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Nouakchott: nursery design, porous sand fences and Landsat’s red display
A 2010 FAO report on sand-dune fixation describes a nursery in the Nouakchott wilaya whose seedbeds lie east–west, and gives general guidance on how open a sand fence should be to wind. USGS explains why planted areas appear red in one Landsat view.
At a glance
A place worth remembering
Nursery beds oriented for consistent light
The 2010 FAO report treats bed direction as a way to keep nursery conditions even: at Ten Soueilim in Dar Naïm, seedbeds ran east–west so seedlings received a comparable duration of daylight. The stated aim was uniform production.[1]
A sand fence needs open space
For dune fixation, the FAO report describes fences usually made of plant material. It says a fence must be 30–40% permeable to wind so that the wind slows and sand builds up without turbulence behind the fence. This is general guidance in the report, not a description of one named fence.[1]
Why the green belt appears red in Landsat
USGS dates the green belt north and east of Nouakchott to 1975–1990. In the Landsat images on its Earthshots page, growing vegetation appears red because near-infrared data distinguish it from urban surfaces and open desert. The colour describes the image display, not how the plants look to the eye.[2]
Good to know
A few clear answers before you explore.
Why did Ten Soueilim orient seedbeds east–west?
The FAO report says that this arrangement gave seedlings a comparable duration of daylight and was intended to support uniform production.[1]
Why does the FAO design leave part of a sand fence open?
The report says a fence must be 30–40% permeable to wind to work well: the wind slows and sand builds up, with no turbulence behind the fence. The figure is general guidance.[1]
Why does vegetation look red in the Landsat images?
USGS explains that near-infrared data in these images make actively growing vegetation stand out in red against urban surfaces and open desert. It is an image-display effect.[2]
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