Abstract:
Organic carbon plays an important and fundamental role in soils, particularly those used for
agriculture, as it contributes to crop growth and development. We conducted a study on the
distribution of organic carbon in date palm soil, observing the effect of irrigation on organic
carbon. Irrigation was carried out using groundwater (wells), and the results showed that the water
was saline and contained various mineral elements (poor to bad quality). We took random soil
samples at a depth of (0 to 30) cm from our study site, the Ibrahim Dahou palm grove, located in
Algeria, province of Ghardaïa, commune of DAYA BEN DAHOUA, arrondissement of
BOUBRIK. We carried out a laboratory study on soil samples to determine the amount of organic
carbon. The results showed that the soil is low in carbon, with a value of less than 1. This is due
to the sandy nature of the soil and the characteristics of the desert zone. The results also showed
that the soil is not saline in nature, due to the conductivity, which peaked before irrigation (0.019
dm/s) and after irrigation (0.012 dm/s). The pH was 7.84 before and 8.41 after irrigation. The soil
was slightly alkaline. The results of the spatial distribution of the parameters studied showed
moderate to high variation in organic carbon, and high to very high variation in electrical
conductivity. On the other hand, the spatial variability of pH was low. These results lead us to
conclude that the soil has a sandy texture and low organic carbon content. Irrigation plays an
effective role in the distribution of organic carbon in the soil, as demonstrated by our study.
