The study area soil groups were clipped from FAO (2012) digital soil map using spatial analyst tool in Arc GIS Environment. << /FontDescriptor 7 0 R USLE model with GIS environment is an effective tool in mapping the spatial distribution of soil erosion from the entire watershed for effective soil and water conservation interventions. Z.Geomorph.Suppl.Bb., 49: 3750, FAO (1984) Ethiopian highland reclamation study (EHRS). Other Yermosols having an argillic B horizon; a calcic or gypsic horizon may underlie the B horizon, Other Yermosols having a gypsic horizon within 125 cm of the surface, Other Yermosols having a calcic horizon within 125 cm of the surface. The climate fluctuates between Mediterranean subtropical and Mediterranean temperate, with annual average temperatures of between 13 C and 17 C, and average annual rainfall of between 400 mm and 800 mm. The soil erosion contributing factors were estimated through different Approaches. Haile, 1987). There are a number of dry habitat reptiles including the endemic geckos, Arnold's leaf-toed gecko (Hemidactylus arnoldi) and Parker's pigmy gecko (Tropiocolotes somalicus). << Part of Springer Nature. Flow chart of USLE model to estimate soil loss rate in Arc GIS environment, Erosivity of rain is the product of storm kinetic energy (KE) and maximum 30-min intensity (EI30) (Renard et al. Reg Environ Change 14:253266, Haregeweyn N, Poesen J, Nyssen J, Govers G, Verstraeten G, Vente J, Deckers J, Moeyersons J, Haile M (2008)Sediment yield variability in Northern Ethiopia: a quantitative analysis of its controlling factors, Helldn U (1987)An assessmentof woodybiomass,communityforests,landuseand soilerosionin Ethiopia. Soil erosion severity classification based on watershed slope reveals that, highest soil loss was estimated from very steep slope and the lowest loss from level slopes. <<4B90884731AFB2110A0020D6E914FD7F>]/Prev 179032>> pp 2762. Especially of note is the 2,000m high escarpment extending in a southwest to northeast axis. The mean annual soil loss rate was analyzed based on the sub-watersheds, soil types, land uses, slopes and woreda basis. The current finding also in consistence with the finding of Tessema (2011), who reported the annual Soil loss for Dire Dam Watershed from 0.00 to 263.25 ton/ha/year, Amsalu and Mengaw(2014), reported the annual soil loss in Jabi Tehinan Woreda ranges from nearly 0 in south and central parts of the area to 504.6 ton/ha/year in steeply sloping mountainous areas of the north and north-eastern parts of the catchments. The sediment delivery ratio (SDR) denotes the ratio of the sediment yield at a given stream cross section to the gross erosion from the watershed upstream from the measuring point (Julien and Frenette 1998). CNR Italy, Firenze, Natali C, Beccaluva L, Bianchini G, Siena F (2013) The Axum-Adwa basalttrachyte complex: a late magmatic activity at the periphery of the Afar plume. /StemV 78 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, Billi, P. (2015). Physical models are models which are based on solving fundamental physical equations describing stream flow and sediment and associated nutrient generations in a specific catchment (Merritt et al. Composed of vertisols, they have medium to high potential for both food and agriculture but pose tillage problems because they harden when dry and become sticky when wet. The moderate soil erosion in Litho sols should be managed by applying the practices of increasing water-holding capacity through inter-cropping, mulching. LundStudies in Geography, Ser. Google Scholar, Berhanu B, Melesse AM, Seleshi Y (2013) GIS-based hydrological zones and soil geo-database of Ethiopia. Birds include the endemic Archer's lark (Heteromirafra archeri).[2]. Nitosols and Lithosols [16]. trailer (2014) GIS Based Soil Loss Estimation Using RUSLE Model: The Case of Jabi Tehinan Woreda, ANRS, Ethiopia. There are different types of soils as a result of the difference in geological formation, glaciations, topography, and climate. The third group of soils is the dark clay found in the Western Lowlands and at the foothills of the Western Highlands. Vertisols having moist chromas of less than 1.5 dominant in the soil matrix throughout the upper 30 cm. (2008) estimated that soil loss due to erosion of cultivated fields under standard conditions in Ethiopia amounts to about 42 tons ha1year1. Elevation generally increases westward towards the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands. /Leading 150 ARENOSOLS (Q) Soils of coarse texture consisting of albic material occurring over a depth of at least 50 cm from the surface, or showing characteristics of argillic, cambic or oxic B horizons which, however, do not qualify as diagnostic horizons because of the textural requirements; having no diagnostic horizons other than (unless buried by 50 cm or more new material) an ochric A horizon. NITOSOLS (N)Other soils having an argillic B horizon with a clay distribution where the percentage of clay does not decrease from its maximum amount by as much as 20 percent within 150 cm of the surface; lacking plinthite within 125 cm of the surface; lacking vertic and ferric properties. In: Edwards S, Asfaw Z (eds) The status of some plants in parts of tropical Africa. Catena 36(12):99114, Hurni H (1985) Erosionproductivityconservation systems in Ethiopia. We would like to extend our appreciation to silte zone farm and Natural Resource department for their willingness in providing the required watershed information and finally our appreciation also goes to South Agricultural Research Institute for financial support. 3} , $$, $$ {\text{A}}\, = \,{\text{R}}*{\text{K}}*{\text{LS}}*{\text{C}}*{\text{P}}, $$, $$ {\text{SDR}}\, = \,{\text{A}}^{ - 0. 8). [dubious discuss][5]. Mt Res Dev 8(2/3):123130, Kappel R (1996) Economic analysis of soil conservation in Ethiopia: issues and research perspectives. Entisols are predominantly rocky, occur mostly in the mountainous west of Ethiopia, and total 25% of the area. Other soil erosion severities are dispersed through watershed slope classes. Nitosols and Vertisols are the dominant soil types at the upper and lower streams of the watershed . 7, 273291 (2021). National Conservation Strategy Secretariat, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tamene L, Vlek PL (2008) Soil erosion studies in northern Ethiopia. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Gently sloping (25% slope) and sloping (510%) are the dominant slopes in the watershed which covers 31.8% and 31.4% from the total watershed, respectively. The c-values of croplands (0.15), mixed plantations (0.04), grasslands (0.05), woody savannas (0.08), Savannas (0.09), closed shrub lands (0.16), open shrub lands (0.17), with the mean values of 0.08 with standard deviation of 0.05 and maximum and minimum value of 0.17 and 0.04, respectively (Fig. <> 3 0 obj In order to protect remaining species, the government has set aside 20 national parks, game reserves, and sanctuaries covering a total area of 21,320 square miles (55,220 square km)about 5 percent of the total area of Ethiopia. Corrections? The current soil erosion level was compared with the tolerable soil loss limit to Ethiopian condition. Finally, the current finding on erosion was evaluated based on the past 10-year land use land cover scenario. Regosols and Lithosols. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-019-0188-2, Cerd A, Doerr SH (2008) The effect of ash and needle cover on surface runoff and erosion in the immediate post-fire period. Lithosols are azonal soils with an incomplete solum and/or without clearly expressed morphological features. The lowest erosion rate is from Molic Andosols. Phaeozems, having an argillic B horizon, showing hydromorphic properties within 50 cm of the surface, Other Phaeozems having an argillic B horizon, Other Phaeozems being calcareous at least between 20 and 50 cm from the surface. Acrisols having plinthite within 125 cm of the surface, Other Acrisols showing hydromorphic properties within 50 cm of the surface, Other Acrisols having an umbric A horizon or a high organic matter content in the B horizon, or both. /Type /FontDescriptor The Rift Valley, the Omo River valley, and the Western Lowlands contain remnants of big-game varieties. Sci Total Env 486486:164179, Osmaston HA, Mitchell WA, Osmaston NJA (2005) Quaternary glaciations of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. The off-site effect also generates deposition of soil materials in the reservoirs, irrigation schemes and waterways downstream (Cerd and Doerr 2008). Soil degradation in the Lithosols were defined as: "soils other than Histosols that were limited in depth by continuous coherent and hard rock within 10 cm of the soil surface." Many thanks also to Carlo Bisci for providing the base map of Fig. The USLE model does no account Gully erosion in the watershed. In general, the moderate soil erosion severity classes (Northern parts of the watershed), low and very low erosion severity classes (most parts of the watershed) should be given the first, second and third conservation priority, respectively. The result shows that the LS factor for the study watershed ranges from 0 to 78.48. GLEYSOLS (G)Other soils showing hydromorphic properties within 50 cm of the surface; having no diagnostic horizons other than (unless buried by 50 cm or more new material) an A horizon, an H horizon, a cambic B horizon, a calcic or a gypsic horizon. endobj 0000001951 00000 n 61(23):122130. /AvgWidth 441 J Afr Earth Sci 35(2):185198, Grunder M (1988) Soil conservation research in Ethiopia. 0000003057 00000 n The critical erosion-prone areas were classified based on the sub-watersheds. Soil erosion risk and sediment yield assessment with universal soil loss equation and GIS: in Dijo watershed, Rift valley Basin of Ethiopia, $$ {\mathbf{R}}\, = \,{\mathbf{0}}. From September to February is the long dry season known as the bega; this is followed by a short rainy season, the belg, in March and April. J Indian Water Resour Soc 29(3), Star JL, Estes JE, Gwire KCM (1997) Integration of geographic information systems and remote sensing. http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/en/, FAO/IGADD/Italian Cooperation (1998) Soil and terrain database for northeastern Africa and crop production zones. LITHOSOLS (I) Other soils which are limited in depth by continuous coherent and hard rock within 10 cm of the surface. Lithosols, Andosols and Luvisols (Mitiku. Free grazing and cultivation of steep slope(Northern parts) contributed for moderate soil erosion in the watershed should be managed by cutcarry system, limiting the number of cattle units to be grazed in the specific plot of land and leaving the marginal steep slope areas with no ground covers for natural regeneration. Other grazing animals include beira, dorcas gazelle, Soemmerring's Gazelle, gerenuk and the beisa oryx (Oryx beisa). The Kidus Yared peak is situated near the middle of the shield volcano. Masters Thesis. 2018). Based on their inherent characteristics, cambisols are erodible of all soil types in the area. Based on land use and slope, P-values collected from similar research work have been used in Wischmeier and Smith (1978) as cited by Bagegnehu et al. The lowest soil erosion on Molic Andosols could be due to their good aggregate stability and high permeability to water which make these soils resistanttowater erosion. from nearly 0 in south and central parts of the area to 504.6 t/ha/yr in The second biome is mountain vegetation; it comprises montane and temperate grasslands and covers the higher altitudes of the Western and Eastern highlands. 121142). In: Adams WM, Goudie AS, Orme AR (eds) The physical geography of Africa. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7, the soil erodibility for the watershed ranges from 0.14 to 0.35 metric tons/ha/MJ/mm. /MaxWidth 1333 Based on the analysis, the potential soil loss rate of the sub-watershed ranges from 0.89 to 5.29 ton/ha/year. Bagegnehu Bekele. Soil erosion risk and sediment yield assessment with universal soil loss equation and GIS: in Dijo watershed, Rift valley Basin of Ethiopia. [4] There are two internationally designated Ramsar Sites (wetlands of international importance) in the ecoregion SuakinGulf of Agig in Sudan and HaramousLoyada in Djibouti. 5 0 obj Similarly, flooding as the result of intensive rainfall affected agricultural land and displaced many farmers from their resilience (SZFNRD 2007; Survey 2007). It is also one of the biggest threats in Ethiopian highland which threatens agricultural productivity. <>stream Therefore, the soil erosion could be reduced if the current land use land cover scenario is considered. Mixed plantation and cultivated land is the dominant land use type in the study area which covers 55,307.4 (44.8%) and 49,864.2 (40.4) of the total study area, respectively; while other land use covers 14.8% (Table1). EurLex-2 The research finding of Donker and Damen (1984), supports our finding as the erosive force of run-off increases with both slope steepness and distance down slope, implying that the erosive force can be expected to be at maximum at the lowest part of the steepest slope section. Trop Ecol 45:209221, Stocking MA (1996) Soil erosion. /Ascent 905 Challenge, revival, and decline (16th19th century), The rise and reign of Haile Selassie I (191674), Internal conflicts and the fall of the monarchy, Dissent, protests, and increasing oppression, Challenges, ethnic tensions, and the Tigrayan conflict, 2021 elections, Tigrayan rebel advance, and expansion of fighting, Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz, Which Country Is Larger By Population? May is a hot and dry month preceding the long rainy season (kremt) in June, July, and August. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 /Type /Font The topographic (LS) factors represent the effect of both slope length (L) and slope steepness(S) on soil erosion. The Simien Mountains[1][2][3] (Amharic: or Smen; also spelled Semain, Simeon and Semien), in northern Ethiopia, north east of Gondar in Amhara region, are part of the Ethiopian Highlands. Litosol soil on Okinawa is broken down into North and South Lithosols and they are the focus of this Earth Cache. The mean soil loss rate (2.2 ton/ha/year) of Dijo watershed has been classified into three soil erosion severity classes based on the classification of WBISPP (2011) for effective watershed management planning. Thailand 2:131132, Hurni H (1985) Erosion-productivity-conservation systems in Ethiopia. Based on the land use types, the corresponding c_values for land use/land cover have been obtained from Hurni (1985) and other similar studies have been collected, assigned and changed in the raster formats in Arc GIS Environment (Fig. The potential annual soil loss ranges from 0 in the flat land to 38.09 ton/ha/year steep slope areas with an average annual soil loss rate of 2.2 ton/ha/year. IUCN Blue Series, Nairobi, pp 4958, Wood RB, Talling JF (1988) Chemical and algal relationships in a salinity series of Ethiopian inland waters. At a global scale, water erosion is the main cause off soil degradation (Deniz et al. 0000005400 00000 n Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The use of models depends on the availability or adequacy of input data. [2], This ecoregion extends inland from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, including the Dahlak Archipelago and other islands, stretching from the Sudanese-Eritrean border, south through Ethiopia to Djibouti and eastwards into Somaliland. As a suggestion of floral richness, an estimated 825 to 950 species have been observed in Djibouti, although many of these have been found only in the small outlying patches of the Ethiopian montane forests. [2], Mammals found here include the last Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somalicus) to be found in the wild, on the Buri Peninsula of Eritrea. Finally, the integration of USLE and GIS is an effective tool in mapping the spatial distribution of soil erosion from the entire watershed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Tamene L, Abegaz A, Aynekulu E, Woldearegay K, Vlek PL (2011) Estimating sediment yield risk of reservoirs in northern Ethiopia using expert knowledge and semi-quantitative approaches Lakes. They occur in the southwest and total 6% of Ethiopia. In addition, the gelada monkey is under threat. Luvisols having plinthite within 125 cm of the surface, Other Luvisols showing hydromorphic properties within 50 cm of the surface, Other Luvisols having a calcic horizon or concentrations of soft powdery lime within 125 cm of the surface when the weighted average textural class is coarse, within 90 cm for medium textures, within 75 cm for fine textures, Other Luvisols having a strong brown to red B horizon (rubbed soil has a hue of 7,5YR and a chroma of more than 4, or a hue redder than 7,5YR). This study has been conducted at Dijo watersheds in the Rift valley Basins of Ethiopia to estimate soil erosion rate and identify erosion hotspot areas for proper planning using Geographic Information System and Universal Soil Loss Equation adapted to Ethiopian condition. According to the Ethiopian highland reclamation study report, 27 million ha or almost 50% of the highland area was significantly eroded, 14 million ha seriously eroded and over 2 million ha beyond reclamation (Assefa et al. The slope steepness of the study watershed ranges from 0 to 57%. /FontName /Arial-ItalicMT Lack of moisture and shallow profile preclude cultivation of these soils. The driest of all regions is the Denakil Plain, which receives less than 20 inches (500 mm) and sometimes none at all. Mean annual rainfall varies from less than 100mm close to the coast to around 200mm further inland. Lack of moisture and shallow profile preclude cultivation of these soils. xZr}W#P%!}erH&-;0..+_ C\p0c&g4fi" Gf3{y~"X?P|/sI4$i7"~}tfo rv7WFs+sgoWjY_Tg%YpL`].w57{v=K}/ND*/~^F0Ex'e*$>zJPJp9y,j\jQl:{%`}FhF.qO. /MissingWidth 278 The topographic (LS_factor) value for the watershed is 078.48(Fig. Soil OC was analyzed by wet digestion method (Walkley and Black 1934), and total N was determined by a modified micro- Salinity and sodicity hazard characterization in major irrigated areas and irrigation water . [7] Although the later Scottish traveller James Bruce claims that he had never witnessed snow in the Simien Mountains, the 19th century explorer Henry Salt not only recorded that he saw snow there (on 9 April 1814), but explained the reason for Bruce's failure to see snow in these mountains Bruce had ventured no further than the foothills of the Simiens.[8]. All four species are found in the Western and Eastern highlands in numbers ranging from a few hundred for the walia ibex to a few thousand for the others. Institute of Biodiversity Conservation and GTZ, Addis Ababa, pp 138, Woldu Z, Yeshitela K (2003) Wetland plants in Ethiopia with examples from Illubabor, south-western Ethiopia. (2008), the original model result due to erosion of cultivated fields in Ethiopia under standard condition was 42 ton/ha/year. 15). The coldest temperatures generally occur in December or January (bega) and the hottest in March, April, or May (belg). /FontDescriptor 5 0 R Nat Hazards 75. doi:10.1007/s11069-014-1554-0, Bojo J, Cassells D (1994) Land degradation and rehabilitation in Ethiopia: a reassessment. Podzols having a thin iron pan in or over the spodic B horizon, Other Podzols showing hydromorphic properties within 50 cm of the surface, Other Podzols having a B horizon in which a subhorizon contains dispersed organic matter and lacks sufficient free iron to turn redder on ignition, Other Podzols in which the ratio of percentage of free iron to percentage of carbon is 6 or more in all subhorizons of the B horizon, Other Podzols lacking or having only a thin (2 cm or less) and discontinuous albic E horizon; lacking a subhorizon within the B horizon which is visibly more enriched with carbon. 4} *\left( {{\text{Sin slope}}/0.0 8 9 6} \right)^{ 1. Moderate soil loss was estimated from pellic vertisols followed by Lithosols. 6). 0000002344 00000 n 137 27 household uses due to increasing population ultimately lead to severe soil Based on the modeling, Soil Conservation Research Project (SCRP) estimated that about 1.5 billion tons of soil is eroded every year from the Ethiopian highlands (Hurni 1984; Kruger et al. 1). Soilsdeveloped over the lava deposits are mainly lithosols, while regosols are predominant on the Quaternary and pre-Cretaceous basinal deposits. We all have agreed to submit our final manuscript for Modeling Earth Systems and Environment Research journal and approved the submission. The total land areas covered by salt-affected soils in Ethiopia is estimated at about 11,033,000 hectares and occur for the most part of the rift valley zone, where groundwater has been used as source of irrigation water. The fifth soil group is lithosols found primarily in the Denakil Plain. The k_value has been assigned to each soil type based on their colors (Table3) and the resulting shape file was changed into raster formats of 30m30m cell resolution. /Ascent 905 This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. . There are many species of interest, including the endemic Archer's lark (Heteromirafra archeri), a species of dragon tree (Dracaena ombet), and a large suite of desert ungulates, including the last viable population of African wild ass (Equus africanus somalicus). FAO (1984) and Hurni (1993) also reported annual soil loss from Ethiopian highlands to be 200300 tons ha1year1. 0 0 0 667 0 722 722 667 611 778 0 278 0 667 556 833 4). 137 0 obj PODZOLS (P)Other soils having a spodic B horizon. DOPA Explorer. The characteristics of soil, watershed topography (gently sloping and sloping), lack of vegetation cover, cultivation of steep slope without engineering measures, free grazing and sand extraction contributed for moderate soil erosion. In: Conference onreservoirsedimentation(pp. In the two South Hemisphere ecoregions, soils on older substrata of uplands are generally highly leached lithosols in South Africa and by laterites and the process of podzolization in southern Australia; they have been exposed to weathering since the Paleozoic or even the Precambrian. (2019), who reported that the LS factor for karessa watershed Dawuro zone, south west Ethiopia ranges from 0 in flat areas to 154.6 steeper and longer slope area of the watershed. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. xref FAO, Rome, FAO/IIASA/ISRIC/ISS-CAS/JRC (2009) Harmonized world soil database (version 1.1), FAO, Rome, Italy and IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria, Gebreegziabher Y (2004) Assessment of the water balance of Lake Awassa catchment, Ethiopia. Ph.D. thesis, Technischen Universitt Berlin, FAO (2014) Country profiles. Soil and water are crucial resources for agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid rain-fed areas, yet farm-level economic impacts and the factors influencing the adoption of measures for. occurrence in South America In South America: Soils slopes are often steep, and lithosols (shallow soils consisting of imperfectly weathered rock fragments) abound, accounting for another 10 percent of the continent's surface. J Ecol 23(7):13281335, WBISPP (Woody Biomass Inventory and Strategic Planning Project) Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Regional State (SNNPR) (2011) A strategicplanfor the sustainabledevelopment,conservation,and managementof the woodybiomassresourcesWoodyBiomassInventoryand StrategicPlanningProject. [9], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}132934N 382637E / 13.49278N 38.44361E / 13.49278; 38.44361. Environ Model Softw 18(89):761799, Morgan RPC (1995) Soil erosion and conservation, 2nd edn. The most notable is the Awash Riverof Ethiopiathat terminates in a series of lakes near the border with Djibouti. 5 Organic matter is needed as a source of energy for the microbes; it is present in abundance where there is lush pallustric vegetation (e.g. Worabe Agricultural Research Center, South Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia, P. BOX. volume7,pages 273291 (2021)Cite this article. C factor for the study watershed ranges from 0.04 to 0.17. and map erosion vulnerable areas using RUSLE model. 0000010931 00000 n Smaller towns include the former Afar Region capital of Asaita in Ethiopia and smaller ports along the coast such as Tadjoura in Djibouti and Zeila in Somalia. Quantitatively, an estimated annual soil loss in Jabi Tehinan Woreda ranges %%EOF The mean annual soil losses of Dijo watershed range from 0 in the flat slope to 38.09 ton/ha/year from steep slope areas with the annual average soil loss rate of 2.2 ton/ha/year. Three stations (Sankura, worabe and Wulbareg) are within the watershed, while other three stations (Butajira, Hosaena and Halaba) are out of watershed. The palm Hyphaene thebaica grows along seasonal watercourses (wadis) and depressions with year-round groundwater. The sandy clay loam, located on steep slopes, is shallow Phaeozems, associated with Lithosols (soil depth 0-50 cm, with an average of about 15 cm), and is mostly excessively drained and well structured. [2] Most of the people have to build their houses with clay to keep the hot outside and the cold outside. /LastChar 233 catchments. Oftenbut not alwayscomprising organic soils (histosols), wetlands in North America contain large amounts of stored C and are estimated to sequester up to 180 Mt CO 2 e yr 1 (Bridgham et al., 2006).Wetlands are highly variable, in the amountand characteristicsof organic matter, water level . Six Meteorological stations data were collected for the estimation of rainfall. In Colombia, sandy yellow-brown azonal soils on slopes and in gorges are the base of the large coffee plantations. 13). Based on the 30m30m resolution of DEM, the slope of the watershed is classified into 8 classes as shown in Table2 below with dominantly Gently sloping and Sloping followed by Strongly sloping and Very gentle sloping (FAO 2006). . Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. 0000005613 00000 n /Type /FontDescriptor Senegalia mellifera and Rhigozum somalense grow as shrubs or small trees on basaltic lava fields. Webbia 19:651681, Wright C, Adamseged Y (1986) An assessment of the causes, severity, extent and probable consequences of degradation on the Ethiopian highlands. In: Braimoh AK, Vlek PLG (eds)Landuseand soilresources. Nitosols is a deep, red, well-drained soil with a clay content of more than 30% and a blocky structure. 2008) and about 80% of the worlds agricultural land suffers from moderate to severe erosion (Ritchie et al. Leuven, Relief Society of Tigray, Africa Museum and Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nyssen J, Frankl A, Haile M, Hurni H, Descheemaeker K, Crummey D, Ritler A, Portner B, Nievergelt B, Moeyersons J, Munro N, Deckers J, Billi P, Poesen J (2014) Environmental conditions and human drivers for changes to north Ethiopian mountain landscapes over 145years. The current finding on erosion was evaluated based on the past 10-year land use land cover scenario. LS were calculated by unit stream power Erosion and Deposition methods which use both flow accumulation and watershed slope (Pelton et al. 03.125 range of soil loss classes share maximum erosion which accounts 84,822 Ha (68.7%) and the minimum accounts 1938Ha (1.57%) on>25% numerical range of soil. The current study employed an alternative method using the combination of land use and slope to estimate P_values as proposed by Wischmeier and Smith (1978). 0000001298 00000 n endobj Catena 75:6576, Herweg K, Ludi E (1999) The performance of selected soil and water conservation measurescase studies from Ethiopia and Eritrea. /Author (Bianca Marthinus) The first type is composed of euritic nitosols and andosols and is found on portions of the Western and Eastern highlands. Lithosols are shallow soils consisting of imperfectly weathered rock fragments having sandy clay soil texture classes. Alison J. Eagle, Lydia P. Olander, in Advances in Agronomy, 2012 7.4 Wetland restoration. Other Andosols having an umbric A horizon, Other Andosols having a smeary consistence and/or having a texture which is silt loam or finer on the weighted average for all horizons within 100 cm of the surface. Tehinan Woreda. 14,Lund, Sweden, Hurni H (1984) Soil erosion and soil conservation in agricultural ecosystems: ethiopia and northern. Soil erosion is a serious problem in Ethiopia. However, moderate soil erosion in the upper parts of the watershed could be due to the inherent characteristics of vertisols, lack of vegetation cover and terraces which should be given first priority for conservation interventions. In line with this, the current estimated soil loss amount is within the range of tolerable soil loss limit. 2014). 47.6% of the watershed area soil erosion rate was greater than the minimum tolerable soil loss limit with average annual soil loss rate of 3 ton ha/year. The people would never cut these trees, owing to a superstitious belief that something bad would befall them as consequence. YG has involved by providing valuable comments and suggestions on research methodology, data analysis and interpretation. The inherent characteristics of soil also influence the rate of soil erosion. Agriculture is the main source of income in Ethiopia.