This book presents the soil pedodiversity in Libya. Soils are the source of all life; there can be no life without them. Further, each soil has its own history and its present conditions, which have been shaped by many different factors (e.g. climate, biota, parent material, and relief or topography). The book, divided into eight chapters, provides extensive information on Libyan soils. Chapter one provides an introduction and a broad perspective of the subject, while Chapter two covers the history of soil mapping and research in Libya. Chapter three focuses on local factors of soil formation and describes the geology and climate of the region to explain the diversity of its soils. Chapter four discusses soil classification systems and those most commonly used in the country. The fifth chapter illustrates the constraints and limiting factors that negatively affect agricultural activities across the country. The land cover/land use and the vegetation of the country are described in Chapter six. In turn, Chapter seven presents the status quo of soil biology, the corresponding related research activities, and the other biological properties of Libyan soils. The final chapter (Chapter eight) focus on land degradation and desertification in Libya, emphasizing the main causes, impacts of the phenomena, and efforts to combat it. This book demonstrates the problems that the country is currently facing as a result of climate change, soil erosion, salinization, and pollution, and outlines potential remedies to improve local food security. Bringing together the perspectives and expertise of many distinguished scientists from various universities and institutions in and outside of Libya, the book represents a unique and highly valuable resource. 

 

Dr. Hamdi A. Zurqani is one of the faculty members at the Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. Dr. Zurqani is a recognized expert as a result of his internationally acclaimed work in the areas of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land Evaluation, Sustainability, Pedology, and Soil Science Education. He has conducted research across the world, including the United States of America, and Africa. Dr. Zurqani is a distinguished soil scientist with a wide range of scientific and working experiences in Libya and abroad. He received his M.Sc. (2010) from the University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. and Ph.D. (2019) from Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. His major research and teaching activities at the University of Tripoli have focused mainly on Soil genesis and Classification and the Environmental Information Sciences. He has published broadly in many journals (e.g., Nature 'Scientific Reports', Geoderma; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation; Journal of Geological Sciences; Land; Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis; and others). He is also one of the authors of the lab manual entitled 'GIS Exercises for Natural Resource Management'. Dr. Zurqani has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors: Recipient of Douglas R. Phillips Award for Graduate Students, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, April 12, 2019; the First Place Best Judged Poster (CAFLS) at the GRADS 2019: Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2019; the Second Place Poster at the 11th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, April 6, 2019; the Second Place Best Judged Poster at the Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2018; and the Third Place Poster at the 9th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, February 25th, 2017. Dr. Zurqani conducts cutting-edge research in the field of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land use management/ planning, change detection of landscape degradation, and Geographic Information System (GIS) models. He has focused on his research efforts on the development of novel applications for new technologies in analyzing spatial data, remote sensing, geostatistical modeling of environmental changes such as erosion, mapping and predicting soil salinity, and land use/ land cover changes.