Study site description: Zeuss Koutine, Tunisia

Table of Contents

1. Responsible IP partner
2. General Information
3. Bio-physical description
   1. Climate
   2. Geomorphology
   3. Groundwater
   4. Soils
   5. Vegetation
   6. Water harvesting
   7. Sand dune fixation
   8. Rangeland management
4. Socio-economic description
5. Institutional and political setting
6. Relevant end-users / stakeholder groups
7. Past and on-going projects

Soils

Five main soil classes have been identified by Taamallah (2003):

• Les sols minéraux bruts (d'érosion) (lithosols) made up mainly of dolomites, limestone outcroppings and stony regs. They are located in the upstream area (mountains and hills). They cover 20% of the study area.
• Les sols peu évolués (Fluvisols) occupy a relatively reduced area and are found in the plain and the downstream parts. They represent 13%.
• Les sols calcimagnésiques (Calcimagnesic) represented by rendzinas on calcareous or gypsum crusting or on the miopliocene. They cover an important area on the upstream and piedmont parts (35%).
• Les sols isohumiques bruns calcaires tronqués (Isohumic): They are not very deep soils overlaying on the dismantled calcareous crust of villafranchian and covered sometimes by a shallow (few centimetres tick) of wind deposits. They cover 20% of the region.
• Les sols halomorphes et hydromorphes (solonchak and solonetz) are encountered at the level of the depressions (sebkhas and garaas) on the coastal areas. They are characterized by a very high salinity (12%).

Soil map of the study area (source: Taamallah (2003).