Assessing Agricultural Soil Health Using Satellite Data: A Study of Soil Indicators Associated with Crop Productivity in Al-Latifiyah District

Abstract

Land degradation is one of the most significant environmental challenges facing agricultural production. It is defined as the quantitative or qualitative change in soil properties that reduces its productivity. This degradation has multiple dimensions, including physical, chemical, and biological aspects, and exacerbates arid and semi-arid conditions due to the decline in the soil's biological capacity over time. Communities in arid regions, including Iraq, face a complex problem that extends beyond resource scarcity to include land and water degradation and reduced resource use efficiency. This necessitates enhancing resource management efficiency to achieve food security and ensure environmental sustainability. In this context, the concept of soil health has emerged as a comprehensive framework for assessing the soil's ability to function as a living ecosystem that maintains plant, animal, and human productivity and ensures water and air quality. Soil health assessment is based on quantitative indicators that combine chemical, physical, and biological properties, in addition to remote sensing indicators that provide precise tools for monitoring spatial and temporal changes in soil properties. This study aims to assess the health of agricultural soils in the Al-Latifiya district using remote sensing data, by comparing two growing seasons: the base year (2017–2018) and the control year (2023–2024). The study relied on digital processing of satellite imagery and the extraction of key spectral indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Brightness Spectral Index (BSI), and the Salinity Index (SI). The study assumes a strong spatial and temporal correlation between these spectral indices and agricultural crop productivity, enabling their use in assessing soil health and identifying degraded areas. Preliminary results showed that the spectral indices are capable of reflecting variations in crop productivity between the two seasons and represent an effective tool for diagnosing changes in agricultural soil properties. This analysis contributes to building a knowledge base to support agricultural planning and the sustainable management of natural resources in arid regions, thereby enhancing Iraq's ability to address the challenges of food security and environmental degradation.