5
Major Limiting Factors Affecting Agricultural
Use and Production
Basher A. Nwer, Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud, Hamdi A. Zurqani,
and Mukhtar M. Elaalem
Abstract
Agricultural use and production in arid environments (i.e.,
Libya) can be affected by many numbers of constraints
and limitations. Most of these constraints are related to
the dry and hot climatic conditions and the absence of
vegetative cover. These climatic conditions lead to the
formation of soil types that have very poor soil attributes
and limit their use for agricultural production. Soil
limiting factors in Libya can be listed: unsuitable soil
texture, soil depth, depth of water table, internal drainage,
soil pH, exchangeable sodium percent, soil salinity,
calcium carbonate contents, soil erosion by wind or
water, and soil nutrients content. There are other
constraints that can also be considered as the main
limiting factors in agricultural productivity. They include
climate, water resources, and terrain. Sustainable land
resources management combines technologies, policies,
and activities aimed at integrating socioeconomic principles with environmental concerns simultaneously, such as
protecting and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably managing land use, combating
degradation, and desertification. This chapter illustrates
the constraints and limiting factors that negatively affect
agricultural activities in Libya, which need to be
addressed to improve the agricultural use and production
in the country.
Keywords
Libya Á Agricultural activities Á Climatic Á Topography Á
Soil limiting factors Á Water scarcity
5.1 Introduction
According to the information provided in Chap. 4 about the
properties of Libyan soils, some soil limiting factors that
constraints agricultural use can be identified (Ben Mahmoud
1995, 2013). These factors can be summarized as follows:
unsuitable soil texture, soil depth, depth of water table,
internal drainage, soil pH, exchangeable sodium percent, soil
salinity, CaCO 3 contents, soil erosion by wind or water, and
soil nutrients content. According to Chap. 6, the area of
cultivated land in Libya is estimated at about 210 thousand
hectares (60 thousand hectares irrigated and 150,000 ha
rainfed), which represents about 1.2% of the total area of the
country. In addition to the previously mentioned soil limiting
factors, the main determinant of the smallness of this area is
the lack of water needed for agriculture in terms of quantity
and quality (rain for rainfed crops or groundwater for irrigation). Consequently, soil, climate, water, terrain, and
nature of crops are the factors that control the suitability of
land for growing different crops. Therefore, these factors
must be taken into consideration when determining the
suitability of agricultural lands and add horizontally suitable
areas for cultivation or increase the productivity of current
agricultural lands. This chapter deals with the characteristics
of Libyan lands in terms of their limitation to agricultural
uses, which need to be addressed to improve the agricultural
productivity in the country.
B. A. Nwer Á K. R. Ben Mahmoud Á H. A. Zurqani (&)
M. M. Elaalem
Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, 13538, Libya
e-mail: h.zurqani@uot.edu.ly
B. A. Nwer
e-mail: bashir.nwer@yahoo.com
K. R. Ben Mahmoud
e-mail: benmahmoud.kh@gmail.com
M. M. Elaalem
e-mail: m.elaalem@uot.edu.ly
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
H. A. Zurqani (ed.), The Soils of Libya, World Soils Book Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66368-1_5
65
Major Limiting Factors Affecting Agricultural
Use and Production
Basher A. Nwer, Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud, Hamdi A. Zurqani,
and Mukhtar M. Elaalem
Abstract
Agricultural use and production in arid environments (i.e.,
Libya) can be affected by many numbers of constraints
and limitations. Most of these constraints are related to
the dry and hot climatic conditions and the absence of
vegetative cover. These climatic conditions lead to the
formation of soil types that have very poor soil attributes
and limit their use for agricultural production. Soil
limiting factors in Libya can be listed: unsuitable soil
texture, soil depth, depth of water table, internal drainage,
soil pH, exchangeable sodium percent, soil salinity,
calcium carbonate contents, soil erosion by wind or
water, and soil nutrients content. There are other
constraints that can also be considered as the main
limiting factors in agricultural productivity. They include
climate, water resources, and terrain. Sustainable land
resources management combines technologies, policies,
and activities aimed at integrating socioeconomic principles with environmental concerns simultaneously, such as
protecting and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably managing land use, combating
degradation, and desertification. This chapter illustrates
the constraints and limiting factors that negatively affect
agricultural activities in Libya, which need to be
addressed to improve the agricultural use and production
in the country.
Keywords
Libya Á Agricultural activities Á Climatic Á Topography Á
Soil limiting factors Á Water scarcity
5.1 Introduction
According to the information provided in Chap. 4 about the
properties of Libyan soils, some soil limiting factors that
constraints agricultural use can be identified (Ben Mahmoud
1995, 2013). These factors can be summarized as follows:
unsuitable soil texture, soil depth, depth of water table,
internal drainage, soil pH, exchangeable sodium percent, soil
salinity, CaCO 3 contents, soil erosion by wind or water, and
soil nutrients content. According to Chap. 6, the area of
cultivated land in Libya is estimated at about 210 thousand
hectares (60 thousand hectares irrigated and 150,000 ha
rainfed), which represents about 1.2% of the total area of the
country. In addition to the previously mentioned soil limiting
factors, the main determinant of the smallness of this area is
the lack of water needed for agriculture in terms of quantity
and quality (rain for rainfed crops or groundwater for irrigation). Consequently, soil, climate, water, terrain, and
nature of crops are the factors that control the suitability of
land for growing different crops. Therefore, these factors
must be taken into consideration when determining the
suitability of agricultural lands and add horizontally suitable
areas for cultivation or increase the productivity of current
agricultural lands. This chapter deals with the characteristics
of Libyan lands in terms of their limitation to agricultural
uses, which need to be addressed to improve the agricultural
productivity in the country.
B. A. Nwer Á K. R. Ben Mahmoud Á H. A. Zurqani (&)
M. M. Elaalem
Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, 13538, Libya
e-mail: h.zurqani@uot.edu.ly
B. A. Nwer
e-mail: bashir.nwer@yahoo.com
K. R. Ben Mahmoud
e-mail: benmahmoud.kh@gmail.com
M. M. Elaalem
e-mail: m.elaalem@uot.edu.ly
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
H. A. Zurqani (ed.), The Soils of Libya, World Soils Book Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66368-1_5
65