Assessment of soil erosion hazard and factors affecting farmers’ adoption of soil and water management measure: A case study from Upper Domba Watershed, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Soil erosion is a serious and continuous environmental problem in the highlands of Ethiopia, particularly, in the study watershed. The purpose of the study was to assess potential annual soil loss and factors affecting the adoption of soil and water conservation technologies in the Domba watershed. In the study, rainfall data, satellite imageries, and digital soil map were used to determine the RUSLE factors. In addition, household data was used to assess contributing factors to erosion hazards in the area. Furthermore, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation along with Remote Sensing Techniques, Geographical Information System, multiple regression model was used in analysing the data to find out the contributing factors for the severe soil erosion in the study area. The study result revealed that the estimated annual soil loss of the watershed was ranging between 0 to 95 t ha -1 y -1. Degraded mountain ranges of Sule and Gana kare-Woyza ridges contributed majority (more than 82%) soil loss in the watershed. This part of the watershed was categorized under severe erosion intensity class and levelled in priority list for intervention measure. The study further showed that there exists a strong positive relationship (r = 0.874) between adoption of improved SWC measures and the independent variables used in the study at 0.05 significant level. Among these variables, plot area, plot distance to residence and perception of erosion problem significantly but negatively influences adoption of improved SWC practices. The study further showed that above 77.6% of the variance of adoption of SWC measures were explained by eleven variables used in the study. Therefore, to revert the severity of soil erosion, both government and non-government institutions should enhance timely and proper management measure in the study watershed.