Full Length Research Paper
Abstract
Soil surveying and mapping is an important operation, since it plays a key role in the knowledge about soil properties and how it can be used for agriculture, irrigation, urbanization and other land uses. This study was carried out in order to map out some soil characteristics in the Northern State in resettlement projects associated with the newly established Merowe Dam. Some physical and chemical properties of the soil were determined to assess the current situation of the region, since no similar study had been conducted in the area to assess the soil status. The use of the geographic information systems (GIS) and sampling broad analysis through the use of GPS is found to be a very efficient tool. This study demonstrates the usefulness of these technologies in soil survey. The objective of this study is to conduct a soil survey in a new developing area using a nontraditional technique. GIS was used in this study to present the laboratory findings of the soil analysis; as such, this was achieved through a preparation of digital maps for soil properties. These digital maps can be used in precision farming studies with the application of variable rate technology. The obtained results showed the alkaline reaction of soil, where the range of pH was between 8.8 and 7.0. Moreover, the EC’s range was found to be 2.34 to 3.30, where the value of 3.38 dS/m was found in depth of 30 to 60 cm. Nonetheless, the SAR values fall within the slight, moderate and strong degrees of salinity.
Key words: Geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), soil survey, soil properties mapping, spatial variability.
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