Detection of Changes in Soil Characteristics of Wasit Governorate and their Relationship to Climate Changes Using RS Remote Sensing Technologies And GIS Geographic Information Systems

The study aims to reveal the impact of climate change on soil properties, and to find out the percentage of this change in Wasit governorate, as soil is a major component of the Earth's ecosystem, and the most affected by climatic conditions, but it determines the type of impact of the combined element of physical, chemical, biological and human processes that act on the soil parent material. Based on modern technologies in the scientific methods represented by artificial intelligence methods, in particular remote sensing (RS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), digital elevation model(DEM), satellite visuals (Land Sat 5.7.8), through the processing of space visuals and converting them into the form of outputs with digital maps, and through programs it is possible to determine the size of the change that has occurred on the soil and its spatial distribution, knowledge efficiency and accuracy in matching their results with the conservative spatial reality. The study relies on seven indicators to detect the climatic changes affecting the soil characteristics of Wasit governorate, namely: * Soil erosion index (BSI). * Soil biological crust index (CI). * Moisture stress index (MSI). * Vegetation cover index (NDVI). * Water cap indicator (NDWI). * Soil salinity index (SI). Wasit governorate is represented by its astronomical location located two circles of latitude (31 -4533 -30 -) North and longitude ( 44 -31 ) -46 -34) East, bordered to the north by Baghdad and Diyala governorates, to the South by Dhi Qar governorate, to the East by Maysan governorate, to the West by Babylon and Diwaniyah governorates, and to the East by the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is thus located within the central region of Iraq, with an area of (17235) km2. The change was analyzed for the general trend of the climate elements and the values of the annual change for the study period (44) years, spanning from the years (1979-2022), and for eight air monitoring stations (Badra, Baghdad, Aziziyah, Kut, hay, Amara, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah). The study showed that there are spatial and temporal variations in the change of the general trend of climatic elements at the expense of the study months, at the level of climatic data that were subjected to change during the study period, and also showed that there are differences in the level of change between the regions of Wasit governorate. The visuals were analyzed for the period (1984 - 2022) for every five years, monitoring the changes in their characteristics in the soil of Wasit governorate and the years (1984 ،2014 ،2009 ،2004 ،1999 ،1994،1989 ، 2022 ،2019) ،it has been sweetened for two seasons during the cold, wet month of January, and the hot, dry month of July for all the years that have been challenged. The change has witnessed an increase in the area of the soil erosion index (BSI high erosion category wet cold season of 2004), an area of (4343) km2, accounted for (43.43%), while the highest area of the hot season of (2004) was (13068) km2, (73, 90%). The study shows the spatial change of the varieties of the biological crust index (CI), the high biological crust variety, which occupied the highest area of the year (2019), and the wet cold season and amounted to an area of (4960 km2), while the highest area was recorded for the same category during the dry hot season of the year (1989), which amounted to (3872) km2, formed a percentage of (21.90) % The category area recorded a clear increase in the category high moisture stress index (MIS), the wet cold season of the year (2022), amounted to (11798) km2, accounting for (66.72)%, and in the dry hot season recorded the highest area for (2019), to (14498) km2, accounting for (81.98) %. Highlighting the apparent change in the area of vegetation cover index varieties (NDVI) wet cold season for the month of January, the very dense vegetation cover for the year (2019) amounted to (2038) km2, a percentage of (30.75)%, while the year (1994) recorded the highest area in the dry hot season to (12049) km2, with a percentage of (6.81) %. The study shows the area of change of the water index of the natural difference (NDWI), where the highest area of the water cover category was recorded for the year (1989) to reach (845) km2, the winter season for the month of cold wet January, while the highest area was recorded for the dry hot season for the year (2019), to reach (695) km2, constituting an area of (3.93) %. The study confirms in the spatial change of the soil salinity index (SI), during the cold wet season, the high salinity category for the year (2014), the area reached (4747) km2, accounted for (26.82%), while during the hot season, the category for the year (2009) reached (7111) km2, the percentage of (40.21%)