THE EFFECT OF AGRICULTURAL EXPLOITATION ON THE SPATIAL VARIANCE OF SOIL SEPARATIONS IN THE AL-SIDDAH AREA USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS GIS.

The research aims to study the physical properties of the volumetric distribution of soil separations (sand, silt and clay) and soil texture and the study area was chosen in the Sadat Al-Hindiya sub-district in central Iraq within the middle Euphrates region south of Baghdad in the Babylon province. It is located in the southwest of the Al-Musayyib district, 12 km away from the city of Hilla, 25 km away. The area of the area included in the study is 627.79 hectares and is confined between longitudes 437247 to 438810 east and latitudes 3612720 to 3620047 north. Its coordinates were determined by the GPS system and revealed 8 pedons, including six pedons cultivated with fruits, vegetables, grains and pedons to soils left uncultivated for control, as for the total number of samples in that area, there was 32 samples for four different depths representing the study area (30-0), (60-30), (90-60) and (120-90) cm. The laboratory results showed that there were variations in the physical traits, where the silt content was the most variable, then followed by clay and then sand, soil use. As for the content of separated clay, the results of the study indicated that its distribution was similar to that of silt and the distribution of clay in this pattern is due to the nature of sedimentation, agricultural operations and the type of use in the soil. The study also showed that the sand was the least variable, as the distribution of sand in the horizons of the pedons depends on the nature of sedimentation in the area and the type of soil use for agriculture. As the distribution of soil separations changes slightly due to irrigation water and the transfer of fine particles from clay and silt to the lower horizons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]