This document provides an overview of soil management needs and priorities in Sudan. It describes Sudan's climate zones and land use, noting that over 84 million hectares are suitable for agriculture but only 25% is currently in use. The major soil types are discussed, including desert soils, riverine soils, and important clay soils in central Sudan. Issues of drought, desertification affecting 64% of the country, and widespread soil salinity are addressed. Recommendations are made to improve soil fertility through crop rotations, fertilizer use, and develop adapted technologies to address challenges of climate change and land degradation.

1. STATUS, PRIORITIES AND NEEDS
FOR SUSTAINABLE SOIL
MANAGEMENT IN SUDAN
Mohamed Ahmed Salih
Land and Water Research Centre,
ARC, Sudan
Workshop on Global Soil Partnership
in Near East And North Africa
17 - 19 June 2014
Amman, Jordan

2. SUDAN

3. * Sudan is one of the largest African countries.
* It covers about 13 degrees latitudes crossing a
range of climatic zones from semi dry climate to bare
desert.
SUDAN

4.  Over 84 m ha of suitable land for agric. production

 Only 25% or less of land is under use now
 Variety of water resources, the river Nile and its
tributaries, rain fall and huge underground water
reserves
 Variety of ecological zones that contribute in
providing suitable conditions for selection and
growing of wide range crop species.

5. * 1- Desert Climate
* North of Khartoum, with low rainfall, less than 250 mm
with very scanty vegetation.
* 2 - ARID ZONE CLIMATE
* High summer temperatures
* Rainfall ranging from 225-400mm.
* Sparse acacia trees ad grasses.
*3 - SEMI-ARID CLIMATE
*High summer temperatures
*Rainfall 400- 750 mm.
*Savannah trees and long grasses

6.  HIGHLANDS CLIMATE
 Jebel Mara and Red Sea hills
 Semi Mediterranean climate

7. 1- Desert Soils
* In the north western desert, the soils are mainly
Aridisols , flat, formed insitu, coarse textured, with
weakly developed diagnostic horizons.
 In the eastern desert the soils are Aridisols with
coarse texture, active wind erosion, no detailed
studies were made

8.  2 - Riverain Soils:
 Recent Terrace Soils :
 Recent alluvial deposits, dark gray, medium texture,
platy structure, mildly alkaline, non-saline, non-
sodic, belongs to Entisols order.
 Old Terrace Soils:
 Old soils , deep, salts seen on surface, saline sodic ,
Aridisols.

 Soils of Tokar delta with varying textures from fine,
medium to coarse, Classified as Entisols

9.  Clay Soils Of Central Sudan:
 Agriculturally, the most important soils in Sudan
* They extend from west of Kassala through central
Sudan up to southern Kordofan.
 They are cracking soils
 They encompass major irrigated agric. Schemes
including Gezira, Rahad , New Halfa , sugar
plantation projects ,traditional and mechanized
rain fed agriculture

10. 1 - Gezira Clayey deposits.
 Alluvial deposits originating from the
 Ethiopian highlands, they are broad flat clay
plains, high CEC, high clay %, high buffering
capacity, low N, OM and Available P..

11.  2 - Butana Clay Plain:
 Formed in situ from the basement complex and
filled in materials from the surrounding hills


12. Dinder-Kenana Plains:
 Alluvial deposits of the Blue Nile, formed from the
weathering of the basement complex
 Heavy texture soils, with very high clay content,
deep, widely cracking,
 calcareous, non-saline and non-sodic .
 Gedarif-Gallabat :
 Formed insitu, deep, cracking clays, with inclusions
of Azaza , ( red sealed surface soils) Alfisols ) .

13.  Jebel Merra and Red Sea hills.
 Intersected by valleys and water courses with
shallow soils .
 Volcanic ash soils of Jebel Merra.

14. Weighted average for
0 = 100 cm depth
Weighted average for 0 -30 cm
depth
Soil NameLand form
Clay
%
ESP
%
CaCO
3 %
EC
ds/
m
K
Cmol/
kg
CEC
Cmol
/kg
N%O C%PHDesert and
semi desert
plains
3172.96.92.5350.0150.078.3Damar
33201.62.10.9320.0240.068.4Atbara
542032.60.75500.010.368.1GeziraArid clay
plains
Properties
of Some
Arid Zones
Soils
7530.30.30.5750.110.47.5North
Gedaref
0.50.630.20.230.20.0110.177.5N StateSand
sheets and
dunes
71.101.10.4560.0090.107.7N kordofan
and N
darfur

15. ‫اﻟﺘﺮﺑﺔ‬ ‫أﺳﻢ‬ pH
paste
0.C.
%
N
%
P
mgkg-1
K
cmolkg-1
ESP%
0-30
cm
Zn
Mgkg-1
Cu
mgkg-1
Fe
mgkg-1
Mn
mgkg-1
‫اﻟﻌﻄﺎﯾﺎ‬ ‫ود‬ 8.20 0.333 0.048 2.70 1.120 5.91 0.470 1.13 8.38 7.81
‫ﺗﺮﯾﺒﺎت‬ ‫أم‬ 8.40 0.375 0.046 3.07 1.180 4.9 0.112 1.33 11.14 6.0
‫اﻟﺤﺪاد‬ ‫ود‬ 8.08 0.353 0.039 0.77 1.010 11.42 0.395 1.13 10.17 5.79
‫اﻟﺮﻣﯿﺘﺎب‬ 8.10 0.307 0.038 3.55 0.934 11.1 0.170 1.03 10.29 5.09
‫اﻟﺠﻤﻮﻋﯿﺔ‬ 8.10 0.415 0.040 3.54 0.960 13 0.190 1.01 2.72 4.91
‫اﻟﺴﻠﯿﻤﻰ‬ 8.04 0.375 0.037 3.32 0.994 11.4 ND ND ND ND
‫ﺟﺒﺎر‬ 8.20 0.324 0.034 3.32 0.870 14.9 0.195 0.89 9.95 5.03
‫اﻟﺪوﻣﮫ‬ 8.00 0.342 0.037 3.04 0.790 11.8 1.610 1.20 10.22 4.44
‫اﻟﺪوﺣﺔ‬ 8.05 0.506 0.037 3.73 0490 6.44 0.054 10.06 0.86 4.68
Some Soil Characteristics of Central clay plains Areas
Source : Soil survey Report (Gezira –
south group)

16. Land form Soil Name Weighted average for 0 -30
cm depth
Weighted average
for 0 = 100 cm
depth
Desert and
semi desert
plains
PH O
C%
N% CEC
Cm
ol/k
g
K
Cm
ol/k
g
EC
DS/
M
CaC
o3
%
ESP
%
Cla
y%
Damar 8.3 0.07 0.02 35 2.5 6.9 2.9 7 31
Atbara 8.4 0.06 0.02 32 0.9 2.1 1.6 20 33
Arid clay plains Gezira 8.1 0.36 0.01 50 0.75 2.6 3 20 54
North Gedaref 7.5 0.4 0.11 75 0.5 0.3 0.3 3 75
Sand sheets
and dunes
N/ State 7.5 0.17 0.01 0.2 0.23 0.2 3 0.6 0.5
N kordofan
and N Darfur
7.7 0.10 0.01 6 0.45 1.1 0 1.1 7

17. Land form Soil Name USDA 1990
Desert and semi
desert plains
Order Great group
Damar ARIDISOLS Typic
Haplocambids
Atbra Vertic
Haplocamibids
Arid Clay plains Gezira VERTISOLS Sodic Haplostert
N/Gadref Aridic Haplostert
Sand sheets and
dunes
N/State ENTISOLS Typic
Torripsamments
N/Kordofan .N/
Darfur
Typic
Torripsamments

18. Land form Soil Name Suitability Classification
Desert and semi
desert Damar S3tsg Topography,
Salinity and
surface gravels
Atbra S2eaf Sodicity, erosion
and feitywrtil
Arid clay plains Gezira S2vf Vertisolic
characteristics and
fertility
N/ Gadaref S2vf Vertisolic
characteristics and
fertility

19.  1 – Drought and Desertification
 2 – Salinity

20.  3% of Sudan area was converted to desert

 64% of Sudan area is threatened by desert creep
 Indicators of land degradation were manifested in
 –prevalence of wind erosion, water erosion due to
soil compaction and surface runoff, low vegetative
cover etc…

21.  1- low rain fall and prolonged drought spells
 2 - Human factors :
- Forest tree cutting for agriculture
- Over grazing
- Mono-cropping and lack of crop rotation

22.  Saline soil in Sudan amounts to 23% of its area
(Berima, 2000)
 Low precipitation and high evaporation are
among factors that lead to salts accumulation
 In affected areas

23. Limitation Remedy
Topography Leveling/ pivoting
Salinity Leaching (LR) ,Tolerant crops
Sodicity Gypsum and leaching (GR ,LR ), Tolerant
crops
Erosion Shelter belts , soil conditioners ,etc
Fertility Fertilization , organic manning , rotation
Moisture Watering by proper migration method )
Vertisolic Manu ring , plowing,etc.
Wetness Drainge , sutable crop (eg .rice )
Physical Plowing ,sub soiling , chiselling ,manuring

24.  The major agric. soils are low on OM. Total N,
available P most of the micro nutrients
 Management strategies include:
 Crop rotation with a legume component
 Addition of fertilizer both chemical and
organic

25. Fertilizer 000 Tonnes
N (urea ) 54.3
P₅ O₂ (TSP) 11.1
K₂ O (Potassium Chloride) 3.8

26. Year Urea USD/Tonne TSP
USD/Tonne
1995 73.63 54.02
1996 96.45 146.37
1997 157.29 170.69
1998 111.72 159.86
1999 116.72 179.36
2000 150.99 173.40
2001 87.58 174.61
2002 139.47 162.09
2003 152.53 170.86
2004 215.54 229.27
2005 209.96 260.32

27. Crop1N-2N Dose Locality
Cotton 86 kg N/ha Gezira
Wheat 86 kg N+43 kg
P2O5/ha
Gezira+North Sudan
Sorghum 43 kg N- 86 kg
N.ha
Gezira-Rainfed area
Sugar cane 172 kg N/ha Kenana
Rice 129 kg N+43 kg
P2O5/ha
White Nile Gezira
Maize 86 kg N +43 kg
P2O5.ha
Irrigated sector
Sunflower 43 kg N- 86 kg
N/ha
Rain fed - Gezira

28. Level of Soil Survey of Total Surveyed
Areas
% of Sudan Area
Detailed Survey 1 0.28
Semi-detailed 5% 2
Reconnaissance 6% 2.7
Explaratory 88% 36.4
total 100 41.3

30. **Soil Map of Sudan at 1:250,000
*Development of Soil Fertility Maps
*Need to develop climate change adaptation and
mitigation technologies
*Development of benchmark Soils as a base for soil
research
*Combating Desertification

31. Develop appropriate crop rotations which
improve soil fertility and soil conservation;
 Develop, improve and adapt methods for cost
effective use of: Organic fertilizers; mulching
to improve water retention; minimum tillage
and Cultural practices.

32. * Capacity Building , for both Human and Laboratory
equipments
*Land Suitability maps in climate change perspective
*Development of a Awareness on the importance of
regulating the use of soil and water resources and
the critical role they played in human life

33. Thank You