Comprehensive Assessment of Agricultural Land Evaluation in Arid Environments Using Geospatial Tools

Land evaluation in arid and semi-arid environments is a crucial step toward ensuringg sustainable agricultural development and optimizing resource use. The current study aimed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of land capability and crop suitability using geospatial tools, with a focus on quantifying the physical and chemical limitations that determine soil productivity. A total of 2,118 soil profiles were sampled on a 250 × 250 m grid across 31,000 feddans of newly reclaimed area. Land capability was assessed using the modified Storie Index, and crop suitability was evaluated through the ALESarid-GIS model for some selected field, oil, vegetable, and fruit crops. The findings indicated that land capability results classified 45.64% of the land as Grade 4 and 47.57% as Grade 5, reflecting severe to very severe limitations, while only 0.21% classified as Grade 3. The suitability analysis demonstrated significant variation among crop groups. For the field crops, wheat and barley ranked the highest with 93.20% of the area classified as moderately suitable (S2), while sorghum recorded the lowest with 84.46% in S3. Within the oil crops, sesame showed the best performance with 80.56% in S2, whereas soybean was the least adapted, with only 12.68% marginally suitable (S3) and the majority (80.73%) restricted to conditionally suitable (S4). For the vegetables, onion emerged as the most suitable, achieving 84.13% in S2, while potato showed the lowest adaptability, with 72% confined to marginal suitability (S3). Among the fruit crops, olives proved the most promising, with 57.61% of the area moderately suitable (S2), while peach had the lowest suitability, with only 9.35% in S2 and over 75% restricted to marginal (S3). On the other hand, sensitive crops such as tomato, green pepper, citrus, and mango were largely marginal or unsuitable due to shallow depth, salinity, and alkalinity. In conclusion, the study highlights that although most soils are marginally capable (Grades 4–5), sustainable production is achievable through strategic crop–soil matching, integrated nutrient management, gypsum and organic amendments, and precision irrigation. The findings provide a practical roadmap for prioritizing salt- and drought-tolerant crops (e.g., sugar beet, sorghum, sunflower, alfalfa, wheat, barley, and olive), while discouraging the cultivation of highly sensitive species. This approach promotes efficient resource use, reduces environmental risks, and supports long-term sustainability of agricultural expansion in arid reclamation areas.