See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/266734587

Salinity Mapping in Oman using Remote Sensing Tools: Status and trends

Chapter · January 2010

CITATIONS READS

10 33,801

1 author:

Yaseen A. Al-Mulla
Sultan Qaboos University
53 PUBLICATIONS   321 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Micro and Macro Level Remote Sensing Techniques for Detecting Stressed Vegetation in Al-Batinah Region, Oman View project

OmanHeart Suggests View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Yaseen A. Al-Mulla on 19 May 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

A Monograph on Management of Salt-Affected Soils and Water for Sustainable Agriculture, 17-24 (2010)
2010 Sultan Qaboos University

Salinity Mapping in Oman using

Remote Sensing Tools: Status and Trends

Yaseen A. Al-Mulla
College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences,
Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 34, Al-Khod 123,
Sultanate of Oman

ABSTRACT: Soil salinity problems in Oman started to be noticed after the extensive agricultural activities followed by increase use of
lands suitable for farming and overdraw of fresh groundwater to an extent of causing seawater intrusion. Several studies related to soil and
water salinity assessment, and mapping were conducted in Oman using traditional and advanced techniques such as GIS. But salinity is a
dynamic process and covers a widespread area over the country. Besides, these techniques produced salinity mapping for only the time of
measurements and lead to lack of information for the current soil salinity situation. Therefore, a high tech method that is cost, time and labor
effectives is recommended by several scientific researchers including the Ministry of Agriculture strategic plan. Remote sensing techniques
have proven to provide useful tools in monitoring, delineating and mapping soil salinity either directly from bare soils or indirectly from
vegetation conditions. This paper reviews the past efforts done in mapping soil salinity in Oman and and the current efforts of using remote
sensing analysis for the same purpose.

Introduction
Soil salinity problems in Oman started to be noticed in the
mid 1990s after the extensive agricultural activities, coupled
with increasing population, through the use of lands suitable
for farming and overdraw of fresh groundwater to an extent
of causing seawater intrusion. In addition to the nature of
harsh climate featuring low amount of rainfall ranges from
20 to 300 mm/year, depending on the regions location in
Oman, and high temperatures (Hussain, 2005; FAO, 2008;
Asif and Ahmed, 2002; and Al-Belushi, 1997). These
factors contributed in increasing the area of soil salinity to
reach 13.9 million ha i.e., 44.2% of the total area of Oman
(Hussain, 2005) causing land degradation and abandoning of
productive farms mostly in Al-Batinah Area, north of Oman,
(Hussain, 2005; FAO, 2008; Al-Belushi, 1997; Al-Belushi,
2003; and Al-Barwani and Helmi, 2006) where 52% of this
region is affected by soil salinity (Hussain, 2005; and Al-
Belushi, 2003).
Soil salinity is an environmental problem which has
affected about 952 million hectares of lands around the
world. It plays an important role in desertification in arid
and semi-aid regions like Oman. The geographic information
systems and remote sensing techniques have become tools for
the purpose of identifying and classifying saline soils. Using
such technique has given a good indication of its accuracy,
cost effectiveness, speed, and labor saving for delineating salt
affected soils in the most efficient manner. The integration of
remote sensing data, in the form of satellite imagery, with the
GIS has boosted up the ability of delineating and mapping
soil salinity. It made many researchers of this field in resent
years to follow such approach with different methods and
applications. But salinity is a dynamic process. Therefore,
_____________________________________________________________
* E-mail: yalmula@squ.edu.om
two important aspects are needed to be accomplished in order
to monitor it: delineating the salt affected soils, and detecting
the temporal and spatial changes in this occurrence. This
paper reviews the past efforts done in mapping soil salinity in
Oman and the current efforts of using remote sensing analysis
for the same purpose.
The Concept of Remote Sensing
Remote sensing can be defined as the collection of data about
an object from a distance. There are four basic components of
a remote sensing system (Fig. 1) including: (1) a target; (2)
an energy source; (3) a transmission path; and (4) a satellite
sensor (Landsat, SPOT, or the SIR-C radar) which records
the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (sunlight) reflected
from the earth at different wavelengths.
The Electromagnetic (EM) spectrum (Fig. 2) describes
the continuous spectrum of energy (light) from high energy
gamma rays and x-rays to very low energy microwaves and
radio waves.
Satellites ollect data by passing the reflected energy from
the Earth through filters that separate the energy into small
windows (Fig. 3) of the EM spectrum into discrete spectral
bands.
Different objects have fingerprint reflectance and
absorption signatures that enable interpretation of the sensor
outputs. The variations in spectral response of various Earth
surface materials like soil, rock, vegetation, and water (Fig.
4) enable discrimination and identification of landscape
properties.
Satellite images (Fig. 5) show very large areas of
land, 185 km swath width. The images detect features at
17
Al-Mulla

Figure 1. Components of Remote Sensing system.

Figure 2. The electromagnetic spectrum.










Figure 3. Windows of the EM spectrum.

18
 Salinity mapping in Oman using remote sensing tools: status and trends
Figure 4. Fingerprint reflectance of earth surface materials.
wavelengths not visible to the human eye. They are
regularly and routinely acquired and archived. They are
the most cost-effective dataset for monitoring change over
large areas. It is worth mention, however, that satellites do
not “see” in color. Hence, every image is obtained in black
and white at a precise wavelength (usually between 0.4 to
12.0 microns) and satellites can obtain many images at the
same time in different parts of the spectrum.
Salinity Mapping in Oman
Several studies and research projects related to soil and
water salinity monitoring, assessment, and mapping were
conducted in Oman. Ministry of Agriculture (formerly
Figure 5. A 185 km swath width satellite image of northern
Oman.
19
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) produced general
soil map of Oman (1990-1991), by which soil salinity
levels in different farms where determined and documented
(Fig. 6) presents an example of these maps showing Barka
region). In 1993 and 1997 the Ministry of Agriculture also
conducted two integrated studies of Al-Batinah region,
among the results, it covered levels of saline soils in the
south and north part of the region (MAF, 1993).
Al-Belushi (2003) explored the main reasons
for desertification in Al-Batinah coast where he
classified the soil types in the area and showed how
the characteristics of some of these soils contributed
in speeding the desertification process. He presented
different groundwater salinity mapping for different
catchments locations in Al-Batinah area (obtained from
1992 Ministry of water resources survey) and concluded
that water in coastal areas of Al-Batinah region has been
affected severely by seawater intrusion. Based on field
and statistical analysis Al-Belushi (2003) found that
there is a relationship between the water salinity and
soil salinity in the Al-Batinah region resulting from the
irrigation practices followed in this region. The average
soil EC level reached 10,400 µS/cm. He also produced a
soil salinity map (Fig. 7) for al-Batinah region, north and
south, based on his field analysis.
Bajjali (2003) conducted a thorough study on the
quality of groundwater of different regions in Oman from
north to south including Al-Batinah region (Fig. 8) by
analyzing 20,000 wells and mapping the regions using
geographic information systems. It can be noticed from
the maps of the regions he covered that Al-Batinah is the
most affected area among all other areas where most of
its coastal lines have groundwater with Total Dissolved
Solids (TDS) ranging between 4,000 and 35,000 mg/l.
Because of the importance of the salinity problems,
the Ministry of Agriculture recently prepared a ten years
Al-Mulla

฀ ฀
฀
฀
฀
฀
฀ ฀
฀

Figure 6. Soil salinity level in Barka farms in south Al-Batinah (MA-Sheet # 9519).

฀ ฀
฀ ฀
฀ ฀
฀ ฀

฀ ฀

Figure 7. Soil salinity map for North and South Al-Batinah (adapted from Al-Belushi, 2003).

20
 Salinity mapping in Oman using remote sensing tools: status and trends

Figure 8. Groundwater salinity in Al-Batinah using GIS (Adapted from Al-Bajjali, 2003).

strategic plan for combating water and soil salinity in
Oman (Hussain, 2005).
Al-Barwani and Helmi (2006) used Geographical
Information System and Autocad techniques to map
groundwater salinity levels in the coastal area of Al-Batinah
plain based on water electrical conductivity surveys
conducted by the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and
Water Resources (formerly Ministry of Water Resources)
for 20 years since 1984. They found that lands suitable for
agriculture have been reduced by 7% in the period of 2000
- 2005. They also reported that the salinity water moved
12 km towards inland in areas like Barka. Figure 9 shows
groundwater salinity map produced by Al-Barwani and
Helmi (2006) for Barka in south Al-Batinah.
The role of remote sensing in soil salinity mapping in
Oman
The previous efforts in mapping soil salinity in Oman, for
the past 15-20 years, were nicely addressed and produced.
However, they covered only the time of measurements
and lead to lack of information for the current soil salinity
situation (Hussain, 2005). Besides, salinity is a dynamic

฀ ฀ ฀

Figure 9. Ground water salinity map for Barka, Al-Batinah South. (Adapted from Al-Barwani and Helmi, 2006).

21
Al-Mulla

฀
฀
฀ ฀
฀

Figure 10. Supervised classification of 1994 satellite image of Wadi Al-Maawel. (adapted from Al-Belushi, 1997).

฀ ฀
฀ ฀
฀
฀
฀
฀
฀
฀

Figure 11. NDSI analyses on 1991 and 2005 satellite image show clearly how soil salinity increased in 2005 (Adapted from Al-Mulla
and Al-Adawi, 2009).

of the images showed a noticeable change in agriculture in
this region over the 22 years period.
Al-Hammadi (2008) investigated the effective use of
remote sensing techniques in evaluating the distribution
of soil salinity in eastern part of United Arab Emirates
(UAE) and Al-Batinah region of Oman. He analyzed
two satellite images dated 1980 and 2000 by using Soil
Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI). He concluded that the
use of remote sensing was efficient and provided very
good information with regards to the status of vegetation
conditions in UAE and Oman.
Al-Mulla and Al-Adawi (2009) worked on mapping
changes in soil salinity with time in Al-Rumais (near
Barka) using remote sensing analysis. They used two
satellite images, a 1991 Landsat (TM) and a 2005 Landsat
(ETM+). They performed different image enhancements
on the two satellite images in order to separate between
the features in these images to assist in delineating salt

22
 Salinity mapping in Oman using remote sensing tools: status and trends
฀ ฀
฀ ฀
฀
Figure 12. Change in vegetation due to soil salinity between 1991 and 2005 (adapted from Al-Mulla and Al-Adawi, 2009).
affected soils. That included the use of different spectral
indices like NDVI, II, SAVI, and Normalized Difference
Salinity Index or NDSI (Fig. 11) in addition to detection
of temporal changes in soil salinity using change analysis
techniques (Fig. 12).
Conclusion
Soil salinity is considered as an important factor in
desertification in arid regions and semi-aid regions
like Oman. Several studies and research projects, using
traditional or more advanced methods like GIS, related
to soil and water salinity monitoring, assessment, and
mapping were conducted in Oman. However, they covered
only the time of measurements and did not address the
dynamic nature of salinity process and its coverage of
large areas in Oman. Hence, remote sensing analysis
has been introduced and proven to be a new, cheaper and
faster technique than the traditional ones in delineating
and mapping soil salinity. Although some efforts have
been done in using remote sensing tools for this purpose,
more researches are needed in this direction.
References
Al-Barwani, A. and T. Helmi. 2006. Sea water intrusion
in a coastal aquifer: a case study for the area between
23
฀ ฀ ฀ ฀
฀ ฀ ฀ ฀
Seeb and Suwaiq, Sultanate of Oman. Agricultural and
Marine Sciences - A Research Journal, 11( S.I):55-69.
Al-Belushi A. A. 1997. Detection of saline stressed
vegetation and change analysis in an arid coastal plain
by remote sensing from Landsat TM data. Case study:
northern coastal plain of Oman. MSc Thesis. University
of Aberdeen. UK.
Al-Belushi, A.S. 2003. Desertification in Al-Batinah
Plain, Sultanate of Oman. PhD Dissertation. Jordanian
University. Jordan (in Arabic).
Alhammadi, M.S. 2008. Soil salinity assessment using
remote sensing tools. Power Point presentation.
International Symposium Geotunis 2008. Tunis,
Tunisia.
Al-Mulla, Y.A. and S. Al-Adawi. 2009. Mapping temporal
changes of soil salinity in Al-Rumais region of Oman
using geographic information system and remote
sensing techniques. American Society of Agricultural
and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Annual
International Meeting. Paper No. 095777. Reno, NV,
USA.
Asif, S. and M. Ahmed. 2002. Using State-of-the-Art RS
and GIS for Monitoring Waterlogging and Salinity.
Development of a Research Programme in Irrigation
and Drainage. International Programme for Technology
 Al-Mulla
and Research in Irrigation and Drainage. Programme
Formulation Report. No. 9.
Bajjali, W. 2003. Evaluation of the groundwater salinity
throughout Sultanate of Oman using GIS. Available at:
http://frontpage.uwsuper.edu/bajjali/proj/oman/o5.htm.
Dohai, B.S. 2007. Modeling of invasive exotic plants
dynamics in arid region using remote sensing and GIS:
a case study of Prosopis juliflora in the UAE. MSc.
Thesis. United Arab University, UAE.
El-haddad, A. and L.A. Carcia. 2006. Detecting soil
salinity levels in agricultural lands using satellite
imagery. Presented and published in the Proceedings
of the American Society for Photogrammetry and
24
View publication stats
Remote Sensing Annual Conference, Reno, NV, May
1-5, 2006.
FAO. 2008. Oman. Available at: http://www.fao.org_/nr/
water/aquastat/countries/oman/index.stm.
Harris, R. 2003 Remote sensing of agriculture change in
Oman. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 24(23):4835-4852.
Hussain, N. 2005. Strategic Plan for Combating Water
and Soil Salinity in Sultanate of Oman for 2005-2015.
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Oman pp. 117.
MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries). 1993.
South Batinah Integrated Study: Soil Survey and Land
Classification Project OMA/87/0111. Directorate
General of Agricultural Research. Sultanate of Oman.