Abstract
The aim of this study was to diagnose the agricultural land quality in Beni-Moussa irrigated subperimeter, Tadla plain (Morocco), and to evaluate that whether they are still suitable for sustainable intensive agriculture using GIS and physicochemical analyses. Eight quality indicators, namely soil depth, soil texture, pH, EC, CEC, OC, OM and slope, and were analyzed in 27 topsoil samples (0–20 cm) collected from the study zone at September 2009–2015. GIS approach was used to provide than indicator specific maps and to generate the land suitability for intensive agriculture. The results showed that about 1.69% (1324.38 ha) of studied area are classified in the class ‘excellent suitable’, 17.14% (13449.81 ha) in ‘good suitable’, 75.70% (59393.30 ha) in ‘medium suitable’ and 5.47% (4293.11 ha) in ‘poor suitable’ for sustainable intensive agriculture. These two latter land suitability classes needed some restrictions on agricultural practices and appropriate management to be of good sustainable productivity, without soil deterioration and negative effects on environment. The findings of this study are promising and can be used as a basis for the further scientific works, but they required new investigations and experts’ opinions to evaluate and increase their accuracy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AbdelRahman MA, Natarajan A, Hegde R (2016) Assessment of land suitability and capability by integrating remote sensing and GIS for agriculture in Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka, India. Egypt J Remote Sens Space Sci 19(1):125–141
Aderonke DO, Gbadegesin GA (2013) Spatial variability in soil properties of a continuously cultivated land. Afr J Agric Res 8(5):475–483
Aghzar N, Berdai H, Bellouti A, Soudi B (2002) Pollution nitrique des eaux souterraines au Tadla (Maroc). Revue des sciences de l’eau. J Water Sci 15(2):459–492
Akıncı H, Özalp AY, Turgut B (2013) Agricultural land use suitability analysis using GIS and AHP technique. Comp Electr Agric 97:71–82
Ali RR, Ageeb GW, Wahab MA (2007) Assessment of soil capability for agricultural use in some areas west of the Nile Delta, Egypt: an application study using spatial analyses. J Appl Sci Res 3(11):1622–1629
Atalay I (2006) The effects of mountainous areas on biodiversity: a case study from the northern Anatolian Mountains and the Taurus Mountains. Grazer Schr Geogr Raumf 41:17–26
Badraoui M (2003) Présentation succincte du Tadla
Badraoui M, Merzouk A, Bonn F, Gwyn QHJ, Hinse M (1989) Apport de la télédétection à la cartographie des sols dans les zones arides et semi-arides. IAV Hassan-II/Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke (Québec)
Badraoui M, Soudi B, Lahlou M, Kabbassi M, Aniba K (1998a) Evaluation de la salinité des sols dans le périmètre irrigué des Doukkala: Suivi et diagnostic dans les zones vulnérables. In: Soudi B (ed) Etude de l’impact de l’intensification de la mise en valeur agricole sur la qualité des sols et des eaux: proposition de pratiques rationnelles. Projet d’initiatives propres, AGCD-UCL-IAV
Badraoui M, Soudi B, Merzouk A, Farhat A, M’hamdi A (1998b) Changes of soil qualities under irrigation in the Bahira region of Morocco: salinization. Adv GeoEcol 31:503–508
Bandyopadhyay KK, Misra AK, Ghosh PK, Hati KM (2010) Effect of integrated use of farmyard manure and chemical fertilizers on soil physical properties and productivity of soybean. Soil Till Res 110(1):115–125
Barakat A, El Baghdadi M, Rais J, Aghezzaf B, Slassi M (2016) Assessment of spatial and seasonal water quality variation of Oum Er Rbia River (Morocco) using multivariate statistical techniques. J Soil Water Conserv Res 4(4). doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5684-7_11
Bennett TD, Goodwin AL, Dove MT, et al (2010) Structure and properties of an amorphous metal-organic framework. Phys Rev lett 104(11):115503
Berdai H, Soudi B, Bellouti A (2004) Contribution à l’étude de la pollution nitrique des eaux souterraines en zones irriguées: Cas du Tadla. Projet INCO-WADEMED. Actes du Séminaire. Modernisation de l’Agriculture Irriguée, 28p
Bhagat V (2014) Use of IRS P6 LISS-IV data for land suitability analysis for cashew plantation in hilly zone. Int J Geoinfo 14(3)
Bourguignon C (2006) La destruction des sols par l’agriculture intensive. http://www.les-renseignements-genereux.org/var/fichiers/textes/bourguignon.pdf. Accessed 2 December 2016
Cances AL (2005) Diagnostic des systèmes de production du périmètre irrigué du Tadla (Maroc). Quels sont les facteurs de transformation et de différenciation des exploitations agricoles et leur influence sur leur évolution?. Mémoire d’ingénieur agronome, CNEARC, Montpellier, p 149. http://agritrop.cirad.fr/544079/1/document_544079.pdf. Accessed 2 December 2016
Caravaca F, Barea JM, Figueroa D, Roldán A (2002) Assessing the effectiveness of mycorrhizal inoculation and soil compost addition for enhancing reafforestation with Olea europaea subsp. sylvestris through changes in soil biological and physical parameters. Appl Soil Ecol 20(2):107–118
Cardoso EJBN, Vasconcellos RLF, Bini D, et al (2013) Soil health: looking for suitable indicators. What should be considered to assess the effects of use and management on soil health? Scientia Agricola 70(4):274–289
De la Rosa D, Sobral R (2008) Soil quality and methods for its assessment. In: Land use and soil resources. Springer Netherlands, pp 167–200
DIAEA/SEEN (2008) Direction de l’irrigation et de l’aménagement de l’espace Agricole, Service des Expérimentations, des Essais et de la Normalisation-Rabat
El Harti A, Lhissou R, Chokmani K, Ouzemou JE, Hassouna M, Bachaoui EM, El Ghmari A (2016) Spatiotemporal monitoring of soil salinization in irrigated Tadla Plain (Morocco) using satellite spectral indices. Int J Appl Earth Observ Geoinfo 50:64–73
FAO (2003) Theoretical framework for land evaluation. Geoderma 72:165–190
FAO (2007) Land evaluation, towards a revised framework. FAO, Rome
FAO (2009) L’agriculture doit changer pour nourrir le monde. Notre-planete.info, http://www.notre-planete.info/actualites/actu_1882_agriculture_nourrir_monde.php. Accessed 2 December 2016
Fetouani S, Sbaa M, Vanclooster M, Bendra B (2008) Assessing ground water quality in the irrigated plain of Triffa (north-east Morocco). Agric Water Manage 95(2):133–142
Foley JA, DeFries R, Asner GP et al (2005) Global consequences of land use. Science 309(5734):570–574
Franzluebbers AJ, Causarano HJ, Norfleet ML (2011) Calibration of the soil conditioning index (SCI) to soil organic carbon in the southeastern USA. Plant Soil 338(1–2):223–232
Gad AA (2015) Land capability classification of some western desert Oases, Egypt, using remote sensing and GIS. Egypt J Remote Sens Space Sci 18(1):S9–S18
Gagnon M (2009) « Le diagnostic de l’état des sols ». https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi1kNyKqKPQAhUF4iYKHewGDqcQFggcMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.agrireseau.net%2Flegumeschamp%2Fdocuments%2FGagnon%2520texte%2520diagnostic%2520%25C3%25A9tat%2520des%2520sols.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGWH3Uo4aqwkX0WAGmkYNrEsApt8w. Accessed 12 November 2016
González MEP, Rodríguez MDPG, González-Quiñones V, Ballesta RJ (2006) Spatial variability of soil quality in the surroundings of a saline lake environment. Environ Geol 51(1):143–149
Laftouhi NE, Vanclooster M, Jalal M, Witam O, Aboufirassi M, Bahir M, Persoons É (2003) Groundwater nitrate pollution in the Essaouira Basin (Morocco). C R Geosci 335(3):307–317
Lahlou M, Ajerame MM, Bogaert P, Bousetta B (2013) Spatiotemporal variability and mapping of groundwater salinity in Tadla: geostatistical approach. In: Developments in soil salinity assessment and reclamation (pp. 167–182), Springer Netherlands
Legros JP (1996) Cartographies des sols: de l’analyse spatiale à la gestion des territoires (vol 10). PPUR presses polytechniques.
Lionello P, Malanotte P, Boscolo R (2006) Mediterranean climate variability. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Mustafa AA, Singh M, Sahoo RN, Ahmed N, Khanna M, Sarangi A, Mishra AK (2011) Land suitability analysis for different crops: a multi criteria decision making approach using remote sensing and GIS. Researcher 3(12):1–24
Omowumi OA, Aderonke DO, Anike OA, Moronke OO (2014) Spatial assessment of soil quality indicators under different agricultural land uses.
Ouzza A, Akdim B (2012) La pollution hydrique au Tadla: Perceptions et réalités.
Panhalkar S (2011) Land capability classification for integrated watershed development by applying remote sensing and GIS techniques. ARPN J Agric Biol Sci 6 (4): 46–55
Prakash TN (2003) Land suitability analysis for agricultural crops: a fuzzy multicriteria decision making approach. MS Theses international institute for geo-information science and earth observation enschede, Netherland
Préfol P (1986) Prodige de l’irrigation au Maroc: le développement exemplaire du Tadla, 1936–1985. Nouvelles Editions Latines
Saleh AM, Belal AB, Mohamed ES (2015) Land resources assessment of El-Galaba basin, South Egypt for the potentiality of agriculture expansion using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Egypt J Remote Sens Space Sci 18(1):S19–S30
Schiefer J, Lair GJ, Blum WE (2015) Indicators for the definition of land quality as a basis for the sustainable intensification of agricultural production. Inter Soil Water Conserv Res 3(1):42–49
Schiere JB, Ibrahim MNM, Van Keulen H (2002) The role of livestock for sustainability in mixed farming: criteria and scenario studies under varying resource allocation. Agric Ecosyst Environ 90(2):139–153
Sulc RM, Tracy BF (2007) Integrated crop–livestock systems in the US Corn Belt. Agron J 99(2):335–345
Taoufik M, Dafir JE (2005) A study of water quality in lower OumRabiaa Basin, Morocco: speciation of nitrogen and phosphorus. Water Qual Res J Can 40(1):120–129
Teka K, Haftu M (2012) Land suitability characterization for crop and fruit production in midlands of Tigray, Ethiopia. Momona Ethiop J Sci 4(1):64–76
USAID (United States Agency for International Development) 2010 .Moulouya and OumEr-Rbia watersheds: organizational it and management system needs. Submitted to USAID/Morocco, Economic Growth Office—Assistance Objective 3: Reduced barriers to trade and investment.
WRB (2006) World Reference Base for Soil Resources (2006) A Framework for International Classification, Correlation and Communication, FAO Rome, World Soil Resources Reports 103
Yalew SG, van Griensven A, Mul ML, van der Zaag P (2016) Land suitability analysis for agriculture in the Abbay basin using remote sensing, GIS and AHP techniques. Model Earth Syst Environ 2(2):1–14
Zhang J, Su Y, Wu J, Liang H (2015) GIS based land suitability assessment for tobacco production using AHP and fuzzy set in Shandong province of China. Comput Electron Agric 114:202–211
Acknowledgements
Our particular gratitude goes to ORMVAT for their collaboration and for the data that they provided us. We also would like to thank Abdessamad Hilali, doctoral student, for his much technical support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barakat, A., Ennaji, W., El Jazouli, A. et al. Multivariate analysis and GIS-based soil suitability diagnosis for sustainable intensive agriculture in Beni-Moussa irrigated subperimeter (Tadla plain, Morocco). Model. Earth Syst. Environ. 3, 3 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-017-0272-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-017-0272-5