Spatial Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon Pools in Soils from the Northeast Nile Delta, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Soils and Water, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, New Damietta, Egypt

2 Soils and Water Use Department, National Research Centre, Egypt

Abstract

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is one of the important factors in crop production and plays a critical role in climate change as it affects soil characteristics and plant growth. So, thirty-four surface soil samples (0-30 cm) over the study area were collected to estimate the spatial distribution of carbon pools in soils from the Northeast Nile Delta, Egypt using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The results indicated that the highest value of soil organic carbon (SOC) was 12.47 g kg-1 soil recorded in Eizbat Ashra location, while the lowest value was 3.73 g kg-1 soil registered in the New Damietta city location. Also, Geographical Information System (GIS) technique exhibited that the highest value of SOC occurred in the middle location, whereas the lowest content was observed in the north or south location. In addition, the highest value of soil carbon pool was 5.35 kg C m-2 occurred at Eizbat Ashra location, while the lowest value was 1.50 kg C m-2 recorded in New Damietta city location. Under the current study area, GIS technique exhibited that the soil C pool values were high in both middle and east locations, while these values decreased with a clear difference as we approached from the north, so the values became weak in the north of the study area. Also, the results exhibited the strong effect of soil properties change on organic carbon content over study areas. Finally, these findings monitoring carbon pools will provide decision makers with information on the conservation of soils from climatic changes impact along the Northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt

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