Dr. Hamdi A. Zurqani is one of the faculty members at the Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. Dr. Zurqani is a recognized expert as a result of his internationally acclaimed work in the areas of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land Evaluation, Sustainability, Pedology, and Soil Science Education. He has conducted research across the world, including the United States of America, and Africa. Dr. Zurqani is a distinguished soil scientist with a wide range of scientific and working experiences in Libya and abroad. He received his M.Sc. (2010) from the University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. and Ph.D. (2019) from Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. His major research and teaching activities at the University of Tripoli have focused mainly on Soil genesis and Classification and the Environmental Information Sciences. He has published broadly in many journals (e.g., Nature "Scientific Reports", Geoderma; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation; Journal of Geological Sciences; Land; Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis; and others). He is also one of the authors of the lab manual entitled “GIS Exercises for Natural Resource Management". Dr. Zurqani has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors: Recipient of Douglas R. Phillips Award for Graduate Students, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, April 12, 2019; the First Place Best Judged Poster (CAFLS) at the GRADS 2019: Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2019; the Second Place Poster at the 11th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, April 6, 2019; the Second Place Best Judged Poster at the Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2018; and the Third Place Poster at the 9th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, February 25th, 2017. Dr. Zurqani conducts cutting-edge research in the field of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land use management/ planning, change detection of landscape degradation, and Geographic Information System (GIS) models. He has focused on his research efforts on the development of novel applications for new technologies in analyzing spatial data, remote sensing, geostatistical modeling of environmental changes such as erosion, mapping and predicting soil salinity, and land use/ land cover changes.

• Chapter 1. Introduction (Hamdi A. Zurqani).- Chapter 2. The history of soil mapping and research (Mukhtar. M. Elaalem).- Chapter 3. Soil Forming Factors and Processes (Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud).- Chapter 4. Soil Classification and Properties (Mukhtar. M. Elaalem).- Chapter 5. Major Limiting Factors Affecting Agricultural Use and Production (Bashir A. Nwer).- Chapter 6. Land Cover Land Use and the Vegetation Distribution (Hamdi A. Zurqani).- Chapter 7. Soil Microbiology and Biotechnology (Eman Ali Ferjani).- Chapter 8. Land Degradation and Desertification (Bashir A. Nwer).

Dr. Hamdi A. Zurqani is one of the faculty members at the Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. Dr. Zurqani is a recognized expert as a result of his internationally acclaimed work in the areas of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land Evaluation, Sustainability, Pedology, and Soil Science Education. He has conducted research across the world, including the United States of America, and Africa. Dr. Zurqani is a distinguished soil scientist with a wide range of scientific and working experiences in Libya and abroad. He received his M.Sc. (2010) from the University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. and Ph.D. (2019) from Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. His major research and teaching activities at the University of Tripoli have focused mainly on Soil genesis and Classification and the Environmental Information Sciences. He has published broadly in many journals (e.g., Nature "Scientific Reports", Geoderma; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation; Journal of Geological Sciences; Land; Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis; and others). He is also one of the authors of the lab manual entitled “GIS Exercises for Natural Resource Management". Dr. Zurqani has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors: Recipient of Douglas R. Phillips Award for Graduate Students, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, April 12, 2019; the First Place Best Judged Poster (CAFLS) at the GRADS 2019: Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2019; the Second Place Poster at the 11th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, April 6, 2019; the Second Place Best Judged Poster at the Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2018; and the Third Place Poster at the 9th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, February 25th, 2017. Dr. Zurqani conducts cutting-edge research in the field of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land use management/ planning, change detection of landscape degradation, and Geographic Information System (GIS) models. He has focused on his research efforts on the development of novel applications for new technologies in analyzing spatial data, remote sensing, geostatistical modeling of environmental changes such as erosion, mapping and predicting soil salinity, and land use/ land cover changes.

• Chapter 1. Introduction (Hamdi A. Zurqani).- Chapter 2. The history of soil mapping and research (Mukhtar. M. Elaalem).- Chapter 3. Soil Forming Factors and Processes (Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud).- Chapter 4. Soil Classification and Properties (Mukhtar. M. Elaalem).- Chapter 5. Major Limiting Factors Affecting Agricultural Use and Production (Bashir A. Nwer).- Chapter 6. Land Cover Land Use and the Vegetation Distribution (Hamdi A. Zurqani).- Chapter 7. Soil Microbiology and Biotechnology (Eman Ali Ferjani).- Chapter 8. Land Degradation and Desertification (Bashir A. Nwer).

Dr. Hamdi A. Zurqani is one of the faculty members at the Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. Dr. Zurqani is a recognized expert as a result of his internationally acclaimed work in the areas of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land Evaluation, Sustainability, Pedology, and Soil Science Education. He has conducted research across the world, including the United States of America, and Africa. Dr. Zurqani is a distinguished soil scientist with a wide range of scientific and working experiences in Libya and abroad. He received his M.Sc. (2010) from the University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. and Ph.D. (2019) from Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. His major research and teaching activities at the University of Tripoli have focused mainly on Soil genesis and Classification and the Environmental Information Sciences. He has published broadly in many journals (e.g., Nature "Scientific Reports", Geoderma; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation; Journal of Geological Sciences; Land; Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis; and others). He is also one of the authors of the lab manual entitled “GIS Exercises for Natural Resource Management". Dr. Zurqani has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors: Recipient of Douglas R. Phillips Award for Graduate Students, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, April 12, 2019; the First Place Best Judged Poster (CAFLS) at the GRADS 2019: Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2019; the Second Place Poster at the 11th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, April 6, 2019; the Second Place Best Judged Poster at the Clemson Student Research Forum on April 4, 2018; and the Third Place Poster at the 9th Clemson Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium, February 25th, 2017. Dr. Zurqani conducts cutting-edge research in the field of Environmental Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land use management/ planning, change detection of landscape degradation, and Geographic Information System (GIS) models. He has focused on his research efforts on the development of novel applications for new technologies in analyzing spatial data, remote sensing, geostatistical modeling of environmental changes such as erosion, mapping and predicting soil salinity, and land use/ land cover changes.

• Chapter 1. Introduction (Hamdi A. Zurqani).- Chapter 2. The history of soil mapping and research (Mukhtar. M. Elaalem).- Chapter 3. Soil Forming Factors and Processes (Khaled R. Ben Mahmoud).- Chapter 4. Soil Classification and Properties (Mukhtar. M. Elaalem).- Chapter 5. Major Limiting Factors Affecting Agricultural Use and Production (Bashir A. Nwer).- Chapter 6. Land Cover Land Use and the Vegetation Distribution (Hamdi A. Zurqani).- Chapter 7. Soil Microbiology and Biotechnology (Eman Ali Ferjani).- Chapter 8. Land Degradation and Desertification (Bashir A. Nwer).