- Processes of desertification : soil dynamics and geomorphology

Context and objectives

- To monitor the urban encroachment on the fertile land, one of the most severe forms of the land degradation in the Western Nile Delta.
- To investigate the relationship between the depth of the ground water table and the electrical conductivity of the soil paste in situ.

Project outcome

Expected scientific results

For 15 comparable case studies, the results of the image classification of the settlement area showed a high correlation with the built up area and the population size as given in the official census data.
By means of supervised image classification techniques it was possible to map the saline and waterlogged soils. Models were built to allow to do prediction of the situation of water logging and salinity when the micro-topography, the underlying clay layers, the irrigation channels end the master drains are digitised and stored in a GIS.

Location: Region:
  • Nile delta

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