Qualitative evaluation of land suitability for wheat in Northeast-Iran Using FAO methods

In the recent study, land suitability evaluation for wheat has been determined using FAO methods in Damghan plain located in Semnan province of Iran. This study was carried out in an area including 5400 ha in the southern part of Damghan city in the form of surveying at a semi-detailed level. In study area, two orders including Aridisols and Entisols, three families and nine soil series were identified. The results showed that the climatic characteristics of the region were suitable for wheat growth. The main important limiting factors of land characteristics were soil physics properties, salinity and alkalinity. Assessment of the results by means of the two methods- Simple limitation and Square Root showed a close mutual correlation and only in case of Storie method, the number of land classes were much lower than in other methods. This study suggests that the use of Simple Limitation method and Square Root is more appropriate for evaluation of the qualitative land suitability than others.