Pretty J (2008) Agricultural sustainability: concepts, principles and
evidence. Philosophical Trans Royal Soc B 363:447–465
Salem OM (1992) The Great Manmade River Project. GMRP, Tripoli,
Libya
Salem O (2007) Management of shared groundwater basins in Libya.
African Water J 1(1):106–117. www.amcow-online.org/docs/
journal/African%20Water%20Journal%20-%202007.pdf. Accessed
5 Aug 2020
Selkhozpromexport (1980) Soil studies in the Eastern zone of the
Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Secretariat for Agricultural Reclamation and Land Development, Tripoli
Shaxson TS (2006) Re-thinking the conservation of carbon, water and
soil: a different perspective. Agron Sustain Dev 26:9–19. https://
open-furrow-agrosphere.net/Documents/UTW/Shaxson-2006-HAL.
pdf. Accessed 5 Aug 2020
Stewart BA, Nielsen DR (1990) Irrigation of agricultural crops.
Agronomy Series No. 30. Madison, USA
Tanji KK (1996) Agricultural salinity assessment, and management.
ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering No 71, pp 113–161
Yeha A (1982) Management and reclamations of saline soils in Libya.
AL-Fateh University, Tripoli
Zurqani HA, Mikhailova EA, Post CJ, Schlautman MA, Sharp JL
(2018) Predicting the classes and distribution of salt-affected soils in
Northwest Libya. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 49(6)
Zurqani HA, Mikhailova EA, Post CJ, Schlautman MA, Elhawej AR
(2019) A review of libyan soil databases for use within an
ecosystem services framework. Land 8(5):82
Dr. Bashir A. Nwer was born in Libya in 1971. He is a Ph.D. graduate
from Cranfield University, UK, 2006, in the field of land evaluation using
geographic information System (GIS). Dr. Nwer has great interest in the
field of land degradation and combating desertification. He was Chairman of
the National Committee to Combat Desertification in Libya. He was
vice-chairman of the committee of the review of the implementation of
UNCCD and a rapporteur of the Ninth and Tenth Session of CRIC,
UNCCD. Dr. Nwer has attended UNCCD, COP5-COP11, and most of the
regional meetings of UNCCD. Dr. Nwer has published a number of papers
in the use of GIS and RS in land evaluation and degradation.
Dr. Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud is a senior professor of soil pedology. He is
a distinguished soil scientist with wide range of scientific and working
experiences in Libya and abroad. He received his Ph.D. in 1977 from
Colorado State University (USA). His major teaching activities and research
are at the Department of Soil and Water, Faculty of Agriculture, University
of Tripoli, Libya. He has been teaching undergraduate and graduate students
in Libya and has supervised many M.Sc. and Ph.D. thesis and dissertation in
Libya and abroad. He focused mainly on soil resources, land evaluation, and
mapping. He contributes to soil science in Libya and abroad as the Head of
the Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (1978–1983), Dean of the Faculty of
Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (1983–1986), Chairman of
the Committee for Libyan Agricultural Mapping, Tripoli, Libya (1988–
1990). A Research Coordinator, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (1997–
2001), Member of the Scientific Council of Agricultural Research Center
(ARC), Tripoli, Libya (2000–2002), Member of the Scientific Council of the
College of Higher Studies at the University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (2000–
2002), Member of the Scientific Committee of Libya Centre for Remote
Sensing and Space Sciences, Tripoli, Libya (1998–2006), A National
Coordinator of the Project implemented by FAO: Mapping of Natural
Resources for Agricultural Use and Planning Tripoli, Libya (2000–2006), A
General Coordinator of the National Programme for the Development of
Vegetation Cover, Tripoli, Libya (2004–2006). Director of the Division of
Land and Water Uses, The Arab Centre of the Studies of Arid Zones Lands
(ACSAD), The League of Arab States, Damascus, Syria (2007–2011), Head
of the Programme: Monitoring and Combating of Desertification in the Arab
World, The Arab Centre of the Studies of Arid Zones Lands (ACSAD), The
League of Arab States, Damascus, Syria (2007–2011), Director General of
Eddayra Co. (Agricultural and Environmental Consulting and Services),
Tripoli, Libya (2011–to date). Engaged as a local and international expert to
control, evaluate, approve, and accept of many soils studies and mapping
which have been implemented by different foreign and local companies,
agencies, and offices in different parts of Libya and abroad (1977–to date).
More than 100 country reports, research and scientific papers, and other
publications were published in different local and international scientific
journals and symposiums (in Arabic and English). He is the author of more
than 10 books that have been written in Arabic. The most important ones
are: Sandy soils of Libya (1981), The study of soils in the field (1984),
Principles of Soil Science for Agricultural Secondary and Technical Schools
(1985), Fundamentals of Soil Science and its Relation to Plant Growth
(1995), Libyan Soils (Their Genesis, Classification, Properties, and Agricultural Potentiality (1995), Fundamentals of Soil and water Science (2001),
Issues on Desertification and Land Degradation in the Arab Region (2010),
Towards a National Strategy for the Sustainability of Natural Resources and
Enhancing Food Security in Libya (2013), and The Libyan Desert (its
natural potentials and prospects for investment) in press. Finally, he was
appointed as a technical advisor to the President of the Libyan Presidential
Council for Agriculture, Tripoli, Libya (2018–to date).
Dr. Hamdi A. Zurqani is one of the faculty members at the Department of
Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli,
Tripoli, Libya. Dr. Zurqani is a recognized expert as a result of his internationally acclaimed work in the areas of environmental information science, remote sensing, land evaluation, sustainability, pedology, and soil
science education. He has conducted research across the world, including
the United States of America and Africa. Dr. Zurqani is a distinguished soil
scientist with a wide range of scientific and working experiences in Libya
and abroad. He received his M.Sc. (2010) from the University of Tripoli,
Tripoli, Libya and Ph.D. (2019) from Clemson University, Clemson, SC,
USA. His major research and teaching activities at the University of Tripoli
have focused mainly on soil genesis and classification and the environmental information sciences (Remote Sensing and Geographic Information
System). He has published broadly in many journals (e.g., Nature “Scientific
Reports”, Geoderma; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation
and Geoinformation; Journal of Geological Sciences; Land; Frontiers in
Environmental Science; Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis; and others). Dr. Zurqani is a member of the Editorial Board for Remote
Sensing (MDPI) Journal, counseling outcome and research evaluation. He
also was appointed to serve as a Guest Editor for the Special Issue
“Applications of Remote Sensing in Earth Observation and Geo-Information
Science”. In addition, Dr. Zurqani conducted peer-review for many journals
including Journal of Environmental Informatics, Applied Sciences, SN
Applied Sciences, Remote Sensing, Heliyon, Geosciences, Land, Water,
Agronomy, Agriculture, Sustainability, Arid Land Research and Management, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,
Natural Hazards, and Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences. He
is also one of the authors of the lab manual entitled, “GIS Exercises for
Natural Resource Management”. Dr. Zurqani has been the recipient of
numerous awards and honors: Recipient of Douglas R. Phillips Award for
Graduate Students, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, April 12, 2019; the First Place Best Judged Poster
(CAFLS) at the GRADS 2019: Clemson Student Research Forum on April
4, 2019; the Second Place Poster at the 11th Clemson Biological Sciences
Annual Student Symposium, April 6, 2019; the Second Place Best Judged
Poster at the Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2018; and the
Third Place Poster at the 9th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student
Symposium, February 25, 2017. Dr. Zurqani conducts cutting-edge research
in the field of environmental information science, remote sensing, land use
management/planning, change detection of landscape degradation, and
geographic information system (GIS) models. He has focused on his
research efforts on the development of new technologies in the field of
74
B. A. Nwer et al.
evidence. Philosophical Trans Royal Soc B 363:447–465
Salem OM (1992) The Great Manmade River Project. GMRP, Tripoli,
Libya
Salem O (2007) Management of shared groundwater basins in Libya.
African Water J 1(1):106–117. www.amcow-online.org/docs/
journal/African%20Water%20Journal%20-%202007.pdf. Accessed
5 Aug 2020
Selkhozpromexport (1980) Soil studies in the Eastern zone of the
Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Secretariat for Agricultural Reclamation and Land Development, Tripoli
Shaxson TS (2006) Re-thinking the conservation of carbon, water and
soil: a different perspective. Agron Sustain Dev 26:9–19. https://
open-furrow-agrosphere.net/Documents/UTW/Shaxson-2006-HAL.
pdf. Accessed 5 Aug 2020
Stewart BA, Nielsen DR (1990) Irrigation of agricultural crops.
Agronomy Series No. 30. Madison, USA
Tanji KK (1996) Agricultural salinity assessment, and management.
ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering No 71, pp 113–161
Yeha A (1982) Management and reclamations of saline soils in Libya.
AL-Fateh University, Tripoli
Zurqani HA, Mikhailova EA, Post CJ, Schlautman MA, Sharp JL
(2018) Predicting the classes and distribution of salt-affected soils in
Northwest Libya. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 49(6)
Zurqani HA, Mikhailova EA, Post CJ, Schlautman MA, Elhawej AR
(2019) A review of libyan soil databases for use within an
ecosystem services framework. Land 8(5):82
Dr. Bashir A. Nwer was born in Libya in 1971. He is a Ph.D. graduate
from Cranfield University, UK, 2006, in the field of land evaluation using
geographic information System (GIS). Dr. Nwer has great interest in the
field of land degradation and combating desertification. He was Chairman of
the National Committee to Combat Desertification in Libya. He was
vice-chairman of the committee of the review of the implementation of
UNCCD and a rapporteur of the Ninth and Tenth Session of CRIC,
UNCCD. Dr. Nwer has attended UNCCD, COP5-COP11, and most of the
regional meetings of UNCCD. Dr. Nwer has published a number of papers
in the use of GIS and RS in land evaluation and degradation.
Dr. Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud is a senior professor of soil pedology. He is
a distinguished soil scientist with wide range of scientific and working
experiences in Libya and abroad. He received his Ph.D. in 1977 from
Colorado State University (USA). His major teaching activities and research
are at the Department of Soil and Water, Faculty of Agriculture, University
of Tripoli, Libya. He has been teaching undergraduate and graduate students
in Libya and has supervised many M.Sc. and Ph.D. thesis and dissertation in
Libya and abroad. He focused mainly on soil resources, land evaluation, and
mapping. He contributes to soil science in Libya and abroad as the Head of
the Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (1978–1983), Dean of the Faculty of
Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (1983–1986), Chairman of
the Committee for Libyan Agricultural Mapping, Tripoli, Libya (1988–
1990). A Research Coordinator, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (1997–
2001), Member of the Scientific Council of Agricultural Research Center
(ARC), Tripoli, Libya (2000–2002), Member of the Scientific Council of the
College of Higher Studies at the University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya (2000–
2002), Member of the Scientific Committee of Libya Centre for Remote
Sensing and Space Sciences, Tripoli, Libya (1998–2006), A National
Coordinator of the Project implemented by FAO: Mapping of Natural
Resources for Agricultural Use and Planning Tripoli, Libya (2000–2006), A
General Coordinator of the National Programme for the Development of
Vegetation Cover, Tripoli, Libya (2004–2006). Director of the Division of
Land and Water Uses, The Arab Centre of the Studies of Arid Zones Lands
(ACSAD), The League of Arab States, Damascus, Syria (2007–2011), Head
of the Programme: Monitoring and Combating of Desertification in the Arab
World, The Arab Centre of the Studies of Arid Zones Lands (ACSAD), The
League of Arab States, Damascus, Syria (2007–2011), Director General of
Eddayra Co. (Agricultural and Environmental Consulting and Services),
Tripoli, Libya (2011–to date). Engaged as a local and international expert to
control, evaluate, approve, and accept of many soils studies and mapping
which have been implemented by different foreign and local companies,
agencies, and offices in different parts of Libya and abroad (1977–to date).
More than 100 country reports, research and scientific papers, and other
publications were published in different local and international scientific
journals and symposiums (in Arabic and English). He is the author of more
than 10 books that have been written in Arabic. The most important ones
are: Sandy soils of Libya (1981), The study of soils in the field (1984),
Principles of Soil Science for Agricultural Secondary and Technical Schools
(1985), Fundamentals of Soil Science and its Relation to Plant Growth
(1995), Libyan Soils (Their Genesis, Classification, Properties, and Agricultural Potentiality (1995), Fundamentals of Soil and water Science (2001),
Issues on Desertification and Land Degradation in the Arab Region (2010),
Towards a National Strategy for the Sustainability of Natural Resources and
Enhancing Food Security in Libya (2013), and The Libyan Desert (its
natural potentials and prospects for investment) in press. Finally, he was
appointed as a technical advisor to the President of the Libyan Presidential
Council for Agriculture, Tripoli, Libya (2018–to date).
Dr. Hamdi A. Zurqani is one of the faculty members at the Department of
Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli,
Tripoli, Libya. Dr. Zurqani is a recognized expert as a result of his internationally acclaimed work in the areas of environmental information science, remote sensing, land evaluation, sustainability, pedology, and soil
science education. He has conducted research across the world, including
the United States of America and Africa. Dr. Zurqani is a distinguished soil
scientist with a wide range of scientific and working experiences in Libya
and abroad. He received his M.Sc. (2010) from the University of Tripoli,
Tripoli, Libya and Ph.D. (2019) from Clemson University, Clemson, SC,
USA. His major research and teaching activities at the University of Tripoli
have focused mainly on soil genesis and classification and the environmental information sciences (Remote Sensing and Geographic Information
System). He has published broadly in many journals (e.g., Nature “Scientific
Reports”, Geoderma; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation
and Geoinformation; Journal of Geological Sciences; Land; Frontiers in
Environmental Science; Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis; and others). Dr. Zurqani is a member of the Editorial Board for Remote
Sensing (MDPI) Journal, counseling outcome and research evaluation. He
also was appointed to serve as a Guest Editor for the Special Issue
“Applications of Remote Sensing in Earth Observation and Geo-Information
Science”. In addition, Dr. Zurqani conducted peer-review for many journals
including Journal of Environmental Informatics, Applied Sciences, SN
Applied Sciences, Remote Sensing, Heliyon, Geosciences, Land, Water,
Agronomy, Agriculture, Sustainability, Arid Land Research and Management, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,
Natural Hazards, and Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences. He
is also one of the authors of the lab manual entitled, “GIS Exercises for
Natural Resource Management”. Dr. Zurqani has been the recipient of
numerous awards and honors: Recipient of Douglas R. Phillips Award for
Graduate Students, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, April 12, 2019; the First Place Best Judged Poster
(CAFLS) at the GRADS 2019: Clemson Student Research Forum on April
4, 2019; the Second Place Poster at the 11th Clemson Biological Sciences
Annual Student Symposium, April 6, 2019; the Second Place Best Judged
Poster at the Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2018; and the
Third Place Poster at the 9th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student
Symposium, February 25, 2017. Dr. Zurqani conducts cutting-edge research
in the field of environmental information science, remote sensing, land use
management/planning, change detection of landscape degradation, and
geographic information system (GIS) models. He has focused on his
research efforts on the development of new technologies in the field of
74
B. A. Nwer et al.