Sources and human impacts on soil development in Levant region
PGSB workshop 25 June 2018 I Mahmoud S Zaid
Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. Roland Bol, IBG-3 (Agrosphere) Prof. Dr. Mutaz Qutob, AL-Quds University Dr. Bernhard Lucke, FAU- Erlangen
Dust Parent Bedrock Weathering Material
Highlands Relief Soil Climate Formation and Development
Archaeological tells Time Organisms Human & agriculture
The crucial five ! 2 Key factors which influence soil formation Levantine Soil Formation – top down or bottom up ?
Key studies Yaloon (1997) Durn, 1999; Jackson, 1982; Sandler, 2013; and others) noted that soils Dust in the Levant ame from dust deposition. My master thesis results supported this idea.
Other studies (e.g B. Lucke, FAU supervisor) found a Halsaclose (mineralNegev )composition site relation between the soil and the bedrock in Jordan Haroun Mountain ( Petra) site suggestion weathering related pedogenesis Way soils are formed top down or bottom up will affect colour, compositions and importantly soil fertility and how to best manage them for food and fibre production Varying formation mechanism lead to different elemental fingerprints, and although soils are Weathering heterogeneous through chemical and physical B.fingerprints Lucke in(FAU it see howsupervisor) they were formed found although coloured different, the soils from Negev and Haron Mountain have similar minerals and chemical compositions Soil soil source Natural development
Soil Arabian Peninsula
Sahara desert Mainly clay particles, calcareous minerals landscape Human Mainly silt and sandused particles, predominantlyArchaeological s ilicate minerals THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT
The goal of this project is to study the source and soil developing processing in Levant region. In addition, the impact of human activity in soil formation.
5 1. Study the soil in Levant 2. Quantitative and 6. Comparing Qualitative past soil with analysis of new soil various elements in Main the soil objectives
5. the impact 3. Know the of Human pedogenetic activity in soil processing for formation Levant soil 4. Know the source and the parent material for 6 this soil TIME SCHEDULE
Mminerals
Clay Isotopes fraction minerals
•First stage 2018 •First stage 2019 initial sampling set Analysis •Second stage 2020- collected Grain Major 2021 size elements •Second stage 2020
Rare Earth Trace Sampling elements elements Interpretation
7 Ajloun SAMPLING SAMPLING Irbid
Battir (Bethlehem)
Ta'amar (Bethlehem) Jordanian soil PalestinianUmm soil Queis Al-Mafraq Petra
Qusin (Nablus) Bait Iba (Nablus) WHERE WE ARE NOW?
• Started 1st May 2018 • First stage sampling • Preparing samples for analysis • Planning to start analyse the samples • Take some courses in soil sciences
9 OUTLOOK AND FUTURE PLANS
FZJ & FAU • Take relevant PhD relevant courses in FZJ and FAU-Erlangen • Interpretation the results from first sampling campaign August 2018- • Publish a study review and first article (driver of soil pedogenesis in Levant) August 2019
FAU & FZJ • Next sampling stage from the Levant which will be also include Soils affected by human activities and palaeosols. • The chemical, mineralogical compositions will be determined as an indicator of a (2019-2020) human impact in the soil formation.
• Finishing the work and submit the thesis FZJ & FAU • At least publish two to four articles • Highlights of the Ph.D. outputs to be use as further basis for the further education 2021 of subsequent students interested in the soil formation in Palestine.
10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• I would like to thank PGSB for their financial support for to do my Ph.D. study in Germany. • Also thanks to all people in IBG-3 (Agrosphere) who have help me since starting my Ph.D. (May 2018)
ICP-OES
EA-IRMS ICP/MS Analytical Method
X-ray ICP/MS diffraction
Page 12