Study the Variations of Agricultural Land Degradation in Zawiyat Al-Dhban District (Abu Falis) within the Arid Environment of Anbar Governorate
Authors: AlEnezia Ahmed Farhan , Alalwanya Abdulkarem A. , Al-Falahi M. N. A. , Salima Saifuldeen A. 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
A survey study was conducted on the lands of Zawiyat al-Dhaban district (Abu Falis) and calculated some physical and chemical characteristics and the state of fertile soil in an area of 3,926 square dunums, which is part of the flood plain of the Euphrates River, which is one of the advanced and promising provinces in Anbar Governorate, which was long ago a food basket that provides the people The region has various vegetable and fruit crops, but a rapid deterioration occurred in that province and the neighboring provinces, The human being has an important role in the process of changing these soils through the state of urban sprawl on agricultural soils of that province and the removal of irrigation and drainage canals, which led to an increase in the deterioration of its qualities and a decrease in its agricultural areas and increase Salt accumulations in it, the study area is located between longitude 43°30’0"-43°33’45" east and 33°22’30"-33°24’45"North, the study aims to create maps of temporal variances from the year 2000 to 2020, using remote sensing techniques, classifying them, and creating a predictive soil map for the salinity distributions in those soils, using the free-lance method, scenes from the satellite images of the US Landsat satellite were used. You will be obtained from sensors (ETM, TM) to characterize urban areas, vegetation layer, saline land, etc., for the years 2000-2020, depending on Program (ARCGIS-V9.1), (ARCGIS-V10) optical spectrum analyzes using the method Data-oriented classification, the study dealt with soil salinity in detail as it reflects the suitability of the soil for growing crops with a value of <2 dS.m-1 under the (USDA2017.soil survey manual). Handbook No. 18), the soil units were represented in 10 sites where a complete description of them was made and some physical and chemical characteristics of the soil samples were estimated. The results showed that a serious deterioration occurred within the years of comparison, where the plant area varied from 2826.7 to 2021.8 dun.2 by 72.0 to 51.5% for the years 2000. -2020, respectively, the area of saline soils is from 1052.1 to 1743.1 dun.2 by 26 to 44.4% for the years 2000-2020 respectively, while the area of urban expansion is from 47.1 to 160.9 dun.2, by 1.2 to 4.1% for the years 2000-2020 respectively. It was found, through the survey of the provincial soils, that about 14.1%, with a total area of 553.5 dun.2, its salinity range was 1.2-2.6 dS.m-1of the area of Zawiyat Dhban district. And in order to improve the production capacity of the province’s soils, the study recommends implementing practical measures that must be taken related to managing these soils, the most important of which is the immediate cessation of the operations of converting agricultural lands into urban areas, which is considered to be the destruction of the ecosystem, food security, and the violation of human rights. The right of future generations to deprive them of the best agricultural lands in those areas, and to follow careful soil management practices soils Residual of soils follow a fertilization plan to increase the amount of beneficial elements for plant growth in addition to using new irrigation methods. In order to suit the soil for cultivation in those regions.