Mapping of Land Suitability Evaluation for Surface and Drip Irrigation Methods in Sistan Plain: A Case Study of Counties of Sistan and Baluchestan Province

For the proper use of water resources and prevention of soil degradation, it is necessary to select the best irrigation system. The aim of this study was to map the land suitability evaluation for different irrigation methods (surface and drip) in 46000 ha of Sistan plain including Hirmand, Hamon, Nimroz, Zahak, and Zabol counties. For this purpose, 600 pedons with an approximate distance of 700 to 800 m were excavated, described, and sampled. In this study, land suitability evaluation for different irrigation methods based on soil properties and topography was done using the parametric method. Then, land suitability maps for surface and drip irrigation methods were prepared using the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method. The results showed that in the studied area, the conditions for drip irrigation are better than the surface irrigation method. However, in many studied areas, there are restrictions for drip irrigation, and for proper and efficient use of this irrigation system, the restrictions must be removed. Moreover, the results confirmed that in all studied areas the most important limitations are salinity/alkalinity and limitations due to physical soil properties. The silty clay and silty loam textural were the most limitation classes. Due to the fact that changing the physical properties is not easily possible, it seems that soil remediation based on salinity and alkalinity can help to remove or reduce the limitations.