Affiliation:
1. National Research Centre
2. Land Reclamation & Drilling Manager in Savola Food Group Alexandria United Company for Land Reclamation (AUCR)
3. Assuit University
Abstract
Abstract
From the reclaimed land W-the western desert road, W-Mallawi district, El Minya Governorate of Egypt, sixteen soil samples were taken. The samples were physically and chemically analyzed in the USA, to evaluate the purity of the soil and its extracts using a variety of indices, including the soil quality index (SQI), sodium absorption ratio (SAR), base saturation percentage (BS%), summation pollution indexes (Psum), and the comprehensive ecological risk index (RI), which was also compared with guidelines from the food and agriculture organization (FAO). The findings indicate that (1) the pH changed from weakly to moderately alkaline, controlling the adsorption and heavy metal (HM) immobilization. (2) Soils are classified as calcareous if their CaCO3% content is greater than5%, with salinities varying from non-saline to moderately salty. (3) texture of 75% of the soil samples was clay, 25% was clay loam, Kaolinite minerals represented 25% of soil samples, and 75% of samples were montmorillonite minerals, depending on the relation of cation exchange capacity (CEC) with soils. (4) The predominance of SO4, Cl, & Ca is due to the degradation of carbonate and evaporite minerals in soil extracts. (5) exceeding N & P-compounds in extracts indicated the role of phosphate fertilizers, which added to the improvement of soil fertility. (6) Based on SQI readings, soil quality varied from poor to marginal, SAR revealed that there was no risk associated with sodium levels in soils, and according to BS percentages, soil fertility is low. (7) HM Contents had a low influence in soil extracts based on Psum & IR values. (8) Agriculture was more extensive in 2018 and 2020 than in 2022, which could mean that there was no farming throughout this growing season or harvest. (9) Due to the low fertility of the soil in the research location, it was advised not to apply phosphate fertilizers, which causes HM contamination in those soils that affect both animal and human health. Capsule: The Soil in the research sites were newly reclaimed as its quality is pivotal for agriculture.
Publisher
Research Square Platform LLC
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