where it is considered one of the biggest environmental
challenges in the country (Zurqani et al. 2019). According to
Global Forest Watch, the total area covered by these trees
was about 24,344 ha in 2000, and it decreased over time, as
it was about 12,107 ha in 2011 and 11,866 ha in 2018.
6.7 Conclusions
The harsh climate in arid and semiarid environments has a
strong impact on vegetation and its distribution in these
regions. Generally, arid and semiarid regions are unable to
support forests or widely extended vegetation cover due to
limited precipitation. In Libya, the land cover distribution and
the vegetation types are highly correlated with geographical
location and climatic zones. Most agricultural activities occur
on a narrow strip along the Mediterranean coast, low mountains, and scattered oases in the desert. Crop productions are
also quite variable across the country and typically depend on
the private sector. In terms of natural vegetation, it can be
represented by twenty-one vegetation types such as natural
forests of different trees and some other natural vegetation with
predominant species of nonwoody shrubs. Accordingly,
quantifying and monitoring the spatial and temporal extent of
the Libyan land cover is critical. Thus, updating the existing
land cover map (LIB/00/004) more frequently is essential and
may return further effective management strategies in the
future for promoting sustainable land use planning.
References
Al-Idrissi M, Sbeita A, Jebriel A, Zintani A, Shreidi A, Ghawawi H
(1996) Libya: Country Report to the FAO International Technical
Conference on Plant Genetic Resources. Libya Country Report.
Available online: www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/agphome/
documents/PGR/SoW1/east/LIBYA.pdf. Accessed 11 Dec 2019
Azzabi T (1996) Food self-sufficiency and agricultural research in
Libya. Cahiers Options Mediterraneennes 1(5)
Ben Mahmoud KB (1995) Libyan soils, 1st ed. National Research
Scientific Organization, Tripoli, Libya (Arabic book)
Chen D, Pan Q, Bai Y, Hu S, Huang J, Wang Q, Naeem S, Elser JJ,
Wu J, Han X (2016) Effects of plant functional group loss on soil
biota and net ecosystem exchange: a plant removal experiment in
the Mongolian grassland. J Ecol 104(3):734–743
Department of Environment, Tripoli, Libya (2010) The fourth national
report to the convention on biological diversity (Arabic Document)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2004)
Forests and the forestry sector. http://www.fao.org/forestry/country/
57478/en/lby/. Accessed 12 Dec 2019
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2005)
AQUASTAT Country Profile: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Land and
Water Division. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/
countries_regions/lby/LBY-CP_eng.pdf. Accessed 18 Apr 2019
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2015)
Status of the World’s Soil Resources (SWSR)–Main Report. In:
Food and agriculture organization of the united nations and
intergovernmental technical panel on soils. FAO, Rome, Italy, p 650
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2019)
GIEWS—Global information and early warning system, country
briefs: Libya. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/giews/countrybrief/
country.jsp?code=LBY. Accessed 19 Apr 2020
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2020)
FAOSTAT Statistical Database, Libya. http://www.fao.org/faostat/
en/#data. Accessed 18 Apr 2020
Government of Libya, Secretariat of Planning, Surveying Department
(1978) The National Atlas of Libya. Tripoli, Libya
LIB/00/004 (2009) Mapping of natural resources for agriculture use and
planning in Libya Project, Atlas of natural resources for agricultural
use in Libya. http://www.fao.org/geospatial/resources/detail/en/c/
1024739/. Accessed 11 Apr 2019
Mahmoudzadeh A (2007) Vegetation cover plays the most important
role in soil erosion control. Pak J Biol Sci 10(3):388–392
Maselli F, Di Gregorio A, Capecchi V, Breda F (2009) Enrichment of
land-cover polygons with eco-climatic information derived from
MODIS NDVI imagery. J Biogeogr 36(4):639–650
Nwer B, Zurqani H, Jadour K (2013) Soil productivity rating index
model using geographic information system in Libya. In: Proceedings of the Annual International Conference 7th Edition of
Geotunis, southern Hammamet, Tunis, 4–12 Apr 2013
Ruiz-Colmenero M, Bienes R, Eldridge DJ, Marques MJ (2013)
Vegetation cover reduces erosion and enhances soil organic carbon
in a vineyard in the central Spain. CATENA 104:153–160
The Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT) (2001)
Manual of concepts on land cover and land use information
systems. Office for Publications of the European Communities,
Luxembourg, p 93. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/
files/KS-34-00-407-__-I-EN.pdf. Accessed 18 Apr 2019
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. 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
88
H. A. Zurqani and K. R. Ben Mahmoud
challenges in the country (Zurqani et al. 2019). According to
Global Forest Watch, the total area covered by these trees
was about 24,344 ha in 2000, and it decreased over time, as
it was about 12,107 ha in 2011 and 11,866 ha in 2018.
6.7 Conclusions
The harsh climate in arid and semiarid environments has a
strong impact on vegetation and its distribution in these
regions. Generally, arid and semiarid regions are unable to
support forests or widely extended vegetation cover due to
limited precipitation. In Libya, the land cover distribution and
the vegetation types are highly correlated with geographical
location and climatic zones. Most agricultural activities occur
on a narrow strip along the Mediterranean coast, low mountains, and scattered oases in the desert. Crop productions are
also quite variable across the country and typically depend on
the private sector. In terms of natural vegetation, it can be
represented by twenty-one vegetation types such as natural
forests of different trees and some other natural vegetation with
predominant species of nonwoody shrubs. Accordingly,
quantifying and monitoring the spatial and temporal extent of
the Libyan land cover is critical. Thus, updating the existing
land cover map (LIB/00/004) more frequently is essential and
may return further effective management strategies in the
future for promoting sustainable land use planning.
References
Al-Idrissi M, Sbeita A, Jebriel A, Zintani A, Shreidi A, Ghawawi H
(1996) Libya: Country Report to the FAO International Technical
Conference on Plant Genetic Resources. Libya Country Report.
Available online: www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/agphome/
documents/PGR/SoW1/east/LIBYA.pdf. Accessed 11 Dec 2019
Azzabi T (1996) Food self-sufficiency and agricultural research in
Libya. Cahiers Options Mediterraneennes 1(5)
Ben Mahmoud KB (1995) Libyan soils, 1st ed. National Research
Scientific Organization, Tripoli, Libya (Arabic book)
Chen D, Pan Q, Bai Y, Hu S, Huang J, Wang Q, Naeem S, Elser JJ,
Wu J, Han X (2016) Effects of plant functional group loss on soil
biota and net ecosystem exchange: a plant removal experiment in
the Mongolian grassland. J Ecol 104(3):734–743
Department of Environment, Tripoli, Libya (2010) The fourth national
report to the convention on biological diversity (Arabic Document)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2004)
Forests and the forestry sector. http://www.fao.org/forestry/country/
57478/en/lby/. Accessed 12 Dec 2019
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2005)
AQUASTAT Country Profile: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Land and
Water Division. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/
countries_regions/lby/LBY-CP_eng.pdf. Accessed 18 Apr 2019
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2015)
Status of the World’s Soil Resources (SWSR)–Main Report. In:
Food and agriculture organization of the united nations and
intergovernmental technical panel on soils. FAO, Rome, Italy, p 650
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2019)
GIEWS—Global information and early warning system, country
briefs: Libya. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/giews/countrybrief/
country.jsp?code=LBY. Accessed 19 Apr 2020
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2020)
FAOSTAT Statistical Database, Libya. http://www.fao.org/faostat/
en/#data. Accessed 18 Apr 2020
Government of Libya, Secretariat of Planning, Surveying Department
(1978) The National Atlas of Libya. Tripoli, Libya
LIB/00/004 (2009) Mapping of natural resources for agriculture use and
planning in Libya Project, Atlas of natural resources for agricultural
use in Libya. http://www.fao.org/geospatial/resources/detail/en/c/
1024739/. Accessed 11 Apr 2019
Mahmoudzadeh A (2007) Vegetation cover plays the most important
role in soil erosion control. Pak J Biol Sci 10(3):388–392
Maselli F, Di Gregorio A, Capecchi V, Breda F (2009) Enrichment of
land-cover polygons with eco-climatic information derived from
MODIS NDVI imagery. J Biogeogr 36(4):639–650
Nwer B, Zurqani H, Jadour K (2013) Soil productivity rating index
model using geographic information system in Libya. In: Proceedings of the Annual International Conference 7th Edition of
Geotunis, southern Hammamet, Tunis, 4–12 Apr 2013
Ruiz-Colmenero M, Bienes R, Eldridge DJ, Marques MJ (2013)
Vegetation cover reduces erosion and enhances soil organic carbon
in a vineyard in the central Spain. CATENA 104:153–160
The Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT) (2001)
Manual of concepts on land cover and land use information
systems. Office for Publications of the European Communities,
Luxembourg, p 93. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/
files/KS-34-00-407-__-I-EN.pdf. Accessed 18 Apr 2019
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. 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
88
H. A. Zurqani and K. R. Ben Mahmoud