Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-019-0102-1
(2019) 43:70
Bulletin of the National
Research Centre

RESEARCH Open Access

Assessment of land degradation and

implications on agricultural land in
Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt
W. A. M. Abdel Kawy1 and Kh. M. Darwish2*

Abstract
Background: Land degradation considers as a phenomena or more that decrease the current and/or the potential
soil capability to produce goods. It signifies a regression from a higher to lower state, owing to descend in land
capability, productivity, and decline of biodiversity. This study is an attempt to address the complexity of land
degradation issue, particularly in the targeted farming irrigated fields, Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt. It aims to assess
and observe degradation hazard through satellite image analyze, model trends of degradation, and generate a
change detection hazard map for the investigated area.
Results: The maximum likelihood supervised classification tool and post classification change detection technique
were implemented for monitoring changes in land qualities. Land degradation indicator data layers were
summarized into the metrological data, ground truth, vegetation cover, and the applied land management
practices. The Modified Global Assessment of Soil Degradation GLASOD model was adapted to model land
degradation, specify its action in term of degradation degree, relative extent, severity level, and causative factors.
Land degradation processes were evaluated in the delineated mapping units. The result indicated that the studied
areas are considered as quite unstable in term of ecosystem due to active degradation resulting from aridity
phenomena, soil properties, and improper farm management.
Conclusion: The most active land degradation processes are assessment of salinization, waterlogging, alkalization,
and soil compaction.
Keywords: Land degradation, Degradation hazard, Land qualities, Qalyubia governorate, Arid land

Introduction is often termed as desertification (Dregn 2002). Most

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertifica- forms of land degradation are man-made problems. Al-
tion (UNCCD) recognizes land degradation as one of though there are some physical environmental factors
the most noticeable environmental concerns of recent involved, but misuse is an important factor. Poor land
times (UNCCD 1994, 2002). According to Baylis et al. management with the intensification of agriculture prac-
2012 and UNCCD 2013, they reported the sequences as tices accelerates the rate of land degradation (Wim and
a result of land degradation processes; nearly 40–75% of El-Hadji 2002). Food supply situation will be worse in
the world’s agricultural land’s productivity is reduced. the future, if the current tendency of land degradation
Land degradation is often described as substantial de- did not change drastically. In Egypt, land resources deg-
crease in the biological productivity of land system, due radation is the main limitation to the agricultural sector
to natural events exaggerated by anthropogenic activities development, where the ratio between land resources
(Johnson and Lewis 2007). Land degradation in dry land and population rate is the most critical problem cur-
rently. In arid and semi-arid conditions, the salinization
* Correspondence: kdarwish@hotmail.com; kdarwish@srtacity.sci.eg and/or alkalization as subsequent of water logging are
2
Land and Water Technologies Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research the major land degradation processes in irrigated agri-
Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications
(SRTA-City), Borg Al-Arab, Alexandria, Egypt
culture fields (Ayoub 1991; Dwivedi et al. 1999;
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article El-Kassas 1999).
© The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 2 of 14

Fig. 1 Location of the study area

Normally, inter-relationship between land degradation The area under investigation incorporates a surface area
and socioeconomic activities is a multi-layered and com- of approximately 224,363 ac (90.8 ha). It is bounded be-
plex issue. Several multi-disciplinary approaches inte- tween 30° 06′ 11″ and 30° 36′ 36″ North and 31° 03′
grated with multiple data sources and methodologies to 20″ and 31° 35′ 32″ East Fig. 1. According to the Egyp-
study the implications of land degradation are need of the tian Meteorological Authority (2016), the study area falls
hour. Monitoring and assessment of regional land degrad- in the arid zone, where the soil temperature regime
ation or restoration of land is very important so as to could be defined as thermic and moisture regime is tor-
understand the dynamic trend of land degradation or res- ric (Soil survey staff 2014).
toration, providing better scientific prevention and envir- Geologically, the area belongs to the late Pleistocene
onmental control (Sun et al. 2017). To address the gaining that represented by deposits of the neonile broke into
issue and a systematic understanding of the changes mag- Egypt, often in the earlier part of this age and by the
nitude in land degradation at the temporal and regional deposits too that was accumulated during the reces-
scales, remote sensing and geographical information sys- sional phases of the river. Through its history, the
tem (GIS) have been selected as the best utilities. neonile in this massif has been continuously lowering
In the area under investigation, the current research its course at a rate of 1 m/1000 years (Said 1993).
aims to highlight various land degradation processes
using a GIS platform and remote sensing (RS) data. Material and methods
Asses human-induced land degradation and evaluate Landform mapping
loss of soil productivity, which is considered as a degrad- Collection of data sources includes soil map of Egypt
ation factor meaningful to desertification caused by land (ASRT 1982), topographic-sheets (scale 1:25,000), and a
mismanagement and human influence. Detection of land Landsat-8 satellite image was used to cover the study
use/cover change technique that is used to monitor agri- area, which was acquired in August, 2016, with a path
cultural land among dates 1967–2017. The evaluation of (176) and row (39) from the (USGS) Geologic Survey
soil capability lost. archive (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/) (Fig. 2). As an
image preprocessing analysis, the image was calibrated
Study area to radiance using the inputs of image type, acquisition
Regionally, Qalubiya is one of the largest governorates, date, and time, then it was stretched using linear 2%,
which is located in the eastern side of the River Nile. Of- smoothly filtered, and their histograms were matched
ficially, Qalubiya includes eight districts, and its capital (Lillesand and Kiefer 2007). Atmospheric correction
town is called Banha. Mostly, the major activity is culti- was done, then images were mosaicked and geo-
vation, where there is some existence of industrial zones. metrically rectified using ENVI 5.1 software (ITT
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 3 of 14

Fig. 2 Landsat-8 image of the investigated area (FCC bands 7,5,3)

2009). High spatial resolution satellite data are needed for Field work
delineation of landform features, so the spatial resolution of A total of 15 soil profiles were taken to represent differ-
Landsat-8 image was enhanced through merging process of ent mapping units. The ground truth data, field survey,
the higher spatial resolution panchromatic data (band 8). soil profile morphological and pedological investiga-
This process is applied and resulting in multi-spectral data tions, and analytical data reveal the main characteris-
with high spatial resolution (14.25 m). The geomorphology tics of different land form map units.
layer was generated by the integration of contour lines ex-
tracted from the digital elevation data DEM that derived Laboratory analysis
from topo sheets integrated with SRTM 1 arc second data The field-collected representative soil samples were ana-
and the enhanced Landsat-8 image using ENVI 5.1 lyzed according to US Soil Survey Staff (2014). The
software (Dobos et al. 2002). Physiographic map of collected soil samples and auger observations were first
the study area has been produced using physio- air dried, then ground gently, and sieved through 2-mm
graphic analysis, then map legend was established sieve, where the main physical and chemical properties
according to Zink and Valenzuala (1990). were determined based on the laboratory routine
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 4 of 14

Table 1 Rating for physical vulnerability Table 3 Soil degradation classes and rates
Factor Index Class Chemical Salinization (Cs) increase in Alkalization (Ca) increase
degradation (EC) per dS/m/year in ESP%/year
Low Moderate High Very high
Climate ∑p2/p- 0–50 50–500 500–1000 > 1000 Non to slight < 0.5 < 0.5

Soil Slit%/Clay% < 0.2 0.2–0.3 0.3–0.7 > 0.7 Moderate 0.5–3 0.5–3

Topography Slope % 0–2 2–8 >8 – High 3–5 3–7

Adapted FAO (1978); p = monthly precipitation, p- = annual precipitation Very high >5 >7
Physical Compaction/increase in Water logging/increase
degradation bulk density per g/cm3/year in water table in cm/year
analysis procedures (Richard 1954; Page et al. 1982). Soil
Non to slight < 0.1 <1
classification and taxonomy was done using Soil survey
staff (2014). Worth to mention that the soil correlation Moderate 0.1–0.2 1–3
between the physiographic and taxonomic units were High 0.2–0.3 3–5
designed in order to identify the major soil sets of the Very high > 0.3 >5
studied area, after Elberson and Catalan (1987). ArcGIS Adapted FAO (1979)
10.3 was the main GIS platform used in this study.
soil degradation individually, it was possible to
Land degradation status estimate the relative extent of each type of soil
The conceptual framework applied to the work is degradation within the map unit. The following
based on a comparison study between the data ex- five categories are recognized:
tracted from the soil survey of El-Qalyubia governor- ▪ Infrequent: up to 5% of the unit is affected.
ate report RISW (1967), and the more recent ground ▪ 2-Common: 6–10% of the unit is affected.
truth data been done in 2017. In regard to the pedo- ▪ 3-Frequent: 11–25% of the unit is affected.
loical, topography features, and climatic factors that ▪ 4-Very frequent: 26–50% of the unit is affected.
are defined and described according to FAO/UNEP ▪ 5-Dominate over: 50% of the unit is affected.
(1978, 1979) methodology for assessing soil degrad- 3- The severity level of soil degradation: the severity
ation, the natural vulnerability for each soil profile level is indicated by combination of the degree and
was evaluated and confirmed with the physiographic relative extent as shown in Table 5.
units. The rating used is presented in Tables 1 and 2) 4- Causative factors: causative factors of the
and the soil degradation classed and rates are shown different land degradation types were identified in
in Table 3. The status of soil degradation is an ex- the field and also collected from the available
pression of the process severity. The severity of the technical reports.
processes is characterized by the degree in which the
soil degraded and by the relative extent of the de- Results
graded area with in a delineated physiographic unit. Physiographic and soil map
The degradation degree, relative extent, severity level, Physiographic map of the investigated area has been
and causative factors were defined and modeled by using generated using physiographic analysis (Zinck and
the Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD) Valenzuala 1990) by combining Landsat 8 satellite image
approach (UNEP 1991) as follows: and Digital Elevation Model DEM derived from topo-
graphic maps in integration with the Shuttle Radar Top-
1- Degree of soil degradation: the criteria used to ography Mission SRTM data. According to the soil
determine the degree of degradation is illustrated in profile morphological description, sample analysis, and
Table 4.
Table 4 Criteria used to determine the degree of degradation
2- Relative extent of the degradation type: due to
types
the mapping complication of separating areas of
Critical/ Indicator Unit Class
Table 2 Rating for chemical vulnerability hazard type
Low Moderate High Very
Factor Index Class high
Low Moderate High Very high Salinization EC dS/m 4 4–8 8–16 > 16
Climate PET/(P + Q)10 < 0.1 0.1–0.3 0.3–0.5 > 0.5 Alkalization ESP % 10 10–15 15–30 > 30
Soil Texture class Clay Silt Sand – Compaction Bulk g/ 1.2 1.2–1.4 1.4–1.6 > 1.6
density Cm3
Topography Slope % 0–2 2–8 >8 –
Water Water table Cm 150 150–100 100– < 50
Adapted after FAO (1978). PET potential evapo-transpiration, p precipitation/ logging 50
year, Q irrigation water
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 5 of 14

Table 5 The severity level of soil degradation

classification, soils were classified into two main orders According to the soil taxonomy classification (Soil
(Aridisols and Entisols) and ten great groups were iden- Survey Staff 2014), studied soils could be classified as:
tified as shown in Fig. 3 and Table 6. The obtained
physiography map revealed that the island is occupied ▪ I, Typic Torripsamment (cons.)—SI, Typic
0.59% of the investigated area, while the sub-island Torripsamment (cons.)
1.12% and the levee 1.44%. The over flow mantle is oc- ▪ L, Typic Torripsamment (cons.)—O.M, Typic
cupied 14.26, the over flow basin 27.17%, the decanta- Torrifluvent (cons.)
tion basin 48.34%, the turtle backs 0.27%, and the ▪ O.M, Typic Paleargids (Assoc.)—O.B, Vertic
sequence of river terraces form 6.81%. Torrifluvent (cons.)

Fig. 3 Physiography and soil map of Qalyubia Governorate

Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 6 of 14

Table 6 Physiographic and soil map legend of the investigated area

Landscape Relief Lithology/origin Land form Mapping Profile Soil taxonomy Type of soil
unit No. sets
Flood Nile deposits Recent Islands Recent sand deposits I1 1 Typic Cons.
plain Torripsamment
Sub-recent sand deposits I2 2
Sub-recent Islands Recent sand deposits SI1 3 Typic Cons.
Torripsamment
Sub- recent sand SI2 4
deposits
Basin Levees Recent sand deposits L1 5 Typic Cons.
Torripsamment
Sub- recent sand L2 6
deposits
Over flow mantle Relatively high parts O.M1 7 Typic Torrifluvent Cons.
Relatively high parts O.M2 8 Typic Paleargids Assoc.
Over flow basin Relatively high parts O.B1 9 Vertic Torrifluvent Cons.
Relatively high parts O.B2 10 Typic Natrargids Assoc.
Decantation basin Relatively high parts D.B1 11 Typic Torrifluvent Cons.
Relatively high parts D.B2 12 Typic Torrifluvent Cons.
Turtle backs Complex T.B 13 Typic Cons.
Torripsamment
River Sequence of river The highest river terraces T1 14 Vertic Torrifluvent Cons.
terraces terraces
The lowest river terraces T2 15 Vertic Torrifluvent Cons.
Cons. consociation, assoc. association

Table 7 Physical and chemical degradation classes according to the natural factors
Profile Mapping Physical degradation Chemical degradation
No. unit
C S T Value Class C S T Value Class
1 I1 1.0 1.90 1 0.22 High 0.21 0.3 1 0.07 Slight
2 I2 1.0 1.88 1 0.21 High 0.21 0.3 1 0.07 Slight
3 SI1 1.0 1.83 1 0.21 High 0.21 0.2 1 0.06 Slight
4 SI2 1.0 1.81 1 0.21 High 0.21 0.2 1 0.06 Slight
5 L1 1.0 1.80 1 0.20 Mod. 0.21 0.1 1 0.05 Slight
6 L2 1.0 1.75 1 0.20 Mod. 0.21 0.1 1 0.05 Slight
7 O.M1 1.0 0.91 1 0.10 Mod. 0.21 0.6 1 0.10 Mod.
8 O.M2 1.0 0.90 1 0.10 Mod. 0.21 0.5 1 0.10 Mod.
9 O.B1 1.0 0.69 1 0.07 Slight 0.21 1 1 0.21 High
10 O.B2 1.0 0.67 1 0.07 Slight 0.21 1 1 0.21 High
11 D.B1 1.0 0.58 1 0.05 Slight 0.21 1.2 1 0.22 High
12 D.B2 1.0 0.51 1 0.05 Slight 0.21 1.2 1 0.22 High
13 T.b 1.0 1.90 1 0.2 Mod 0.21 0.3 1 0.07 Slight
14 T1 1.0 1.45 1 0.14 Mod. 0.21 0.3 1 0.07 Slight
15 T2 1.0 1.12 1 0.11 Mod. 0.21 0.3 1 0.07 Slight
Slight (< 0.1), moderate (0.1–0.2), High > (0.2); C climate, S soil, T topography
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 7 of 14

Fig. 4 Natural vulnerability map

▪ O.B, Typic Natrargids (Assoc.)—D.B, Typic The physiographic and soil map legend of the investi-
Torrifluvent (Cons.) gated area is shown in Table 6.
▪ T.B, Typic Torripsamment (Assoc.)—T, Vertic
Torrifluvent (Cons.) Land degradation assessment
Natural vulnerability
Vulnerability means the potential to be harmed. Nat-
ural vulnerability encompasses the conditions deter-
Table 8 Relative extent (%) of the natural vulnerability classes in mined by physical, social-economic, and environmental
the study area processes that increase the susceptibility of a land to
Mapping Area Relative extent % the impact of natural hazards (UNISDR 2009). In
unit acre principle, the agricultural land in Egypt is characterized
Physical degradation Chemical degradation
Slight Moderate High Slight Moderate High by being among the most intensive agricultural use sys-
I 861.39 0.2 18.0 81.8 88.5 11.4 0.1
tems; it may reach three crop rotations a year accord-
ing to the Egyptian crop calendar followed. These have
SI 1642.76 0.9 20.9 78.2 80.6 19.2 0.2
contributed to the excessive cultivation of land, with
L 2116.80 2.2 79.5 18.3 79.8 19.8 0.4 the consequence of poor crop production. This misuse
O.M 20,913.82 1.3 75.6 23.1 1.6 80.1 18.3 practice has not only negative effect on areas of the
O.B 39,841.59 78.1 21.5 0.4 0.2 23.9 75.9 fertile land but also decrease the overall agro-exports
D.B 70,893.74 83.9 16.0 0.1 – 15.1 84.9 from vegetables and fruits and hence add a lot of bur-
T.B 391.48 – 19.9 80.1 – 8.6 91.4
den on the Egyptian economy.
The natural vulnerability and its relative extent per-
T 9991.79 8.9 76.4 14.7 79.4 20.4 0.2
centage of different mapping units in the area under
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 8 of 14

Table 9 Changes of the main land characteristics

Profile Mapping Depth of water table level (cm) Bulk densitya ECa ds/m ESPa %
No. unit g/cm3
1967 2017 1967 2017 1967 2017 1967 2017
1 I1 100 65 1.10 1.12 2.62 4.31 8.7 10.1
2 I2 110 80 1.10 1.13 .3.24 4.00 9.0 11.3
3 SI1 100 70 1.13 1.14 3.00 4.21 8.4 10.2
4 SI2 100 80 1.15 1.16 3.72 5.10 8.1 9.6
5 L1 110 75 1.12 1.15 3.18 6.19 9.2 11.3
6 L2 100 65 1.14 1.15 4.00 6.18 9.1 11.2
7 O.M1 120 100 1.30 1.35 5.31 9.21 9.0 15.0
8 O.M2 130 100 1.27 1.31 6.00 10.41 10.6 15.8
9 O.B1 120 90 1.29 1.35 6.49 11.23 15.0 16.1
10 O.B2 120 100 1.26 1.29 7.24 10.17 15.9 19.8
11 D.B1 110 90 1.24 1.42 5.14 9.16 15.8 19.3
12 D.B2 120 70 1.30 1.46 6.25 9.00 15.4 17.9
13 T.B 150 125 1.16 1.17 3.90 6.91 14.5 15.3
14 T1 120 100 1.18 1.19 2.81 4.83 9.4 11.4
15 T2 110 95 1.15 1.18 3.19 5.20 7.8 10.1
a
Calculated till the depth to 100 cm

investigation are illustrated in Table 7 and Fig. 4. The percentage of organic matter. In addition, the map units
obtained data elucidated that soil of the map units (I, SI, (I, SI, L, O.M, T.B, and T) exposed a chemical degrad-
L, O.M, T.B, and T) have a physical degradation ranging ation risk ranging from slight to moderate. Moreover,
from moderate to high risk. In turn, the physical high units (O.B and D.B) exhibit a high chemical degradation
risk degradation type is related to high content of silt risk due to high evapotranspiration value compared with
fraction and low percentage of soil organic matter. the actual received amount of precipitation and irriga-
Nevertheless, soils of (O.B and D.B) have a slight phys- tion water. The relative extent percentage (%) of the nat-
ical degradation related to low content of silt and high ural vulnerability classes are presented in Table 8.

Table 10 Land degradation rates in the different mapping units of the study area
Profile No. Mapping unit Water logging Compaction Salinization Alkalization
1 I1 2 1 1 1
2 I2 1 1 1 1
3 SI1 1 1 1 1
4 SI2 1 1 1 1
5 L1 2
6 L2 1 1 1 1
7 O.M1 1 1 1 1
8 O.M2 1 1 1 1
9 O.B1 1 1 1 1
10 O.B2 1 1 1 1
11 D.B1 1 1 1 1
12 D.B2 1 1 1 1
13 T.B 1 1 1 1
14 T1 1 1 1 1
15 T2 1 1 1 1
Where: 1 = low, 2 = moderate, 3 = high
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 9 of 14

Table 11 Relative extent (%) of the land degradation types

Main Area Water logging (depth of water table (cm) Compaction (bulk density) (g/cm3) Salinization EC (dS/m) Alkalization (ESP %)
mapping (acres)
> 100 100–75 75–50 < 1.2 1.2–1.35 1.35–1.50 <4 4–8 8.16 < 15 15–25 25–35
unit
I 861.39 4.41 53.81 41.78 60.12 39.88 – 61.29 38.71 – 89.16 10.84 –
SI 1642.76 8.23 59.13 32.64 51.43 48.57 – 70.82 29.18 – 90.21 9.79 –
L 2116.80 19.80 51.03 29.17 54.90 45.10 – 8.19 90.58 1.23 82.14 17.86 –
O.M 20,913.82 39.22 58.09 2.69 32.70 59.13 8.17 4.82 63.58 31.60 77.21 22.79 –
O.B 39,841.59 42.17 54.65 3.18 21.16 64.02 14.82 1.20 56.98 41.82 58.8 41.2 –
D.B 70,893.74 26.17 62.54 11.29 – 77.84 22.16 0.80 50.02 49.18 46.19 53.81 –
T.B 391.48 75.84 24.16 – 51.62 48.38 – 65.29 34.51 0.20 83.31 16.69 –
T 9991.79 76.28 23.72 – 54.11 45.89 – 61.11 38.49 0.40 80.26 19.74 –

Human-induced land degradation Land degradation rate

Definitely, human-induced land degradation is an ac- The rate of land degradation was estimated
tual increasing problem. Growth of population, agri- though a tabular comparison of the main land
cultural pressure, unsustainable management of characteristics in (1967) and (2017) (Table 9).
natural resources, as well as increasing amounts of The degradation rate for each mapping unit was
harmful chemicals added to the environment all lead classified to slight as shown in Table 10. The
to severe land degradation. This phenomenon has to data revealed that the rate of salinization, alkali-
be considered from different prospective, e.g., agrar- zation, and compaction are slight. The annual in-
ian, economic, cultural, and social conditions. The crease of the soil electrical conductivity (ECe),
GLASOD approach is a first attempt to generate real exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), and bulk
maps on the status of human-induced land degrad- density were reached to (0.1 dS/m), (0.2%), and
ation (UNEP 1991). (0.01 g/cm3) respectively. In the study area, the rate of
The human-induced land degradation in the studied water logging is slight to moderate as the maximum in-
areas were assessed throughout the identification of rate, crease of water table is (1.7 cm/year).
degree, relative extent, causative factors, and severity
level of each type of land degradation (water logging, Degree of land degradation
compaction, salinization, and alkalization) for the differ- The measured values of ECe, ESP, bulk density and
ent mapping units as follow. water table depth are presented in range between (4.00–

Table 12 Causative factors of human-induced land degradation types

Profile No. Mapping unit Water logging Compaction Salinization Alkalization
1 I1 i/d/o – – –
2 I2 i/d/o – – o
3 SI1 i/d/o – – –
4 SI2 i/d/o o – o
5 L1 i/d/o o o –
6 L2 i/d/o o o o
7 O.M1 i/o m/o mi mi
8 O.M2 i/o m/o mi mi
9 O.B1 i/o m/o mi mi
10 O.B2 i/o m/o mi mi
11 D.B1 i/o m/o mi/o mi/o
12 D.B2 i/o m/o mi/o mi/o
13 T.B – – mi mi
14 T1 – – – –
15 T2 – – o o
Where i: over irrigation, mi: poor management of irrigation scheme, m: improperly timed used of heavy machinery, d: human intervention in natural drainage, o:
other activities which include shorting of the follow periods and the absence of conservation measurements
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 10 of 14

Fig. 5 Land degradation causative factors over the study area

11.23 dS/m), (9.6–19.8%), (1.123–1.46 g/cm3), and (65– its flexibility; it allows for modification to accommo-
125 cm) in the order already mentioned. The hazards of date indicators of land degradation.
land degradation types differ from low to moderate.
Causative factors of human-induced land degradation
Relative extent of land degradation In the area under investigation, the main causative
The relative extent percentage of each type of hu- factors of human-induced land degradation types are
man induced land degradation was estimated based mentioned in Table 12 and Fig. 5. Taken into account
upon the correlation between land physiography the environmental factors and processes that would
and soils in the various mapping units as illustrated occur without human interference, the soil degrad-
in Table 11. ation is resulted when soils are not properly managed,
misused, or inefficient utilized. The main types of
Discussion human-induced land degradation are salinization,
Interpretation and identification of degraded areas by alkalization, soil compaction, and water logging; these
analysis of satellite image data and modeling are types are affected as follow:
considered initial steps to address land degradation
issues in Qalyubia Governorate. The GLASOD model – Salinization and alkalization: the human-induced
adapted for this research is competent in terms of salinization and alkalization could result from three
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 11 of 14

Table 13 Land degradation severity level in the study area

Profile Mapping Water logging Compaction Salinization Alkalization
No. unit
D E SL D E SL D E SL D E SL
1 I1 3 4 3.4 very high 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low
2 I2 3 3 3.3 high 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low 2 2 2.2 moderate
3 SI1 3 4 3.4 very high 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low
4 SI2 3 3 3.3 high 1 5 1.5 low 2 2 2.2 moderate 2 2 2.2 moderate
5 L1 3 4 3.4 very high 1 5 1.5 low 2 4 2.4 high 1 5 1.5 low
6 L2 3 3 3.3 high 1 5 1.5 low 2 4 2.4 high 2 2 2.2 moderate
7 O.M1 2 2 2.2 moderate 2 4 2.4 high 2 4 2.4 high 2 2 2.2 moderate
8 O.M2 2 2 2.2 2 4 2.4 2 4 2.4 1 5 1.5
moderate high high low
9 O.B1 2 4 2.4 high 2 4 2.4 high 2 4 2.4 high 2 4 2.4 high
10 O.B2 2 4 2.4 high 2 4 2.4 high 2 4 2.4 high 2 4 2.4 high
11 D.B1 2 4 2.4 high 2 5 2.5 very high 2 5 2.5 very high 2 5 2.5 very high
12 D.B2 2 4 2.4 high 2 5 2.5 very high 2 5 2.5 very high 2 5 2.5 very high
13 T.B 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low 2 2 2.2 moderate 2 2 2.2 moderate
14 T1 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low 2 4 2.4 high 1 5 1.5 low
15 T2 1 5 1.5 low 1 5 1.5 low 2 4 2.4 high 1 5 1.5 low
D degree, E extent, SL severity level

causes. First, it can be the result of poor manage- regions with an excessive use of groundwater,
ment of irrigation schemes. A high salt content of but can also occur in closed basin with aquifers
the irrigation water or too little attention given to of different salt content. Worth to mention that
the drainage status of irrigated field that can easily a third type happens where human activities lead
lead to rapid salinization and/or alkalization prob- to an increase in evapo-transpiration of soil
lems. This type of salt accumulation mainly oc- moisture in land of high salt-containing parent
curs under arid and semi-arid condition. Second, materials or with saline ground water. In the
salinization and/or alkalization will occur if sea study area of Qalyubia governorate, the causes of
water or fossil saline ground water bodies in- soil salinization could be due to the interactions
trude onto agricultural lands and intrude the of various factors: limited available supply of irri-
groundwater reserves and reservoirs of good gation water, shallow groundwater table, water
quality. This sometimes happens in the coastal salinity, poor drainage conditions, parent mater-
ial, topography, poor management, and climatic
Table 14 Land degradation status in the different mapping unit
factors (high temperature, high evaporation rate,
Mapping unit Land degradation status and humidity action) (Fig. 5). These factors were
I (Pw i/d/o 3,4) (Ca o 2,2) captured in questionnaires administered during
SI (Pw i/d/o 3,4) (Cs o 2,2) (Ca o 2,2) the field study.
L (Pw i/d/o 3,3) (Cs o 2,4) (Ca o 2,2) – Compaction: this mainly occurs in the soils
O.M (Pw i/ o 2,2) (Pc m/o 2,4) (Cs mi 2,4) (Ca mi 2,4) with a low physical structural stability, under
the improper human activities. In the studied
O.B (Pw i/ o 2,4) (Pc m/c 2,4) (Cs mi 2,4) (Ca mi 2,4)
areas, soil compaction resulted from inexpedient
D.B (Pw i/ o 2,4) (Pc m/o 2.5) (Cs mi/o 2,5) (Ca mi 2,5)
management and improperly timed use of heavy
T.B (Cs mi 2,2) (Ca mi 2,2) machinery, misapply of irrigation, absence of
T (Cs o 2,4) conservative measurements, shortage of the
The first two letters = degradation types as, Pw physical degradation/water fallow period, and an excessive application of
logging, Pc physical degradation/soil compaction, Cs chemical degradation/ harmful chemical fertilizers. This is a major
salinization, Ca chemical degradation/alkalization
The following one or two letters = causative factors as, I over irrigation, d observed degradation characteristic in the study
human intervention in natural drainage, m improperly time use of heavy area, which in return would decrease the yield
machinery, mi poor management of irrigation scheme, o other activities
The first digit = degree of land degradation; the second digit = relative extent
and compact the soil, making it difficult to till
of degradation the land. As the soil becomes compacted,
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 12 of 14

Fig. 6 Status of land degradation over Qalyubia governorate

aeration becomes limited; hence, such lands Status of land degradation

become less suitable for farming. The obtained data of degradation rate, degree, extent,
– Water logging: human intervention in the causative factors, and the severity levels in the different
natural drainage systems by the misuse of mapping units of the studied area are shown in Table 14
irrigation water quality may lead to flooding and Fig. 6.
especially in heavy clay soils. Over irrigation,
inefficient drainage system, and destruction of Conclusion
subsurface drainage networks (in some parts) Agricultural land experience rapid changes due to natural
are the main causes of water logging in the and manmade factors. Monitoring these changes is essen-
considered areas. tial for sustainable planning, resource management, and
updating geospatial information systems. In general, the
agricultural soils in Qalyubia governorate are character-
Severity level ized by quite good soil productivity. Soil units of the study
The severity level of land degradation is indicated by a area have a low degradation rate for different types of
combination of the degradation degree and relative ex- human-induced factors due to the less change in land
tent of degradation types (Table 13). characteristics in the last 50 years. This is obtained from
Kawy and Darwish Bulletin of the National Research Centre (2019) 43:70 Page 13 of 14

monitoring changes in land characteristics during the time Author details

1
period of 1967 and 2017. The integration of remote sens- Soils Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza,
Egypt. 2Land and Water Technologies Department, Arid Lands Cultivation
ing data and GIS utilities would provide a more precise in- Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications
formation on observing the nature and spatial distribution (SRTA-City), Borg Al-Arab, Alexandria, Egypt.
of land use/cover changes and in elaborating the degrad-
Received: 8 January 2019 Accepted: 25 March 2019
ation degree. In regard to the present values of soil depth,
bulk density, electric conductivity ECe, and exchangeable
sodium percentage ESP, the soil units are threatening by a
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