Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
EC of the saturated soil extracts (Table 2). Such variations in those parameters are more
obvious in ECe; which accompanied with the variation in Na
+
and Cl¯ ions content in those
soils. In fact, the data have shown that the main elements that could cause salt stress in such
soils are Na
+
and Cl¯ in addition to other cations like Ca2
+
, Mg2
+
and K
+
.
Climatic elements
Annual values
Months of lowest
values
Months of highest
values
Average temp. (°C)
27
Jan: 17
Jul-Aug: 35
Average max. temp. (°C)
31
Jan: 20
Jun-Jul: 40
Average min. tem. (°C)
22
Jan: 13
Jul-Aug: 30
Absolute max. temp. (°C)
47
Jan - Feb: 32
May-Aug: 47
Absolute min. temp. (°C)
1
Jan: 1
Jul: 23
Average rainfall (mm)
81
Jun-Oct: 0
Feb: 20
Average morning RH (%)
71
Jun: 52
Feb-Dec: 82
Average afternoon RH (%)
43
Jun: 28
Dec: 54
Average wind speed (km/h)
20
Sep-Oct: 14
Jun: 27
RH: Relative Humidity
Table 1.
Climatic data of Doha city. Average annual values, average monthly lowest values, and
average monthly highest values. Data of 17 years [5].
The above meteorological conditions and soil properties could be involved strongly to the
features of the harsh environment in the region, and ultimately could have had major
impact on the biodiversity and distribution of wild life in Qatar. Moreover, the shape,
topography, geological structure and petrographic composition of the landscape are
additional factors affecting the life of plants, as well as other living organisms [6]. Thus,
from geographic point of view and climate conditions, Qatar is considered as hot
subtropical desert with saline flats [5, 8].
Parameters
Properties
Soil texture
Sandy - Sandy clay loam
Absolute water content (%)
2.2 - 25.7
Soil water content (% field capacity)
7.9 - 65.9
pH (soil extract)
6.6 - 8.4
ECe (dSm
-1
)
4.2 - 195.0
Na
+
(mg l
-1
) of soil extract
186 - 726
K
+
(mg l
-1
) of soil extract
60 - 108
Ca
2+
(mg l
-1
) of soil extract
63 - 113
Mg
2+
(mg l
-1
) of soil extract
34 - 82
Cl
-
(gl
-1
) of soil extract
2.0 - 344
Table 2.
The physical and chemical properties of soil samples collected from Doha area [9].
