The Impact of Camping Activities on Soil Degradation in Kuwait

Abstract

Desert camping is an old tradition in Kuwait. Today's camping involves activities that negatively impact the soil due to surrounding camp sites with barriers from the top soil, off-road transport by cars, using heavy equipment such as electrical generators, camping facilities such as bathrooms with cement floors, soccer and volleyball fields. This study used remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to study the role of camping activities on soil degradation in camping areas and recommend new camping sites and scenarios for environmentally safe camping. Soil erosion, soil compaction and vegetation cover decline were used as indicators for evaluating the degree of soil degradation in camping sites. Satellite images were processed, enhanced and interpreted to find out the area of camping sites. The rate of soil erosion was estimated by Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). About 43% of the camping sites studied had high soil erosion rate that reached16 tons/acre/year. The other 57% of camping sites had moderate soil erosion rates of 14 tons/acre/year. Camping soil barriers increase the rate of erosion inside the camping sites. The study shows that soil and vegetation are badly affected by camping activities. Soil bulk density in camping areas surpassed that of areas not subjected to camping by an average of 12%. The vegetation coverage outside camping area was markedly higher than that inside camping. To avoid soil degradation by camping new environmentally safe sites for camping were recommended.

Keywords: soil, degradation, erosion, camping, environment, GIS, Remote sensing, Kuwait