DEFINITION OF THE PHYSIOGRAPHIC UNITS AND LAND USE CAPABILITY CLASSES OF SOILS IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS VIA SATELLITE IMAGING

摘要

This study was conducted on soils of the mountainous regions of northern Adana. The area of study was located between two dams, Catalan and Seyhan. The aims of this study were to identify the Main Physiographic Units (MPU) and soil classes (Land Use Capability, LUC) to provide comprehensive data about soils within the area of study. 26 soil profiles have been identified to represent the physiographic units and soil series in the area of study. Based on remote sensing data and GIS, the area of study can be divided into 7 MPU (Bajada: base land-clay deposit; colluvial; foot slope; Terraces-aged, marine, young; ridge/hilly; river bank and terrace) and each of these units takes up 7, 3, 6, 36, 10, 33, and 5% of the area, respectively. Foot slope and ridge/hilly units comprise 36% and 33% of the area, respectively. The remaining physiographic units make up 10% or less of the study area. 7 classes of soils were identified for LUC for studying soils. These classes are Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ,Ⅵ,Ⅶ, and Ⅷ, and their percentages are 2, 5, 20, 22, 40, 9 and 2, respectively. The percentage of the first three classes (Ⅰ,Ⅱand Ⅲ) is 27% and the percentage of the area not suitable for cultivated agriculture is 51%.