Unifying regional soil maps at different scales to generate a national soil map for the United Arab Emirates applying digital soil mapping techniques

Figures & data

Figure 1. Location of the United Arab Emirates.

Figure 2. Overlapping boundaries between Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Northern Emirates maps.

Figure 3. Dubai soil map before generalization, feature editing, and processing.

Figure 4. Dubai soil map after generalization, feature editing, and processing.

Figure 5. Dubai soil map with Torripsamments divided into 3 relief classes: low (<5 m), medium (5-10 m), and high (>10 m).

Figure 6. Soil map of the Northern Emirates (EAD, 2012).

Figure 7. Soil map of Abu Dhabi Emirate (EAD, 2009).

Figure 8. Joining the boundaries of the three soil maps to create one national soil map.

Table 1. Overall compatability percentage between relief map and Torripsamments (TTP) in soil maps of Abu Dhabi and Northern Emirates.

Relief type	Low relief (0-5 m)			Medium relief (5-10 m)			High relief (>10 m)			Overall Compatibility %
Emirate	In relief map	TTP in soil map	Compatibility %	In relief map	TTP in soil map	Compatibility %	In relief map	TTP in soil map	Compatibility %
Abu Dhabi (ha)	77041.1	87971.7	87.6	73628.7	110277.6	66.8	485070.1	844095.2	57.5	70.6
Northern Emirates (ha)	8026.2	10860.8	73.9	10706.9	11361.5	94.2	145.2	208.4	69.7	79.3
Overall Compatibility %			80.7			80.5			63.6	74.9

Table 2. Area (ha) and percentages of each great group in the UAE and within each Emirate.

Map Unit	Total UAE		Abu Dhabi		Dubai		Sharjah		Ajman		UAQ		RAK		Fujairah
	Hectare	%	Hectare	%	Hectare	%	Hectare	%	Hectare	%	Hectare	%	Hectare	%	Hectare	%
Aquisalids	196117	2.8	180,296	91	9,090	5	1,649	1	0	0	3,069	2	1,794	1	218	0
Calcigypsids	14181	0.2	14,181	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Haplocalcids	118861	1.7	23,358	20	0	0	59,238	50	0	0	0	0	21,896	18	14,370	12
Haplocambids	13803	0.2	0	0	0	0	146	1	0	0	0	0	13,525	98	131	1
Haplogypsids	71518	1.0	71,518	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Haplosalids	381692	5.4	381,692	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Petrocalcids	2196	0.1	2,196	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Petrogypsids	276847	3.9	176,586	64	100,221	36	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Torriorthents	62127	0.9	34,298	55	24	0	3,206	5	2,231	4	0	0	9,292	15	13,076	21
Torripsamments - low relief (<5 m)	1364956	19.5	1,135,576	83	106,866	8	71,628	5	6,246	1	27,350	2	17,252	1	39	0
Torripsamments - medium relief (5-10 m)	1115679	16.0	898,619	81	124,130	11	59,257	5	113	0	21,554	2	11,986	1	21	0
Torripsamments - high relief (>10 m)	2763840	39.5	2,723,995	99	979	0	17,895	1	288	0	8,191	0	11,839	0	652	0
Miscellaneous units	255153	3.6	184,409	72	35,830	14	18,300	7	6,966	3	5,356	2	3,696	2	595	0
Rock outcrops	33830	0.5	29,662	88	0	0	2,458	7	57	0	0	0	382	1	1,271	4
Mountains	331776	4.7	4,360	1	7,203	2	25,785	8	8,286	3	0	0	149,141	45	137,002	41
Grand Total (ha)	7002575		5,860,745		384,343		259,602		24,188		65,520		240,803		167,373
UAQ = Umm Al Quwain Emirate, RAK = Ras Al Khaimah Emirate.

EAD . 2012 . “ A set of 3 volumes including soil maps ” . In Soil Survey of the Northern Emirates , Abu Dhabi : Environment Agency .

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EAD . 2009 . Soil Survey of Abu Dhabi Emirate – Extensive Survey , Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates, Volume 1, 506 pp . ISBN 978-9948-408-37-6

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