6
Land Cover, Land Use, and Vegetation
Distribution
Hamdi A. Zurqani and Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud
Abstract
Vegetation refers to the plants and trees that are found in a
particular region. The geographical location and climatic
conditions of Libya strongly influence the vegetation
status. The diversity of natural vegetation in Libya varies
according to the climatic zone and soil types. Acknowledging that most of the country consists of desert dry
areas, the fertile regions are mainly present in the coastal
zone (including plains and mountains) and scattered
depressions and Wadis in the desert. In 2009, the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (LIB/00/004 “Mapping of Natural Resources for Agriculture Use and
Planning in Libya Project”) published the first land cover
map of the country using Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, GeoVIS
Software and Land Cover Classification System (LCCS)
which was approved by the FAO. This map shows the
main categories of land cover types according to location,
quantity, and quality of the natural vegetation cover. This
map, as well as its accompanying statistics, is considered
one of the most reliable sources of the land cover in
Libya. The agricultural land is estimated at about 8.73%
of the total area of the country with an arable land area of
about 1%. Crop productions essentially depend on the
private sector, where most of the farms are relatively
small areas with grains and some vegetables, fruits, and
forage crops. In this chapter, we summarize the existing
information about land cover, land use, and vegetation
distribution in Libya.
Keywords
Libya Á Natural vegetation Á Agriculture Á Crop
productions Á Cropping pattern Á Suitability
6.1 Introduction
The vegetation cover is considered one of the most important factors in soil formation. Vegetation cover has a substantial impact on the stabilization of soil structure and the
protection of soil erosion (Mahmoudzadeh 2007). It also
improves some of the soil’s physical-chemical properties
through the physical protection of the soil surface, by the
contribution of organic matter from both the plant canopy
and the root system (Ruiz-Colmenero et al. 2013). Plant
diversity affects both the quantity and quality of
plant-derived residues entering the soil subsystem (Chen
et al. 2016). Usually, the vegetation cover is divided into
three different vegetation types, which are grassland or
pasture, shrubs, and trees (including forests). These vegetation types are mainly distributed in the country along a north
to south gradient of precipitation and according to different
soil types, as well as precipitation variability in an east to
west direction. Climatic conditions, physiographic regions,
varied topography, and the influence of anthropogenic
activities play an essential role in the diversity of the vegetation cover in Libya (Zurqani et al. 2019). As most of the
Libyan land is desert, the distribution of the natural vegetation has a very low density, consisting of either separate
pygmy desert shrubs or desert herbs, and it can often be
found near the oases (Ben Mahmoud 1995).
In 2001, the statistical office of the European Union
(EUROSTAT) defined the land cover as the observed
physical cover of the earth’s surface, while it labeled land
use as the description of the socioeconomic function of the
same area (EUROSTAT 2001). The land cover density is
strictly dependent on rainfall patterns, particularly in arid
H. A. Zurqani (&) Á K. R. Ben Mahmoud
Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, 13538, Libya
e-mail: h.zurqani@uot.edu.ly
K. R. Ben Mahmoud
e-mail: benmahmoud.kh@gmail.com; ; 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_6
77
Land Cover, Land Use, and Vegetation
Distribution
Hamdi A. Zurqani and Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud
Abstract
Vegetation refers to the plants and trees that are found in a
particular region. The geographical location and climatic
conditions of Libya strongly influence the vegetation
status. The diversity of natural vegetation in Libya varies
according to the climatic zone and soil types. Acknowledging that most of the country consists of desert dry
areas, the fertile regions are mainly present in the coastal
zone (including plains and mountains) and scattered
depressions and Wadis in the desert. In 2009, the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (LIB/00/004 “Mapping of Natural Resources for Agriculture Use and
Planning in Libya Project”) published the first land cover
map of the country using Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, GeoVIS
Software and Land Cover Classification System (LCCS)
which was approved by the FAO. This map shows the
main categories of land cover types according to location,
quantity, and quality of the natural vegetation cover. This
map, as well as its accompanying statistics, is considered
one of the most reliable sources of the land cover in
Libya. The agricultural land is estimated at about 8.73%
of the total area of the country with an arable land area of
about 1%. Crop productions essentially depend on the
private sector, where most of the farms are relatively
small areas with grains and some vegetables, fruits, and
forage crops. In this chapter, we summarize the existing
information about land cover, land use, and vegetation
distribution in Libya.
Keywords
Libya Á Natural vegetation Á Agriculture Á Crop
productions Á Cropping pattern Á Suitability
6.1 Introduction
The vegetation cover is considered one of the most important factors in soil formation. Vegetation cover has a substantial impact on the stabilization of soil structure and the
protection of soil erosion (Mahmoudzadeh 2007). It also
improves some of the soil’s physical-chemical properties
through the physical protection of the soil surface, by the
contribution of organic matter from both the plant canopy
and the root system (Ruiz-Colmenero et al. 2013). Plant
diversity affects both the quantity and quality of
plant-derived residues entering the soil subsystem (Chen
et al. 2016). Usually, the vegetation cover is divided into
three different vegetation types, which are grassland or
pasture, shrubs, and trees (including forests). These vegetation types are mainly distributed in the country along a north
to south gradient of precipitation and according to different
soil types, as well as precipitation variability in an east to
west direction. Climatic conditions, physiographic regions,
varied topography, and the influence of anthropogenic
activities play an essential role in the diversity of the vegetation cover in Libya (Zurqani et al. 2019). As most of the
Libyan land is desert, the distribution of the natural vegetation has a very low density, consisting of either separate
pygmy desert shrubs or desert herbs, and it can often be
found near the oases (Ben Mahmoud 1995).
In 2001, the statistical office of the European Union
(EUROSTAT) defined the land cover as the observed
physical cover of the earth’s surface, while it labeled land
use as the description of the socioeconomic function of the
same area (EUROSTAT 2001). The land cover density is
strictly dependent on rainfall patterns, particularly in arid
H. A. Zurqani (&) Á K. R. Ben Mahmoud
Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Tripoli, Tripoli, 13538, Libya
e-mail: h.zurqani@uot.edu.ly
K. R. Ben Mahmoud
e-mail: benmahmoud.kh@gmail.com; ; 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_6
77