728 Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, Vol.7 (3&4), July-October 2009 www.world-food.net Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment Vol.7 (3&4) : 728-733. 2009 WFL Publisher Science and Technology Meri-Rastilantie 3 B, FI-00980 Helsinki, Finland e-mail: info@world-food.net Assessment of soil properties for irrigation methods in North Andimeshk Plain, Iran Ali Reza Rezania 1 , AbdAli Naseri 2 and Mohammad Albaji 2 * 1 Irrigation & Drainage Networks Design and Development, Khuzestan Water & Power Authority (KWPA), Golestan road, P. Code 61335-137, Ahwaz, Iran. 2 Irrigation and Drainage Dept., Faculty of Water Sciences Eng., Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, P.O. Box 61357-8-3151, Iran. *e-mail: a.r.rezania@gmail.com, abdalinaseri@yahoo.com, m_albaji2000@yahoo.co.uk Received 10 June 2009, accepted 7 October 2009. Abstract The main objective of this research was to compare different irrigation methods based upon a parametric evaluation system in an area of 15,193 ha in the North Andimeshk Plain located in the Khuzestan Province, in the southwest of Iran. Soil properties of the study area such as texture, depth, electrical conductivity, drainage, calcium carbonate content and slope were derived from a semi-detailed soil study carried out on the North Andimeshk Plain on a scale of 1:20,000. Once the soil properties were analyzed and evaluated, suitability maps were generated for surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation methods using Remote Sensing (RS) techniques and Geographic Information System (GIS). The obtained results showed that there was not found highly suitable lands for all the irrigation methods. The results demonstrated that by applying sprinkler irrigation instead of surface and drip irrigation methods, the land suitability of 5429 ha (35.74%) of the North Andimeshk Plain’s land could be improved substantially. However, by applying drip irrigation instead of surface and sprinkler irrigation methods, the suitability of 9764 ha (64.27%) of this plain’s land could be improved. By applying sprinkler irrigation instead of surface and drip irrigation methods, the arability of 21,250 ha (72.53%) in the Abbas Plain will improve. In addition by applying drip irrigation instead of surface and sprinkler irrigation methods, the land suitability of 6275 ha (21.42%) of this plain will improve. The comparison of the different types of irrigation techniques revealed that the drip and sprinkler irrigation methods were more effective and efficient than the surface irrigation methods for improving land productivity. Moreover, the main limiting factor in using surface and sprinkler irrigation methods in this area were soil texture, soil depth and slope. Also, the main limiting factors in using drip irrigation methods were soil calcium carbonate content, texture and depth. Key words: Surface irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, land suitability evaluation, parametric method, land units. Introduction Food security and stability in the world greatly depends on the management of natural resources. Due to the depletion of water resources and an increase in population, the extent of irrigated area per capita is declining and irrigated lands now produce 40% of the food supply 8 . Consequently, available water resources will not be able to meet various demands in the near future and this will inevitably result into the seeking of newer lands for irrigation in order to achieve sustainable global food security. Land suitability, by definition, is the natural capability of a given land to support a defined use. The process of land suitability classification is the appraisal and grouping of specific areas of land in terms of their suitability for a defined use. According to FAO methodology 7 , land suitability is strongly related to “land qualities” including erosion resistance, water availability and flood hazards which are in themselves immeasurable qualities. Since these qualities are derived from “land characteristics”, such as slope angle and length, rainfall and soil texture which are measurable or estimable, it is advantageous to use the latter indicators in the land suitability studies and then use the land parameters for determining the land suitability for irrigation purposes. Sys et al. 15 suggested a parametric evaluation system for irrigation methods which was primarily based upon physical and chemical soil properties. In their proposed system, the factors affecting soil suitability for irrigation purposes can be subdivided into four groups: physical properties determining the soil-water relationship in the soil such as permeability and available water content; chemical properties interfering with the salinity/alkalinity status such as soluble salts and exchangeable Na; drainage properties and environmental factors such as slope. Briza et al. 5 applied a parametric system 15 to evaluate land suitability for both surface and drip irrigation in Ben Slimane Province, Morocco, while no highly suitable areas were found in the studied area. The largest part of the agricultural areas was classified as marginally suitable, the most limiting factors being slope, soil calcium carbonate, sandy soil texture and soil depth 5 . Bazzani and Incerti 3 also provided a land suitability evaluation for surface and drip irrigation systems in the province of Larche, Morocco, by using parametric evaluation systems. The results showed a large difference between applying the two different evaluations. The area not suitable for surface irrigation was 29.22% of total surface and 9% with the drip irrigation while the suitable area was 19% versus 70%. Moreover, high suitability was extended on a surface of 3.29% in the former case and it became 38.96% in the latter. The main limiting factors were physical limitations such as the slope and sandy soil texture 3 . Bienvenue et al. 4 evaluated the land suitability for surface (gravity) and drip (localized) irrigation in Thies, Senegal, by using the parametric evaluation systems. Regarding surface irrigation,