Soil conservation in Lebanon

Excerpt

THOUGH the Middle East generally is arid to semiarid, with extensive desert, Lebanon has inherited anomalous conditions with respect to climate and physiography. This tiny country of 4,035 square miles (10,452 square kilometers) is dominated by two mountain ranges—the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains—with a narrow coastal strip and the mainly agricultural Beka'a valley in between. Because of its steepness, most of the land is unsuited for cultivation without mechanical protection and conservation practices. Rainfall, which occurs from October to April, ranges from about 24 inches (600 millimeters) along the coast to about 60 inches (1,500 millimeters) at the top of the Mont Lebanon Range.

The steep land and erosive rains, combined with relatively shallow soils, create a particularly vulnerable situation for land productivity. Fortunately, water erosion is less severe in the interior valley, where rainfall ranges from 15 to 20 inches (400–500 millimeters), the terrain is flat to gently sloping, and soils are generally deep. Wind erosion is a hazard only in the relatively exposed northern section of the country facing Syria. Annual rainfall in this section is 8 …