Soils of the UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) occupies about 82,880 km² from which the Abu Dhabi Emirate represents more than 85% of the UAE’s mainland territory. The desert landscape of the UAE encompasses plains, sand sheets, sand dunes, sabkhas (supratidal salt flats formed by the precipitation of evaporites), burqas and mesas (burqas and mesas are rocky outcrops and small mountains found in the western region). These desert soils are a central component of the cultural heritage of the UAE. UAE soils are composed of 2 orders called Aridisol and Entisol. A soil survey revealed that these 2 orders could be subdivided into 6 suborders, 10 great groups, 41 sub-groups and 74 series in the UAE. The 10 great groups of soils found in the UAE are Aquisalids, Calcigypsids, Haplocalcids, Haplocambids, Haplogypsids, Haplosalids, Petrocalcids, Petrogypsids, Torriorthents, and Torripsamments. More information can be found on the website of the Emirates Soil Museum (http://www.emiratessoilmuseum.org/uae-soil-map).

Did you know? It has been estimated that about 2/3 of the soil in the UAE are unsuitable for irrigated agriculture while approximately 1/3 is marginally (27%) to moderately suitable (5%); only 0.04% of the soils in the UAE soils highly suitable for irrigated agriculture. Some of the policies that have been proposed to address the issues that the UAE faces in terms of soil quality include integrated soil salinity management, irrigation using brackish water, selection of salt-tolerant plants, understanding nutrient cycling in desert environments, controlled grazing, and fundamental scientific research.