Soil survey report to help authorities maximise land use

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Government has completed a Dh42 million soil survey, which was initiated in 2006, to produce a comprehensive report, including soil maps, to help authorities in land use planning and agricultural expansion.

The Abu Dhabi Soil Survey Report, the result of joint efforts of Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), will be unveiled on Monday, officials have announced.

Soil survey is an important tool in avoiding inappropriate or sub-optimal use of land and natural resources that could lead to waste of effort and money, and possible provocation of environmental destruction and degradation, Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD, said.

The survey achieved a number of objectives: developed soil maps for Abu Dhabi; identified areas for potential irrigated agricultural use; presented a range of maps derived from the survey data that could be used for development planning and decision making; developed an online soil database; and initiated a soil archive that could be used for future research and education.

The report carries valuable information for land-use planning and particularly for the sound development of agriculture, sustainable management of natural resources, and environmental protection, he said.

‘Valuable information'

"One such valuable information is the identification of 400,000 hectares of land in the emirate as best suitable for agriculture out of the total area of 5.5 million hectares", Dr Faisal Taha, Director of the Scientific Committee at ICBA, told Gulf News.

"Water resources at these 400,000 hectares were also identified. This means we can now combine good land with good water. This will bring down the costs significantly."

More importantly it will help the water conservation efforts, since agriculture accounts for 60 per cent of the water requirement in the emirate, he added.

The report will be presented at an international conference on Soil Classification and Reclamation of Degraded Lands in Arid Environments (ICSC 2010) organised by EAD and ICBA from May 17 to 19.

"Scientists have been studying soil since the 1890's and it plays a vital role in our Earth's ecosystem. Without soil, human life would be very difficult. Arid climates, such as the one we experience in the UAE, give rise to soils that contain variable amounts of easily soluble components such as calcium carbonate or gypsum that is left behind after evaporation of water from the soil. These soils are fragile and easily degraded," Al Mansouri said.

Users of the survey can interpret geo-referenced information to predict soil behaviour under different land-use planning scenarios.

Quick take: What is soil survey?

A soil survey is a multi-purpose, science-based inventory of soil resources.

It generates important information about precious soil resources, a major prerequisite for land-use planning and sustainable development.

Without this important tool, inappropriate or sub-optimal use of land and natural resources may occur, leading to wasted effort and money, and possibly the provocation of environmental destruction and degradation.

— Source: EAD