Sustainable landuse management on the coastal zone of the Nile Delta, Egypt

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to evaluate sustainable landuse management (SLM) through biophysics and socio-economic elements for the purpose of combating and tackling sustainability constraints that preclude the agricultural development. From the geomorphological point of view, three main landscapes were identified: (1) fluvio-lacustrine plain; (2) marine plain; and (c) floodplain. The study area was dominated by some physical and chemical degradation processes with different scales breaking down the equilibrium of soil stability. SLM was assessed from the perspective of productivity, security, protection, economic viability and social acceptability. Four SLM classes were outlined as follows: Class I: land management practices meet the sustainability requirements with score ≥0.65, representing 9.48% of the agricultural areas; Class II: land management practices are marginally above the threshold of sustainability, representing 4.61% of the agricultural studied areas; Class III: land management practices are marginally below the threshold of sustainability, representing 22.48% of the agricultural studied areas; Class IV: land management practices do not meet the sustainability requirements with values < 0.1 occurring, representing 62.43% of the agricultural studied areas. In general, land management practices tend to be unsustainable. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.