Abiotic Limiting Factors
Abiotic limiting factors include the soil type. The differences in the physical and chemical properties of the Nile's soils affect their ability to support vegetation and wildlife. Across about 50% of the basin, soils with low nutrient contents limit the potential for production. Other soil factors that determine productivity are clay content, soil permeability, infiltration capacity, soil moisture-holding capacity, and salinity. The main soils are vertisols, soils that have a high clay content and are found in South Sudan; arenosols and leptosols, which are made of quartz and are found in the arid drylands of Sudan and Egypt; and nitisols, nutrient rich soils found in the Ethiopian highlands. The maps below further show the distribution of soil types across the Nile Basin along with their potential soil productivities. Areas with high production potential are the areas around Lake Victoria, the Sudd and flood plains of the Bahr el Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal, the Ethiopian Highlands, the Nile Valley, and the Nile Delta.
Abiotic limiting factors include the soil type. The differences in the physical and chemical properties of the Nile's soils affect their ability to support vegetation and wildlife. Across about 50% of the basin, soils with low nutrient contents limit the potential for production. Other soil factors that determine productivity are clay content, soil permeability, infiltration capacity, soil moisture-holding capacity, and salinity. The main soils are vertisols, soils that have a high clay content and are found in South Sudan; arenosols and leptosols, which are made of quartz and are found in the arid drylands of Sudan and Egypt; and nitisols, nutrient rich soils found in the Ethiopian highlands. The maps below further show the distribution of soil types across the Nile Basin along with their potential soil productivities. Areas with high production potential are the areas around Lake Victoria, the Sudd and flood plains of the Bahr el Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal, the Ethiopian Highlands, the Nile Valley, and the Nile Delta.
"Agriculture, Food Security, and Livelihoods in the Nile Basin." Nile Information System. Nile Basin Initiative. Web. 14 May 2014.