Abstract

In the last few years, the agricultural sector in Syria has suffered from major problems related to land degradation. To cope with this problem, a land suitability assessment has become an essential tool for sustainable land use management. The present research qualitatively evaluated the suitability of land in the Al-Yarmouk Basin (S-Syria) for rainfed winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivation. In this study, a regional spatial approach involving three steps was developed, based on the method proposed by Sys et al. In the first step, a soil survey was carried out and 107 soil profiles were described, sampled and analyzed. In the second step, climatic gridded datasets from 1984–2014 MRm at a high spatial resolution (30 meters) and the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) were clipped from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and prepared for the study area. In the third step, a land suitability assessment was performed using the geographical information system (GIS) and multi criteria decision support (MCDS). Soil survey outcomes showed that the study area was dominated by five soil orders: Mollisols, Inceptisols, Vertisols, Entisols and Aridisols. Also, results from the Sys model illustrated that more than 23.8% of the study area is highly suitable (S1–0) for wheat production without any limitations, whereas 38.7% and 37.5% are highly suitable (S1–1) and moderately suitable (S2), respectively. Also, the study emphasizes the important role of topographical factors in the study area for wheat cultivation. All in all, this research suggests W-Syria as a potential region for wheat cultivation, instead of the eastern area which is subject to climate change and a shortage of water. Integrating the Sys-approach and the GIS framework offers a good tool for policy-makers to apply in Syria for land suitability assessments.

摘要

在过去的几年里，叙利亚的农业部门遭受了与土地退化有关的重大问题。为了解决这个问题，土地适宜性评估已成为可持续土地利用管理的重要工具。本研究定性评估了 Al-Yarmouk 盆地 (S-Syria) 土地对雨育冬小麦 ( Triticum aestivum ) 的适宜性。) 栽培。在本研究中，基于 Sys 等人提出的方法，开发了一种涉及三个步骤的区域空间方法。第一步，进行了一次土壤调查，对 107 个土壤剖面进行了描述、采样和分析。第二步，从 NASA 的航天飞机雷达地形任务 (SRTM) 中截取 1984-2014 年 MRm 的高空间分辨率（30 米）气候网格数据集和数字高程模型（DEM），并为研究区域做准备。第三步，利用地理信息系统（GIS）和多标准决策支持（MCDS）进行土地适宜性评估。土壤调查结果表明，研究区域以五个土壤顺序为主：Mollisols、Inceptisols、Vertisols、Entisols 和 Aridisols. 此外，Sys 模型的结果表明，超过 23.8% 的研究区域非常适合（S1-0）小麦生产，没有任何限制，而 38.7% 和 37.5% 的区域非常适合（S1-1）和中等适合（S1-1）和中等适合（S1-1）。 S2），分别。此外，该研究强调了地形因素在研究区小麦种植中的重要作用。总而言之，这项研究表明西叙利亚是小麦种植的潜在地区，而不是受气候变化和水资源短缺影响的东部地区。将 Sys 方法与 GIS 框架相结合，为决策者在叙利亚申请土地适宜性评估提供了一个很好的工具。