Modeling of land capability and agricultural use priority for some abandoned Osese, Western Desert of Egypt [electronic resource].

Includes references.

abandoned oases represented by El-Arag, El-Bahrein, El¬Numessa, and Setra oases are located in the northern part of the Western Desert of Egypt to the South of El-Qattara Depression. Those depressions lie between longitudes 26° 15' 00" & 27° 18' 45" E and Latitudes 28° 37' 30" & 29° 00' 00" N. They represent small and inconspicuous oases characterized by scattered natural vegetation and some wild palm tress. The oases lie within the arid zone. The aim of this study is to apply the powerful capabilities of advanced Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques through managing and integrating spatial modeling data for land capability evaluation and agricultural use priorities. Terrain units were identified using draped satellite ETM+ image over Digital Terrain Model (DTM) to express the landscape and the associated landforms. The major landforms of the area under consideration could be grouped and described as basins, sandy flats, sandy plains, peneplains, bolsons, alkali flats, footslopes, plateau, sand dunes, inter-dunal sand strips, isolated hills, mesas, rock out crops, salt effiorescence and corrosion forms. Using US Taxonomy bases, soils of the abandoned oases cou1d be classified into Typic Aquisalids, Typic Torrifluvcnts, Gypsic Haplosalids, Lithic Torripsamments, Lithic Haplocalcids, Typic Torripsarnments, Typic Haplocalcids, Typic Haplosalids, Calcic Aquisalids, and Typic Psammaquents. Land capability evaluation was performed using Cervatana capability model. Six capability classes could be recognized as follows S21rb, S3b S3" S3b, S31" S3lrb, Nl. Agricultural Use Priorities Spatial Model (AUPSM) was designed for getting the available grades of agricultural use priorities.

Summary in Arabic.

1