Using a pedotransfer (PTF) model to establish GIS-based maps for the main physical and hydraulic soil properties in the eastern region of the Al-Ahsa Oasis, Saudi Arabia

This study aims to produce digital maps showing the physical and hydraulic soil properties of the Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia by employing the capabilities of the GIS technique. These maps can display the pattern distribution of different physical and hydraulic properties of soil accurately and accessibly. Recently developed local pedotransfer function (PTF) models were applied to the basic soil data of earlier research covering 566 points. An analysis was conducted using a spatial interpolation technique of the GIS program. Maps of spatial patterns described essential soil physical and hydraulic properties such as sand%, silt%, clay%, bulk density (rho), saturation (theta(s)), field capacity (FC), wilting point (WP), and soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) fitting parameters b, c, d. Sand dominates most of the study area, particularly in the northeast near Hufof. This may be attributed to the deposition of drifting sand and dune movement. Silt and clay increased in other locations. Bulk density rho was positively increased with sand and negatively with silt and CaCO3 content. Soil hydraulic properties (theta, FC, WP, and SWCC fitting parameters b, c, d) were positively correlated with silt and rho and negatively with sand content. This digital map can be employed for a general overview investigation, for the whole studied area, for agricultural expansion and for environmental studies.