 |
| Titel |
Modelling agricultural suitability along soil transects under current conditions and improved scenario of soil factors |
| VerfasserIn |
Sameh K. Abd-Elmabod, Antonio Jordán, Luuk Fleskens, Martine van der Ploeg, Miriam Muñoz-Rojas, Maria Anaya-Romero, Renée J. van der Salm, Diego De la Rosa |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2015
|
| Medientyp |
Artikel
|
| Sprache |
Englisch
|
| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 17 (2015) |
| Datensatznummer |
250101780
|
| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2015-1012.pdf |
|
|
|
|
|
| Zusammenfassung |
| Agricultural land suitability analysis and improvement of soils by addressing major
limitations may be a strategy for climate change adaptation. This study aims to investigate the
influence of topography and variability of soil factors on the suitability of 12 annual,
semiannual and perennial Mediterranean crops in the province of Seville (southern Spain). In
order to represent the variability in elevation, lithology and soil, two latitudinal and
longitudinal (S-N and W-E) soil transects (TA and TB) were considered including 63
representative points at regular 4 km intervals. These points were represented by 41 soil
profiles from the SDBm soil database -Seville. Almagra model, a component of the
agro-ecological decision support system MicroLEIS, was used to assess soil suitability.
Results were grouped into five soil suitability classes: S1-optimum, S2-high, S3-moderate,
S4-marginal and S5-not suitable. Each class was divided in subclasses according to the main
soil limiting factors: depth (p), texture (t), drainage (d), carbonate content (c),
salinity (s), sodium saturation (a), and the degree of development of the soil profile
(g).
This research also aimed to maximize soil potential by improving limiting factors d, c, s
and a after soil restoration. Therefore, management techniques were also considered as
possible scenarios in this study. The results of the evaluation showed that soil suitability
ranged between S1 and S5p - S5s along of the transects. In the northern extreme of
transect TA, high content of gravels and coarse texture are limiting factors (soils are
classified as S4t) In contrast, the limiting factor in the eastern extreme of transect
TB is the shallow useful depth (S5p subclass). The absence of calcium carbonate
becomes a limiting factor in some parts of TA. In contrast, the excessive content of
calcium carbonate appeared to be a limiting factor for crops in some intermediate
points of TB transect. For both transects, soil salinity is the main limiting factor in
lowlands.
The decrease in the severity of soil limiting factors in the improved scenario leads to an
increase of soil suitability for the twelve crops along TA and TB transects, except in segments
with shallow soils and very coarse texture. In the hypothetical scenario with no limiting
factors, the highest improvement on suitability is observed under perennial crops in the TA
transect. Land evaluation has proved to be a good way to distinguish the best soil suitability
by addressing limitations and is an essential tool for land use and climate-change adaptation
planning.
Keywords: Digital Elevation Model, Toposequence, MicroLEIS DSS, Almagra model,
Soil quality. |
|
|
|
|
|
|