Fifty Years on: Long‐term Patterns of Land Sensitivity to Desertification in Italy

The Mediterranean region has been regarded as a critical hotspot for desertification due to the impact of soil degradation, the land‐use changes and the climate variations. Few large‐scale studies have been devoted to analyse trends in land sensitivity to desertification in the northern Mediterranean basin. The present paper contributes to this deserving issue by quantifying the level of land sensitivity to desertification in Italy at seven points between 1960 and 2010 at a fine spatial scale. The approach used followed the Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme that assesses changes in four key themes (climate, soil, vegetation and land management) related to land degradation processes. Italian land was classified into four levels of sensitivity to desertification (non‐affected, potentially affected, fragile and critical) according to the Environmentally Sensitive Area framework. Interestingly, although land surface area classified as ‘fragile’ and ‘critical’ grew homogeneously in Italy between 1960 and 1990, the increase observed in the most recent time period was spatially clustered and contributed to reverse the polarisation in ‘structurally vulnerable’ and ‘non‐affected’ regions observed in Italy. The paper discussed these trends in the light of socioeconomic changes that occurred in Italy after World War II. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rationale and methods for compiling an atlas of desertification in Italy

This study presents the main results and the methodology used in the creation of the atlas of the risk of desertification in Italy. A desertified area was defined as an unproductive area for agricultural or forestry use, due to soil degradation processes. An area at risk of desertification was a tract of the earth's surface which is vulnerable or sensitive to the processes of desertification. In a vulnerable land, environmental characteristics are close to that of a desertified area, but some factors (e.g. vegetation cover or irrigation), successfully mitigate the desertification process. On the other hand, sensitive land is a surface where the process leading to desertification is active, although the land is not yet unproductive. The DPSIR (Driving force‐Pressure‐State‐Impact‐Response) framework has been adopted as a reference. Using the national soil information system and socio‐economic layers, an atlas of indicators of desertification risks was created, which was organized into different soil degradation systems. 51.8 per cent of Italy was considered to be at potential risk of desertification. Some 21.3 per cent of Italy (41.1 per cent of the area at potential risk) featured land degradation phenomena. Specifically, 4.3 per cent of Italy is already unproductive; 4.7 per cent is sensitive and 12.3 per cent is vulnerable. In the territory at potential risk of desertification, unproductive lands, plus areas vulnerable or sensitive to soil erosion, are at least the 19 per cent. Areas affected by aridity also sum up to 19 per cent. Salt‐affected soils in Italy are estimated to cover >1 million ha. Irrigation can mitigate soil aridity and salinization, nevertheless, only about 15 per cent of the sensitive and vulnerable lands of southern Italy are actually equipped with irrigation networks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黄土沟壑区小流域不同地形条件下土壤锰的形态分布及其有效性

黄土高原复杂的地形条件因改变了土壤的基本性质而成为影响土壤锰素有效性的主要原因,本文研究了黄土沟壑区不同地形条件对锰的形态分布及其有效性的影响。结果表明,研究区土壤有效锰的含量因地形条件不同差异很大,有效锰在土壤剖面呈下降趋势,在塬面土壤含量最高,沟道土壤含量最低。交换态锰在塬面、梯田土壤含量较低,在坡地和沟道土壤含量较高;塬面、梯田和坡地土壤碳酸盐结合态和有机结合态锰的含量高于沟道土壤,氧化物结合态锰的含量显著低于沟道土壤;矿物态锰以塬面土壤最低,沟道和梯田土壤较高,坡地土壤居中。土壤交换态锰是有效锰的直接来源,但因其含量低而对锰的有效性贡献很小;有机结合态锰是有效锰的潜在来源,对锰的有效性贡献最大。     

不同土地利用方式土壤化学性状与酶学指标分析

在黄河三角洲地区，由于河水携带大量泥沙在人海口淤积，每年形成一定面积的陆地。新生陆地一般营养丰富，适宜耕作．常常被开垦为耕地。由于干旱，天然降雨少，土壤蒸发量大，导致深层土壤水分沿毛细管上升，可溶性盐分离子随之上升到土壤表层，水分蒸发后，盐分离子在土壤表层积累，从而发生土壤盐渍化。进行农业耕作20年后，土壤返盐严重，不再适宜继续耕种。除此之外，还有不同的土地利用方式。本研究选择了5种利用方式，分别测定了土壤溶液电导率、N、P、K、有机质含量等营养状况以及几种土壤酶活性，结果表明：耕地（E）的土壤含盐量最低，营养水平最高，土壤酶活性也最高。草地（G）的土壤含盐量比较高，而营养水平、土壤酶活性也比较高。灌木林地（S）的土壤含盐量比较高，而营养水平、土壤酶活性却比较低，属于立地条件较差的地块。与盐碱荒地（U）相比，它的含盐量降低不少，而营养水平、土壤酶活性也有所改善，说明通过栽植耐盐树木，提高植被覆盖率来改良盐碱荒地是可行的。林地（F和MF）的土壤含盐量比较低，营养水平、土壤酶活性比较高。另外，刺槐与紫穗槐混交林的效果很好，一方面它们都有一定的耐盐性，另一方面都是固氮植物，能够自我积累营养。     

Rangeland Use Change to Agriculture Has Different Effects on Soil Organic Matter Fractions Depending on the Type of Cultivation

The agricultural use of natural ecosystem is increasing in the Middle East because of population growth in the most countries. The type of cultivation could affect the content of soil organic matter in the rangeland use changes into agriculture. Therefore, we compared soil organic matter fractions of semi‐arid rangelands with agricultural lands (wheat‐land, pea‐land and orchard) where have been changed from semi‐arid rangelands to agriculture 15 years before. The results showed that in general, total and particulate organic matter (TOM and POM) and total nitrogen (TN) were highest in the rangeland compared with the three‐agricultural lands in intact soil, macro‐aggregates and micro‐aggregates (p < 0·05). Nevertheless, TOM content in orchard (1·45%) was higher than the two other land uses, and there was no significant difference of TN between natural rangeland and orchard in intact soil. The highest values of POM were obtained in the rangeland (0·23%) and orchard (0·22%), and the lowest value of POM was obtained in the pea‐land (0·14%) and wheat‐land (0·08%) in macro‐aggregates. In micro‐aggregates, TOM, POM and TN were highest in the rangeland (1·77%, 0·23% and 0·19%, respectively) and showed similar pattern in the three‐agricultural lands. We discussed that compared with pea‐land and wheat‐land, orchard was received less negative impact on soil qualitative parameters in land use changes projects from rangeland into agriculture. We conclude that orchard could be a better option in rangeland use changes into agriculture compared with the other cultivations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

耕地不同利用方式下的土壤养分状况分析

以山东青州市为例，在对耕地土壤养分状况进行全面的调查分析，获取大量土壤养分数据的基础上，以数理统计方法对5种耕地利用方式下17种土壤养分状况的差异性进行分析，进而系统地探讨了耕地不同利用方式对土壤养分状况的影响。研究结果表明：耕地不同利用方式对土壤有机质及大量元素、交换性钙、镁、有效硅、锌、硼、土壤pH值和全盐含量有显著影响。由于菜地高施肥量及高产出的影响，大部分菜地土壤养分的含量明显高于粮田，但有效硅含量粮田则远高于菜地。粮田土壤pH值高于菜地，全盐含量菜地高于粮田。在旱地、水浇地粮田和露天菜地中有效磷含量变异最大，但设施菜地中全氮、有效硫含量的变异最大。研究结果对于探明耕地利用对土壤的养分状况的影响，对研究区耕地资源的合理利用与保护将具有积极意义。     

Soil-geomorphic significance of land surface characteristics in an arid mountain range,Mojave Desert,USA

Mountains comprise an extensive and visually prominent portion of the landscape in the Mojave Desert, California. Landform surface properties influence the role these mountains have in geomorphic processes such as dust flux and surface hydrology across the region. The primary goal of this study was to describe and quantify land surface properties of arid-mountain landforms as a step toward unraveling the role these properties have in soil-geomorphic processes. As part of a larger soil-geomorphic study, four major landform types were identified within the southern Fry Mountains in the southwestern Mojave Desert on the basis of topography and landscape position: mountaintop, mountainflank, mountainflat (intra-range low-relief surface), and mountainbase. A suite of rock, vegetation, and morphometric land surface characteristic variables was measured at each of 65 locations across the study area, which included an associated piedmont and playa. Our findings show that despite the variation within types, landforms have distinct land surface properties that likely control soil-geomorphic processes. We hypothesize that surface expression influences a feedback process at this site where water transports sediment to low lying areas on the landscape and wind carries dust and soluble salts to the mountains where they are washed between rocks, incorporated into the soil, and retained as relatively long-term storage. Recent land-based video and satellite photographs of the dust cloud emanating from the Sierra Cucapá Mountains in response to the 7.2-magnitude earthquake near Mexicali, Mexico, support the hypothesis that these landforms are massive repositories of dust.     

人为干预下喀斯特峡谷区不同土地利用类型对土壤理化性质的影响

[目的]探究人为干预下喀斯特峡谷区不同土地利用类型对土壤理化性质的影响,为岩溶山区的生态环境保护和可持续发展提供科学依据。[方法]以贵州省花江喀斯峡谷示范区生态系统土壤为研究区,选取典型喀斯特石漠化治理区域进行野外定点取样,通过室内分析的方法进行不同土地利用石漠化地区土壤理化性质比较研究。[结果](1)土壤含水量随着土层深度的增加递增,土壤含水量大小依次为:封山育林径流场坡改梯自然灌丛撂荒地,形成土壤水分的垂直变化;(2)经过改良后坡改梯通过种植花椒的田间持水量明显比草地含量高,相对于进行石漠化治理并合理耕作的坡改梯花椒地来说,荒草地的持水能力明显下降;(3)石漠化环境下土壤颗粒分散、土体结构破坏,土壤通透能力下降,孔隙的变化规律为:林地坡改梯灌草丛耕地撂荒地;(4)示范区土壤总钾偏高,与pH值呈正相关,总氮普遍低于全国农田氮含量,土壤养分不足。[结论]不同土地利用条件下土壤特征有显著差异,这种差异是基于不同石漠化等级下不同土地利用的治理措施造成的。花江示范区土壤持水效益低,土壤养分不足,不利于耕作,农业产量不高,建议花江示范区应减少耕地,多种植经济林和草地,保护天然林地。     

“三北”防护林地区陕西省土地利用结构调整意见

一、自然经济概况 （一）地理位置“三北”防护林地区陕西省的范围,大致是渭北高原南界以北,包括榆林、延安两地区和铜川市的全部以及渭南、咸阳、宝鸡市的一部分,共51个县（市）。大体是陕西的北半部（以下简称陕北）,地理坐标是东径106°18’—111°15’,北纬34°07’—39°35’,南北长611公里,东西宽437公里,总面积112万平方公里,占全省总面积的57%。     

Essential oil bearing aromatic plants: Their potential for sequestering carbon in marginal soils of India

Continuous rise in the atmospheric CO₂ concentration upshots the genesis of cataclysmic planetary problems such as global warming and climate change. Another critical issue which is environmentally challenging is land degradation. When productive land is poorly managed, it turns to marginal land. And further degradation of marginal land ends up to being unproductive land. On the Contrary, considerable part of depleted soil C pool can be restored through the adoption of conservation agricultural practices, unproductive land could be converted to marginal land and by its further restoration, into productive land. Aromatic plants can sustain various adverse conditions prevailing on the marginal lands. Aromatic plants require low input but the output is quite high due to the production of highvalue essential oil. The pivotal perspective of utilization of marginal lands of India for the production of aromatic plants would explore factors such as land availability, aromatic plants adaptability, C sequestration potential and economic feasibility. India is the largest exporter of essential oils and produces huge amount of aromatic spent residues, which could be converted into several valueadded products. Proficient recycle of distillation waste of aromatic plants in marginal lands will aid to sequester C in soil and enhance the biomass yield. Improvement in the livelihood of farmers especially in developing nations through rise in production and income diversification would encourage farmers to reclaim their marginal lands and accelerate their transition to aromatically cultivable lands.     

黄土丘陵林区开垦地土壤抗冲性的时间变化研究

以黄土丘陵林区 10a径流泥沙观测资料为基础 ,进行土壤抗冲试验 ,分析了林地及其开垦后不同年限土壤的抗冲性能。结果表明 ,林地具有很强的抗冲性能 ,一旦被开垦后 ,随侵蚀年限的增长 ,土壤的抗冲性呈减弱趋势 ,在 3L/min流量下 ,土壤冲刷量从侵蚀 1a的 4.0 1g/L增大到侵蚀 10a的 2 5 .5 1g/L ,加剧了土壤侵蚀发展。相关分析表明 ,土壤的抗剪强度对抗冲性影响最大 ,其次为水稳性团粒和有机质含量。因此 ,退耕还林、恢复和重建植被 ,改善土壤侵蚀环境 ,提高土壤抗冲性 ,能有效地防治土壤侵蚀。     

天山北坡经济带宜耕未利用地开发潜力分区及评价 ——以新疆阜康市为例

新疆地区拥有比较丰富的未利用地资源,合理开发利用该区域未利用地在一定程度上有助于缓解日益严峻的人地矛盾和保障区域粮食安全。本研究以阜康市为研究区域,采用生态位适宜度模型,选择土壤含盐量、土层厚度、土壤质地、有机质含量、地貌类型、林地覆盖率、灌溉保证率、土壤侵蚀模数、≥10℃积温、距离河流距离、流域地均径流量以及年均降水量共12个指标构建评价指标体系,进行未利用地开发利用适宜性评价。研究结果表明,阜康市较适宜开发耕地的未利用地(主要包括高度适宜和基本适宜)占未利用地总面积的22.21%,分布于山前冲积扇中下部和地形较为平坦的地区。勉强适宜的未利用地仅占未利用地总面积的16.36%,主要分布在北部沙漠边缘和南部山前冲积扇上部。不适宜开发利用的未利用地占未利用地总面积的61.43%,主要分布于南部的坡地、山前冲积扇边缘以及靠近北部沙漠边缘。在评价结果的基础上选择潜力指数、新增耕地潜力、乡镇未利用地面积、宜耕未利用地开发面积、宜耕未利用地比重、平均地块面积、地块破碎度等指标构成未利用地开发潜力矩阵,并利用系统聚类分析对未利用地资源进行潜力分区。结果表明,研究区可以划分为5个潜力区,Ⅰ级潜力区适宜开发未利用地的面积为21 000.97 hm2,可以新增耕地潜力为15 222.92 hm2;Ⅱ级潜力区适宜开发未利用地的面积为12 875.69 hm2,新增耕地潜力为10 155.41 hm2;Ⅲ级潜力区适宜开发未利用地的面积为5 008.84 hm2,可以新增耕地潜力为4 165.35 hm2;Ⅳ级潜力区适宜开发未利用地的面积为878.67 hm2,可以新增耕地潜力为753.78 hm2;Ⅴ级潜力区的未利用地均不适宜开发利用。潜力分区可以从时序和空间上为阜康市未利用地的开发利用提供理论参考,对未来未利用地差别化开发利用模式的探索具有一定指导意义。     

The importance of andic soils in mountain ecosystems: a pedological investigation in Italy

Andic soils have unique morphological, physical and chemical properties that induce both considerable soil fertility and great vulnerability to land degradation. In recent years there have been many reports of soils with andic properties in Non‐Volcanic Mountain Ecosystems (NVME) in different parts of the world. This paper attempts to assess the importance of andic soils in mountain ecosystems of Italy. We used the criteria of altitude (> 700 m above sea level), slope (< 12°) and active green biomass (maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NVDI) value > 0.5) for identifying sites where andic soil processes may occur in the NVME of Italy. We characterized in detail 42 soils in the areas thus identified. According to WRB (2006) the main soils are Andosols, Cambisols, Phaeozems, Umbrisols and Podzols. Despite the taxonomic diversity, the morphological, micromorphological and chemical properties indicate considerable pedological homogeneity in these soils. The most striking features are the large values of Al_o + 0.5Fe_o (as %), which is a standard index for andic soil properties ( USDA, 2006; WRB, 2006 ), but it occurs at the wrong depths for many of our soils to qualify as true Andosol/Andisols and there is little evidence of podzolization. We therefore suggest that (i) andic soils must be recognized more clearly in soil classification, particularly with respect to the depths at which andic properties are developed, and (ii) the importance of andic soils in Italian NVMEs (and possibly elsewhere in the world) has been underestimated. These soils warrant further investigation because of their agricultural potential and ecological importance.     

渭北黄土高原经济林地土壤养分特征研究

为了探明渭北黄土高原经济林地土壤养分状况及其变化规律,以主要经济林树种杏树、柿树、花椒和核桃作为研究对象,对经济林地土壤养分变化特征进行了研究.结果表明:经济林地由于受成土母质和人为干扰的作用,土壤养分含量变异范围较宽,其中养分变异范围中碱解氮的变幅最小,而速效磷最大,达74.17%;不同的经济林地土壤养分存在一定的差异性,花椒林地有机质和速效钾含量最高,杏树林地次之,柿树和核桃林地含量较低,碱解氮的变化趋势为:核桃>花椒>杏树>柿树,速效磷的变化趋势为:杏树>柿树>花椒>核桃;各种养分在剖面中的含量具有明显的层次性,表层(0-20cm)养分含量最高,随着剖面深度的增加,养分含量逐渐降低,且降低的幅度越来越小,养分具有明显的“表聚效应”;土壤养分含量之间存在一定的相关性,有机质与速效钾呈显著相关,与碱解氮呈极显著相关,碱解氮与速效钾呈极显著相关,而速效磷与其它养分变化的相关性较低,没有明显规律性;依据黄土高原土壤养分分级指标,所调查经济林土壤有机质和碱解氮处于较低水平,速效磷、速效钾含量丰富,能够满足一般树木生长的需要.     

红壤坡地降雨入渗、产流及土壤水分分配规律研究

选取农作区和荒草区两个不同利用模式下的红壤坡地，研究了降雨的入渗、产流及对土壤水分分布的影响。结果表明：（1）农作区和荒草区的径流系数都随着年限的延长而降低并达到稳定。降雨量成为影响径流量的唯一主导因素；农作区的径流系数显著高于荒草区（r〈0．05）。（2）农作区的入渗比率（入渗量／降雨量）低于荒草区；在持续降雨的情况下。农作区60cm以上土壤蓄水增量降低，但渗漏量保持不变．因此使入渗比率降低，而荒草区则在60cm以上土壤蓄水增量降低时，通过提高土壤的渗漏量保持较高的入渗比率。（3）降雨对土壤水分分布的影响受土壤初始含水量和垫面的影响。土壤初始含水量越低，降雨使土壤水分含量增量越大。在同等降雨置下，农作区只有40cm以上的土壤水分含量增加，而荒草区则为90cm以上。     

水蚀风蚀交错区土壤呼吸影响因素及其对土地利用方式变化的响应

为准确评估黄土高原水蚀风蚀交错区土壤呼吸速率季节变化影响因素及其对不同土地利用方式的响应,于2009~2012年植物生长季节,选取6 种当地典型的土地利用类型,应用红外气体分析法对土壤呼吸速率进行测定,并结合土壤水、热与养分因子进行分析。结果表明, 水蚀风蚀交错区退耕会显著改变土壤呼吸强度,该区典型农地的土壤呼吸速率为1.06～1.39 mol/（m2s）,农地转变为裸地的过程中,土壤呼吸速率下降为原来的42%～63%,尤其在植物生长旺季的7、 8、 9 三个月下降明显。 农地弃耕后建设人工草（灌木）地使土壤呼吸速率提高了109%～200%,农田撂荒样地土壤呼吸速率约为农地的79%～179%,农地略高于长芒草地和荒草地。该区土壤呼吸速率变化的主导因子为土壤温度,尤其与10 cm土层的土壤温度相关性最好,土壤呼吸速率与土壤含水量之间拟合优度较差, 但土壤温度与含水量双因子指数模型Rs=aebTc 对该地区土壤呼吸速率的拟合均优于相应的单因子模型。10 cm土层的土壤呼吸温度敏感性系数（Q10值）排序为:无植被生长样地（裸地,2.09）农地（农地、坡地农地,2.07～1.69） 撂荒地（坡地撂荒地、撂荒地、梯田撂荒地,1.71～1.53）草（灌木）地（柠条地、苜蓿地、长芒草地、荒草地,1.51～1.42）,可见随着未来气温的升高,在生态系统土壤呼吸整体有可能增加的背景下,退耕还林（草）会降低土壤呼吸对温度的敏感性,且Q10值随土壤含水量降低而降低。土壤呼吸速率与土壤有机质、全氮之间有极显著的正相关关系。因此,水蚀风蚀交错区土壤呼吸受到土壤温度、水分、养分及土地利用方式的显著影响。     

Agronomical,quality, and molecular characterization of twenty Italian emmer wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum dicoccon</Emphasis>) accessions

Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank, 2n = 4x = 28) consists in a hulled wheat; its cultivation has been drastically reduced during the last century as a consequence of its low yield. Recently, its agronomic and nutritive values, as well as the increase of popularity of organic agriculture, have led to a renewed interest making its cultivation economically viable in the marginal lands with an increase of the cultivated areas. In Italy, it mainly survives in few marginal lands of central and southern Italy, where local varieties, adapted to the natural environment from where they originate, are used; moreover, some selected lines have also been developed. In the present work, agro-morphological and qualitative traits, together with molecular analyses of 20 emmer accessions consisting of Italian landraces, breeding lines, and cultivars, were performed. The field experiments were conducted for two consecutive years (2001/2002–2002/2003) in two locations: Viterbo in central Italy, and Foggia in south Italy. The analyzed emmer wheat accessions showed a good amount of genetic variability for both evaluated agro-morphological and molecular traits. This study illustrates an increase in earliness, GY, TW, TKW, and YI going from landraces, breeding lines to cultivars, while the variability does not change proportionally.     

秸秆覆盖对冻融期土壤墒情影响试验

为了研究秸秆覆盖对冻融期土壤墒情的影响,该文设置裸地、玉米秸秆覆盖厚度为5、10和15cm的4种地表处理,进行了冻融期的土壤水分迁移试验。结果表明,冻融期秸秆覆盖的保温效应改变了土壤冻结状,使覆盖厚度15cm田块未出现冻层,覆盖厚度5和10cm地块的土壤初冻时间比裸地分别滞后16和25d,且冻层厚度较裸地减小了29和42cm。受冻融作用的影响,裸地在40cm处出现聚墒区,秸秆覆盖田块在地表处和30～50cm处出现聚墒区。冻融期内玉米秸秆覆盖厚度为5、10和15cm田块地表水分波动幅度分别比裸地减小了1.12、6.46和8.7百分点;土壤融化后其地表0-10cm土壤平均含水率分别比裸地高9.45、9.04和8.99百分点。研究成果可为季节性冻土分布区实施秸秆覆盖措施提供参考依据。     

利用地面高光谱和逐步判别法进行滨海盐土开发程度评价

At different times over the past 30 years in Zhejiang Province, China, the coastal tidelands have been successively enclosed and reclaimed for agricultural land use. The purpose of this work was to evaluate whether laboratory hyperspectral data might be used to estimate the physicochemical characteristics of these reclaimed saline soils. A coastal region of Shangyu City （Zhejiang Province）, which was grouped into four subzones according to reclamation history, was used as the study area, and soil samples were collected in each subzone. Physicochemical analyses showed that the soils were characterized by high electrical conductivity and sand content with low organic matter; the longer the saline lands had been reclaimed, the lower were the electrical conductivity and sand content and the higher the organic matter content. These changing trends of soil chemical and physical properties were found in laboratory reflectance spectra of soil samples and their first-order derivative curves. Stepwise discriminant analysis （SDA） identified six salient spectral bands at 488, 530, 670, 880, 1400, and 1900 nm. Using derived discriminant functions for saline lands with different historical years of reclamation, classification revealed an overall accuracy from a self-test of 86.6% and from cross-validation of 89.3%. Therefore, as opposed to time-consuming field investigations, this study suggested that remotely sensed hyperspectral data could serve as a promising measure to assess the reclamation levels of coastal saline lands.     

Geomorphic features and soil formation of arid lands in Northeastern Jordan

Arid and semiarid lands occupy about one-third of the Earth's land surface. Interpretation of soil formation and geomorphic features of arid lands is needed to assess their soil ecological potentials, limitations, problems and management needs. The objective of this paper was to study the geomorphic features and soil formation of the arid lands in northeastern Jordan, to provide information that could be used by land managers in the study area and other arid land areas. Five representative soil pedons were excavated and described in the field. Soil samples from each horizon per pedon were taken to the laboratory for chemical and physical analyses. Geomorphic features of the area were also studied. Most of studied land surfaces are plains where eolian deflation has exposed loose gravels consisting predominantly of pebbles forming desert pavements. Desert pavements cover most of the land surface, excluding the mud playas, and are composed of basalt clasts. The accumulation of calcium carbonate and gypsum within these soils create problems for their agricultural development. Accumulation of eolian fine-grained silt has resulted in the formation of a vesicular horizon. The climatic variations during the late quaternary and the late Holocene periods contributed to the development of the desert pavement and the vesicular horizons. Clay illuviation and argillic horizon development within these soils is assumed to be a relict feature from more humid climates during the Quaternary. Sustainable agricultural development of such arid lands may not be easy. In general, these soils have high erodibility, high runoff generation potential, high susceptibility to seal and crust formation, poor water-holding capacity, pedon hardening and structural instability.