content. Organic matter (OM), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and gypsum are low. These soils have low content of available macro nutrients (N, P and K). Most of the studied soils (about 87.5%) haven't any diagnostic sub-surface horizons. Therefor they are classified under Entisols whether as Typic Torripsaments (86.6%) or Typic Torriorthents (0.9%). About 12.5% from the studied soils have Calcic horizon and classified under Aridisols as Typic Haplocalcids.
The quality of irrigation waters is differed between good and moderately suitable for irrigation in the most studied areas to having severed hazards in some others. According to the land capability evaluation results, about 46% from the studied area was fair (C3) and 54% was poor (C4). Land suitability evaluation for eighteen field, vegetables and fruit trees crops indicated that, soils of most the studied landforms except the Low Sand Sheet are highly suitable (S1) to marginally suitable (S3) for all studied crops.
The overall relative change detection in LULC classes between 2001 and 2020 indicated that, there is an increase in the total area of agricultural land at the expense of the barren area.