Land Capability Assessment · Al Lith Governorate · Makkah Province · KSA

Al Lith Governorate
Land Capability Framework

A systematic evaluation of the inherent physical limitations of the land, based on the FAO Framework for Land Evaluation. Land capability describes what the land can physically support — independent of any specific crop or use. Classification follows the FAO C1–CN hierarchy with limiting factor subclasses.

FrameworkFAO Bulletin 32 & 2007 Rev.
Groups5 Land Quality Groups
Land Qualities18 Assessed
OutputC1 / C2 / C3 / C4 / CN
LogicLimiting Factor Rule
FAO Class C1 — Highly Capable C2 — Moderately Capable C3 — Marginally Capable C4 — Currently Not Capable CN — Not Capable
Subclasses: s = soil   w = water/wetness   e = erosion   c = climate   t = topography   n = nutrient   z = salinity   f = flood

Soil Physical Limitations

Inherent physical properties of the soil that determine its capacity to support plant growth and withstand agricultural use. Largely permanent — cannot be corrected economically at field scale.
s — soil limitations
Group A

Soil Chemical Limitations

Chemical properties that control nutrient availability, ion toxicity, and soil-water-plant relationships. Semi-permanent — some can be managed with amendment programmes over time.
z — salinity/sodicity n — nutrient limitations
Group B

Water & Drainage Conditions

Availability of water for plant use and the ability of the land to remove excess water. Critical in the Al Lith context — both water scarcity and flooding are operational realities.
w — water/wetness f — flood hazard
Group C

Topography & Erosion Hazard

Terrain characteristics that determine workability, erosion risk, and mechanisation feasibility. Permanent limitations — slope cannot be changed at agricultural scale.
t — topographic e — erosion hazard
Group D

Climate Limitations

Fixed climatic conditions that define what the land can support regardless of management. Temperature, aridity, wind, and radiation are immutable characteristics of the Al Lith coastal location.
c — climate limitations
Group E

Select a land quality card to view its FAO class thresholds, limiting factor logic, and references.

FAO Land Capability Framework — adapted from FAO Soils Bulletin No. 32 [1] and the 2007 Revised Framework [6] for the Tihama coastal plain and Hejaz mountain context.

The Limiting Factor Rule — the capability class of any land parcel is determined by its single most severe limitation. A site with excellent soils and climate but ECe of 9 dS/m is classified CN regardless of all positive attributes. This is fundamentally different from a weighted average approach.

Subclass notation — letters appended to the class indicate the nature of the limitation: C3sz means marginally capable due to both soil physical (s) and salinity/sodicity (z) limitations. Multiple subclass letters indicate multiple concurrent limitations.

Core FAO Principle: "The capability of the land is determined by its most severe limitation, not by its average condition. All limitations must be identified; the final class reflects the worst single constraint regardless of how many positive qualities the land possesses."
FAO Soils Bulletin No. 32 — A Framework for Land Evaluation (Beek, 1978) fao.org
Full Reference Library — All sources cited in this framework