Initial classification of soil based on color characteristic in Jabal Al-Akhdar region, Libya

The study was conducted in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region to classify soil based on color. Therefore, 48 soil sectors representing a region were chosen to study some important natural and chemical properties. The study aimed to divide the soils of the area into classification units based on the difference in soil color. Remote sensing techniques also contributed to placing soils in similar groups by relying on the classification process according to (Maximum Likelihood Classifier) method. The results indicate the possibility of using color in classifying soils into homogeneous units within the group and differences between units of other soils based on some of their properties. The study also showed the significance of remote sensing technology to separating soils based on a morphological characteristic, producing land cover map with an overall accuracy of (92%), and the Kappa test (0.91). In addition to producing a classification soil map for the total studied area with less accuracy, and the decrease in the overall accuracy which was estimated (61%) and the Kappa index test (0.58) is due to the presence of some areas covered with vegetation cover and the remains of herbs and crops. The overall accuracy (0.75%) and the overall Kappa index test (0.73) were increased for all taxonomic units after excluding areas that occurred within the vegetation lands.