El Oued, Sahara Desert, Algeria
 
 
Soil depletion is a global phenomenon; according to sources of the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) 40% of the Earth’s land surface is arid and another 20% is likely to suffer progressive deterioration due to human activity such as deforestation, the misuse of water resources, intensive farming, and the conversion of green areas into pasture.

It is possible, however, with the right land management techniques to stem this process or even reverse the trend. Satellite sensing of the areas at risk is proving indispensible in this respect: the UNCCD is using these tools to help individual countries monitor soil conditions.

These images show date palm cultivations in the province of El Oued in the Algerian Sahara. The intensive use of water resources for agriculture and drinking water has caused serious environmental and hydro-geological problems. The carving up of the land to create wells, undertaken without water analysis or any assessment of the effect on the environment, is directly connected with the increase in the salinity of the soil, which leads to desertification of the land. This phenomenon is also associated with the increase in the amount of dust that blows across the fields.

Scientific studies recommend drastic changes in the management of water resources to stave off impoverishment of the land that would jeopardise the already poor economies in the region and the future of these areas.

 
Download image: Date palm cultivations, Algerian province of El Oued, Sahara Desert.
Multi-temporal image obtained thanks to the COSMO-SkyMed satellite constellation.
Radar enables us to see the vegetative condition of the cultivations and highlights their state of health.
This image also shows the intricate web of cellular structures to protect the land
from the sand and to channel the scarce water available.

 

 
Download image: Date palm cultivations, Algerian province of El Oued, Sahara Desert.
The near-infrared images, which can accurately distinguish vegetation,
are used to map the agricultural areas for biomass analysis and production.



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