CHAPTER FIVE

LAND EVALUATION PRINCIPLES AND

APPLICATIONS
Contents
• Introduction to soil survey
• Uses of soil survey
• Stages in soil survey
• Steps in soil survey
• Soil mapping
• Principles of land evaluation
• Use of aerial photographs for land evaluation
• Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Objective
• At the end of the chapter, students will be able to:
• Explain the importance of soil survey in irrigation planning
• Understand how to determine suitability of a land for irrigation
Introduction to soil survey
Definition of soil survey
• Soil Survey can be defined as the process of classifying soil types and other soil properties
in a given area and geo-encoding such information.
Uses of soil survey
• Soil survey information can be used to predict or estimate the potentials and limitations of
soils for many specific uses.
• Soil survey includes an important part of the information that is used to make workable
plans for land management.
• Predictions based on soil surveys serve as a basis for judgment about land use and
management for areas ranging from small tracts to regions of several million hectares.
• These predictions, however, must be evaluated along with economic, social, and
environmental considerations before they can be used to make valid recommendations for
land use and management.
Introduction to soil survey
Examples on uses of soil survey
• Soil survey information can be used in planning, grading, and implementing an erosion
control program.
• Soil survey information is useful in planning, designing, and implementing an irrigation
system for a farm.
• A knowledge of the characteristics of the soil helps in determining:
• The run length,
• Water application rate,
• Soil amendment needs,
• Leaching requirements,
• General drainage requirements, and
• Field practices needed to maintain optimal soil conditions for plant growth.
Introduction to soil survey
Stages in soil survey program
• There are three stages in a soil survey program
• Stage 1: Pre-field activities
• Stage 2: Field activities
• Stage 3: Post-field activities
Introduction to soil survey
Stage 1: Pre-field activities
• Maps and data collection
• Equipment and transport
• Preparation of base maps
• Preparation of work plan, manpower and survey organization
Stage 2: Field activities
• Main part of activities in the field include:
• Checking identified soil classes and boundaries to be mapped,
• Checking the mapping legend and actual relations between soil properties and land
forms, shown on the preliminary base.
• Augur observation
• Pit description and sampling.
Introduction to soil survey
Stage 3: Post-field activities
• Submission of the samples to certified soil testing laboratories
• Compilation and analysis of field soil description data’s
• Analysis of laboratory results
• Final soil classification and mapping
• Land evaluation for irrigation
• Land evaluation for selected crops
• Assessment of soil and water conservation aspects
• Investigation of soil problems and recommendation of management options
Introduction to soil survey
Steps in soil survey
• Step 1: Delineating soil unit
• Step 2: Soil sampling
• Step 3: Profile Sampling
• Step 4: Plotting the soil mapping unit
• Step 5: Correlation
• Step 6: Soil mapping
• Step 7: Soil survey report
• Step 8: Land capability classification
Introduction to soil survey
Steps in soil survey
Step 1: Delineating soil unit
• Delineating soil unit with respect to topography
• Determination of texture
• Determination of slope – erosion phases
• Vegetation
Step 2: Soil sampling
• Two types:
a) Free Survey: As many as necessary samples are taken within the boundaries
b) Grid Survey: Transverses and transects are laid out in a grid pattern, samples are
taken at every intersect. Distance between lines: 50 meter
Introduction to soil survey
Steps in soil survey
Step 3: Profile sampling
Introduction to soil survey
Steps in soil survey
Step 4: Plotting the soil mapping unit
• Collaborating analytical data are coded in term of soil types, phases (stoniness
and erosion) and slope.
Introduction to soil survey
Steps in soil survey
Step 5: Correlation
• Previous profile study
• If the profile under study indicates very close similarities with an established
profile existing in another place, the soil under study is named after the other
soil.
Step 6: Soil mapping
• Preparing scaled map showing all soil unit investigated
Introduction to soil survey
Steps in soil survey
Step 7: Soil survey report
• The report embodies all items in the soil
survey program
Step 8: Land capability classification
• Refers to the productive capacity
of the soil for intensive as
influenced by soil fertility,
moisture supply and depth of
solum
• Two main limitations of land
capability
a) Soil limitation - soil physical
aspect that restrict crop
production
b) Climatic limitation - adverse
climatic problem
Soil mapping
• Soil mapping involves:
• Locating and identifying the different soils that occur,
• Collecting information about their location, nature, properties and potential
use, and
• Recording this information on maps and in supporting documents to show
the spatial distribution of every soil.
• In order to map and identify different types of soil it is necessary to have a
system of soil classification.
• Soils can be mapped at a range of scales.
Principles of land evaluation
• The term land evaluation refers to the process whereby the suitability of land for specific
kind or kinds of use is assessed.
• The main objective of land evaluation is to select suitable tract of land for development and
to find out the suitable cropping and land management alternatives that would be
physically and financially practicable and economically viable.
The FAO frame work for land evaluation
• The FAO’s framework for land evaluation (FAO, 1976) and the FAO’s guidelines on land
evaluation for rain fed and irrigated agriculture (FAO, 1983 and 1985) recommend land
suitability assessment at the following categorical levels:
• Land suitability “Order”
• Land suitability “Class”
• Land suitability “Subclass”
• Land suitability “Unit”
Principles of land evaluation
• At the highest level of “Order”, the land is classified as: S: Suitable, N: Not suitable.
• At the second level of “Class”, the order “S” is divided in to three classes, on the basis of
degree of suitability for defined use.
S1 Highly suitable No significant limitation; no significant reduction in
productivity/benefits or raising of inputs above an acceptable
level
S2 Moderately Moderately severe limitations; considerable reduction in
suitable productivity/benefits or input costs raised to the extent that
the use, though still attractive, is not as profitable as of S1
land
S3 Marginally Severe imitations; much reduced productivity/benefits or
suitable input costs raised to the extent that the use is only marginally
justified.
Principles of land evaluation
• Main procedures followed in land evaluation of a tract of land selected for a development
project include:
• Preliminary study of the existing information,
• Selection of the land use alternatives and description of the land use types for evaluation
• Preparation of a land resource inventory
• Listing of land use requirements in terms of the critical limits of land characteristics;
• Selection of “class-determining factors”
• Matching the values of characteristics of the land units with the critical limits
• Mapping and description of the land suitability subclasses or units
Principles of land evaluation
Use of aerial photographs for land evaluation
• Aerial photographs provide the longest-available, temporally continuous, and spatially
complete record of landscape change, dating from the early 1930s in some cases.
• Aerial photographs can reduce costs involved in mapping, inventorying, and planning, and,
as such, are used for applications ranging from forest inventories, disturbance mapping,
productivity estimates, land evaluation, and wildlife management.
• Many important management decisions are routinely made on the basis of maps derived
from aerial photographs.
• Despite the many advantages of aerial photographs, there are specific challenges for using
them, especially with respect to manual aerial photograph interpretation.
• Resource management agencies are beginning to face a shortage of well-trained
interpreters, especially those whose skills have ideally been combined with years spent in
the field.
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Parametric approach (the method of Sys and Verheye, 1974)
• The aim of this parametric evaluation system (Sys and Verheye, 1974) is to provide a method that permits
evaluation for irrigation purposes, and that is based on the standard granulometrical and physico-chemical
characteristics of a soil profile.
• It has been estimated that the soil as a medium for plant growth under irrigation should provide the necessary
water and plant nutrients in an available form, and in the most economical way.
• The factors influencing the soil suitability for irrigation can therefore be subdivided in to the following four
groups:
• Physical properties that determine the soil-water relationship in the solum such as permeability and
available water content both related to texture, structure and soil depth, also CaCO3 status and gypsum
status;
• Chemical properties that interfere in the salinity/alkalinity status, such as soluble salts and exchangeable
Na;
• Drainage properties
• Environmental factors, such as slope.
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
 

Parametric approach (the method of Sys and Verheye, 1974)

• In this method, the different land characteristics that influence the soil suitability for
irrigation are rated and a capability index for irrigation (CI) is calculated using:

Where:
CI =capability index for irrigation,
A =rating of soil texture,
B =rating of soil depth,
C =rating of CaCO3 status
D =rating of CaSO4 status, Values of A, B, C, D, E, F and G are taken from tables
E =salinity/alkalinity rating prepared for this purpose
F =drainage rating,
G =slope rating
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Parametric approach (the method of Sys and Verheye, 1974)
Table 1: Suitability index for the irrigation capability indices (CI) classes

Capability Class Definition Symbol

Index
>80 I Highly suitable S1
60 – 80 II Moderately suitable S2
45 – 60 III Marginally suitable S3
30 – 45 IV Currently not suitable N1
<30 V Permanently not suitable N2
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Parametric approach (the method of Sys and Verheye, 1974)

Table 2: Rating of soil depth

Rating for gravity

Soil depth (cm) 
irrigation 
<20  30 
20-50  60 
50-80  80 
80-100  90 
>100  100 
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Parametric approach (the method of Sys and Verheye, 1974)
Table 3: Rating of CaCO3 content

CaCO3 (%) Rating for gravity irrigation

<0.3 90
0.3-10 95
10-25 100
25-50 90
>50 80
Table 4: Rating for gypsum content.
CaSO4 content, (%) >50 25 – 50 10 – 25 0.3 – 10 <0.3
Rating 30 60 85 100 90
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Table 5: Rating of textural classes for irrigation
Textural class Rating
Gravel Fine gravel Coarse gavel
<15 % 15-40% 40-75% 15-40% 40-75%

Clay Loam (CL) 100 90 80 80 50

Silt Clay Loam (SiCL) 100 90 80 80 50
Sandy Clay Loam (SCL) 95 85 75 75 45
Loam (L) 90 80 70 70 45
Silt Loam (SiL) 90 80 70 70 45
Silt (Si) 90 80 70 70 45
Silt Clay (SiC) 85 95 80 80 40
Clay<60% 0-2 μ fraction(C) 85 95 80 80 40
Sandy Clay (SC) 80 90 75 75 35
Sandy Loam (SL) 75 65 60 60 35
Clay >60% 0-2 μ fraction(C) 65 65 55 55 30
Loamy Sand (LS) 55 50 45 45 25
Sand (C) 30 25 25 25 25
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Table 6: Rating for salinity and alkalinity
ESP Electrical conductivity, EC in dS/m
0–4 4–8 8 – 16 16 – 30 >30
0–8 100 95 90 85 80
100(*) 90(*) 80(*) 70(*) (60)
8 – 15 95 90 85 80 75
90(*) 80(*) 70(*) 60(*) 50(*)
15 – 30 90 85 80 75 70
80(*) 70(*) 60(*) 50(*) 40(*)
>30 85 80 75 70 65
70(*) 60(*) 50(*) 40(*) 30(*)
(*) clay, silt clay, sandy clay
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Table 7: Rating for drainage classes as related to texture and salinity and depth of groundwater
Rating
Drainage class Clay, silt clay, sandy clay, silt clay Other textures
loam
Non saline Saline groundwater Non Saline
saline groundwate
r
• Well drained soils gley at
>3m 100 100 100 100
2–3m 95 85 100 100
1.2 – 2 m 90 75 95 95
• Moderately drained with gley at 80 – 120 cm 80 50 90 70
• Imperfectly drained with gley at 40 – 80 cm 70 35 80 60
• Poorly drained soils with gley at < 40 cm 60 30 65 40
• Very poorly drained reduction horizon at <40 40 20 65 30
cm
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Table 8: Rating of slopes for gravity
Rating for gravity irrigation
Slope class (%)
Non-terraced Terraced
0–1 100 100
1–3 95 95
3–5 90 95
5–8 80 95
8 - 16 70 85
16 – 30 50 70
>30 30 50
Principles of land evaluation
Land evaluation for irrigated agriculture
Example
Determine the suitability of an area for irrigation purpose using the method of
Sys and Verheye (1974) with the data given in Table below. Besides, a slope
range of 5-8% (non-terraced slope), coarse gravelly layer of 70% characterize the
area. The site is imperfectly drained with gley at depth of 50 cm with saline
groundwater.

Depth, cm Texture + CaCO3 CaSO4(%) Salinity ESP

gravel (%) (%) (dS/m) (%)
0 – 15 Silt +70% 29 0.25 2.5 1.2
15 – 65 Loam +70% 55 0.25 2.7 0.5