Preface
Soil is the source of life, and there can be no life without it. Each soil has had its own history
and its present condition is due to the influences of many different factors (e.g. climate, biota,
parent material, and relief or topography). The total land area in Libya is about 180 million
hectares, and its population is about 6 million, and it is located in the arid and semi-arid
regions of the world. Libya’s climate is dominantly influenced by both the Mediterranean Sea
in the northern regions and the desert in the southern regions. Thus, most of the soils are
undeveloped or partially developed. This book helps the reader to understand the soil pedodiversity in Libya. The book’s chapters provide adequate information about Libyan soils.
Chapter 1 gives an introduction to Libyan soils and discusses soil-related challenges and
potential solutions. Chapter 2 covers the history of soil mapping and research in Libya.
Chapter 3 discusses the soil formation factors and their impact on the soil formation processes
prevailing in different regions across the country. Chapter 4 discussed the most common soil
classification systems used in the country and reviewed the main properties of the Libyan
soils. Chapter 5 illustrates the constraints and limiting factors that negatively affect agricultural
activities across the country. Land cover/land use and vegetation distribution in Libya are
described in Chap. 6. Chapter 7 presents the status of soil biology, the corresponding related
research activities, and the other biological properties of the Libyan soils. The final chapter
(Chap. 8) discusses land degradation and desertification in Libya, emphasizing the main
causes, impacts of the phenomena, and efforts to combat it. This book has a valuable contribution to many distinguished scientists from various universities and institutions in and
outside of Libya.
Tripoli, Libya
Hamdi A. Zurqani
v
Soil is the source of life, and there can be no life without it. Each soil has had its own history
and its present condition is due to the influences of many different factors (e.g. climate, biota,
parent material, and relief or topography). The total land area in Libya is about 180 million
hectares, and its population is about 6 million, and it is located in the arid and semi-arid
regions of the world. Libya’s climate is dominantly influenced by both the Mediterranean Sea
in the northern regions and the desert in the southern regions. Thus, most of the soils are
undeveloped or partially developed. This book helps the reader to understand the soil pedodiversity in Libya. The book’s chapters provide adequate information about Libyan soils.
Chapter 1 gives an introduction to Libyan soils and discusses soil-related challenges and
potential solutions. Chapter 2 covers the history of soil mapping and research in Libya.
Chapter 3 discusses the soil formation factors and their impact on the soil formation processes
prevailing in different regions across the country. Chapter 4 discussed the most common soil
classification systems used in the country and reviewed the main properties of the Libyan
soils. Chapter 5 illustrates the constraints and limiting factors that negatively affect agricultural
activities across the country. Land cover/land use and vegetation distribution in Libya are
described in Chap. 6. Chapter 7 presents the status of soil biology, the corresponding related
research activities, and the other biological properties of the Libyan soils. The final chapter
(Chap. 8) discusses land degradation and desertification in Libya, emphasizing the main
causes, impacts of the phenomena, and efforts to combat it. This book has a valuable contribution to many distinguished scientists from various universities and institutions in and
outside of Libya.
Tripoli, Libya
Hamdi A. Zurqani
v