Effects of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Woody Species Diversity, Structure and Regeneration in Southern Ethiopia

Soil erosion is a major challenge in sustaining agricultural production. Area closure with tree planting and physical conservation measures, implemented by various land rehabilitation programs is one of the best options to address the soil erosion problem. This study was conducted to assess the effect of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices on woody vegetation rehabilitation and soil erosion reduction in Hawassa Zuriya Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Vegetation cover type classification and delineation were completed for each land management category (closure area with SWC, closure area without SWC and open grazing area) in the field. RUSLE model integrated with a GIS environment was used to estimate the annual soil losses. Results showed that SWC practices were increased forest, shrub and grass coverage, and reduced bare land surface coverage. The average C (p=0.02) and P values (p=0.04), and annual soil erosion rate were significantly lower in closure with SWC (p=0.0001) compared to the value without SWC and open grazing land. Thus, the average annual soil erosion rate was reduced below a tolerable (< 1 t/ha/yr.) level by SWC practices. The overall results confirmed that integrated soil and water conservation practices reduced soil erosion rates and improved woody species diversity. Therefore, area closure integrated with SWC practices is the best option to improve the biophysical condition of degraded lands.

BackgroundSoil erosion and nutrient depletion have been the major challenges in Ethiopia that adversely affect soil fertility and crop productivity. With the aim of curbing land degradation problems, efforts are underway on the implementation of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices. This research investigated the effects of SWC practices on soil properties and crop productivity in cultivated lands of Bashe micro-watershed, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Data were collected from five different practices viz. non-conserved land, physical SWC (2 and 5 years age); and physical SWC integrated with biological practices (2 and 5 years age).ResultsThe result revealed that integrated SWC for 5 years reduced the soil bulk density; and increased soil pH (5.87 to 6.60), organic carbon (1.34 to 1.74%) and available phosphorous (8.06 to 25.23 mg kg−1) by 12%, 30% and 203% compared to non-conserved land, respectively. Agronomic analysis also indicted that SWC practices significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced plant height, tiller formation, spike length, thousand seed weight, biomass, and grain yield of wheat. Integrated SWC for 5 years increased grain yield by 72.8% than control.ConclusionIt is concluded that SWC practices have positive impacts on soil and crop productivity of cultivated lands; however, their effect is more pronounced when physical SWC practices are integrated with biological SWC practices and at a longer establishment.

One of the most serious challenges threatening agricultural sustainabilityin Nigeria is land degradation. Although this issue has received little attention, soil and water conservation practices have been identified as a possible pathway out of the potential problems posed by land degradation. Therefore, the central research question that this paper tries to address is the following: Do adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices affect crop productivity and householdwelfare? This paper uses data collected by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) from maize farmers in rural Nigeria. We usedemploy the propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability weighting adjusted regression model (IPWRA) approach, and the linear regression with endogenous treatment effect (LRETE) model to incorporate the typologies of SWC practices, and tested how the model affects crop productivity and household welfare. Additionally, multinomial logit was used to estimate the factors influencing the decision to adopt single and multiple SWC practices. The estimates show that education, age of the household head, access to credit, experience of drought, soil fertility, and occupational stress contribute to the decision to adopt SWC practices. The casual effect estimates reveal that both single and multiple adoptions of SWC practices had a positive and significant relationship with the crop productivity and welfare of the adopters. The results show that the adoption of combined SWC practices has a higher impact on crop productivity and welfare than single SWC practices. For instance, the adoption of a combination of three SWC practices was found to increase crop productivity and householdwelfare by 27.55% and 38.23%, respectively versus 13.91% and 15.11% in the case of single SWC practices. The study suggests that profile-raising agenda and efforts that focus on promoting the adoption of combination of SWC practices should be designed and implemented to enhance crop productivity and hence the welfare of the maize farming households in ruralNigeria.

In Ethiopia, soil degradation is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity. As a result of this challenge, the country has been battling to adopt conservation practices. The main objective of this study was to assess farmers’ adoption decisions of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices. For the survey, 304 farmers were selected from farming communities in Lege-Lafto Watershed, South Wollo,Ethiopia. Information were gathered using a household survey, and through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observation. A binary logistic regression model and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that about 64% of the farmers adopted soil and water conservation practices in the study area. The findings depicted that soil bund, stone bund, stone-faced soil bund, loose stone and brush-wood check dams, hillside terrace, and bund stabilized with vegetation are practiced in the watershed. The analysis result revealed adoption of soil and water conservation practices is significantly and positively influenced by the perception of farmers on erosion problems and SWC practices, family labour, educational level, and membership in local institutions. However, distance from residence to the nearest market and farmland, off-farm activities, and the ratio of cultivable land to family size influenced the adoption of SWC practices negatively. Therefore, improving farmers’ educational status, and strengthening local institutions are vital for sustainable land management practices in the country.

In Ethiopia, soil degradation is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity. As a result of this challenge, the country has been battling to adopt conservation practices. The main objective of this study was to assess farmers' adoption decisions of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices. For the survey, 304 farmers were selected from farming communities in Lege-Lafto Watershed, South Wollo,Ethiopia. Information were gathered using a household survey, and through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observation. A binary logistic regression model and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that about 64% of the farmers adopted soil and water conservation practices in the study area. The findings depicted that soil bund, stone bund, stone-faced soil bund, loose stone and brush-wood check dams, hillside terrace, and bund stabilized with vegetation are practiced in the watershed. The analysis result revealed adoption of soil and water conservation practices is significantly and positively influenced by the perception of farmers on erosion problems and SWC practices, family labour, educational level, and membership in local institutions. However, distance from residence to the nearest market and farmland, off-farm activities, and the ratio of cultivable land to family size influenced the adoption of SWC practices negatively. Therefore, improving farmers' educational status, and strengthening local institutions are vital for sustainable land management practices in the country.

Land degradation is a critical issue in Ethiopia, exacerbating food insecurity by reducing agricultural productivity. Soil and water conservation (SWC) practices are essential to control erosion and increase food production. However, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluations on the impact of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) on SWC practices. This study aimed to assess the contribution of the PSNP to SWC in the Amhara Sayint Woreda. The researchers used a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data. Multistage sampling was used to select households, and data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and observations. The study provided empirical evidence that the PSNP has a positive impact on SWC practices. Key factors influencing SWC participation include age, family size, education, plot size, livestock ownership, credit service, and access to extension services. The results suggest that the PSNP should improve payment for public work participants implementing SWC, undertake institutional reform, and increase public awareness of the benefits of SWC in reversing land degradation and improving food security. This study uniquely contributes to the understanding of how the PSNP influences the varying degrees of participation in SWC practices, filling a critical research gap. The findings can inform policymakers and program managers to enhance the PSNP’s effectiveness in promoting sustainable land management and food security in Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, the increase in land degradation mainly in the form of soil erosion necessitates implementation of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices. So far impact evaluation studies are scattered and not comprehensive. In this paper detailed quantitative review of impact of SWC practices under different climate and socio-economic setting were done on runoff, soil loss, siltation, soil fertility and crop yield. Up to 1980s, expert and government considered reduction of soil loss and runoff as big achievement. This was not in line with the interest of subsistence farmers who need short term benefit. The reduction of soil loss, runoff and siltation of reservoirs are positively acknowledged by majority researchers and have several beneficial effects: increase soil moisture content, groundwater recharge, increased in situ sediment deposition, making the hill slope suitable for agriculture and reduce siltation. Regarding production objective, SWC practices have mixed impact (positive and negative) on crop yield and soil fertility. In this review it was found that 62.5% of the reviewed materials revealed that SWC measures have positive impact on soil fertility either in increasing or maintaining. In contrast, 25% showed SWC treated areas had lower soil fertility than untreated and 12.5% showed no significant change in soil fertility. In summary, the impact of SWC practices especially on soil fertility and crop yield varies depending on soil erosion degree before SWC implemented, design of SWC measures, crops, plows, socio-economic, soils types and climate mainly rainfall. The review in detail discussed why SWC practices have variation in impact on soil fertility and crop yield. Finally SWC practices are an action of no option for sustainable development and food security under current soil erosion and climate change.

Efforts to tackle land degradation worldwide have spurred the adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices intended to reduce surface runoff and erosion. Despite their widespread implementation, missing or incomplete monitoring remains a pervasive problem preventing evaluation of how well SWC practices meet these aims. Key metrics to evaluate SWC efficacy are the production of flow per unit rainfall (runoff ratio), and exported sediment (sediment concentration). We develop a method to assess changes in these metrics in the absence of a flow rating curve, using more complete and reliable measurements of stage (flow depth). We apply these methods to incomplete monitoring datasets collected from five watersheds included in the Tana and Beles Integrated Water Resource Development Project (TBIWRDP) in the Abay (Blue Nile) basin, Ethiopia. Changes in runoff ratio and sediment concentration relative to the first year of treatment varied by season. In the long wet season (Kiremt) that generates most runoff and erosion, reductions in runoff ratio occurred in three watersheds, and reductions in sediment concentration in four watersheds. Reductions in the runoff ratio were directly proportional to the areal density of SWC treatments in the watersheds, suggesting that SWC treatments were effective in controlling runoff and erosion. We suggest that stage and sediment concentration information can be used to assess watershed responses to SWC treatments. Focusing on these relatively robust measurements, may facilitate the design of reliable and affordable monitoring programs, and ultimately facilitate improved financing approaches based on reasonable estimates of likely SWC practice performance.

Sustainability of the long-term indigenous soil and water conservation practices in the UNESCO designated cultural landscapes of Konso, Ethiopia

Assessing the suitability of soil and water conservation practices in Southwestern China

Over the last four decades, the government of Ethiopia and various a consortium of donors have been promoting different land management (LM) practices in the highlands of Ethiopia to halt land degradation. However, the adoption rate of these practices has been low. This is because investments in LM practices are influenced by various institutional, socio-economic and bio-physical factors. The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of these different factors on investments in LM in the north-western Ethiopian highlands. It focuses on the drivers of the different stages of adoption, on profitability of LM practices, and on land quality, land fragmentation, tenure arrangements and social capital. We examined the drivers of the different stages of adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices using an ordered probit model. The results indicate that adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) passes through four major phases: non-adoption/dis-adoption, initial adoption, actual adoption and final adoption. Some socio-economic and institutional factors have a different effect on the respective SWC adoption phases. Final adoption depends mostly on profitability, land-related factors, social capital and perception of erosion problems. We also investigated the effectiveness and profitability of three SWC practices (stone bunds, soil bunds and Fanya juu bunds) using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). The results show that SWC practices are effective in controlling soil erosion, though the profitability of these SWC methods is dependent on the site where they are used. Fanya juu and stone bunds are generally profitable under standard conditions (e.g. medium slope and average soil quality and labour costs). However, the study also shows that different underlying assumptions change the CBA results considerably and consequently also change the conclusions regarding circumstances under which SWC measures are or are not profitable. Besides, we assessed farmers’ perceptions about land quality, land fragmentation and tenure systems and their influence on interrelated LM (Bunds, Compost/Manure and Fertilizer) investments using a multivariate probit (MPV) model. The study shows that investments in LM practices are interdependent. For example, compost/manure and fertiliser substitute each other to a certain extent (often not used together, or used interchangeably by farmers) in the farming system of the study areas. Land quality (e.g. slope and soil fertility status), land fragmentation (parcel size and distance of parcel from homestead) and tenure arrangements influence farmers’ investments in LM practices. In addition, the relationship between the different dimensions of social capital and investments in LM practices was explored. The results show that the different dimensions of social capital affect LM practices differently. In particular, the cooperation and trust dimensions of social capital are associated with the intensity of investment in SWC bunds and fertiliser use. The extent of participation in formal institutions has a positive effect on the use of fertiliser and compost. Furthermore, we evaluated different SWC practices using Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) to assess their ecological, economic and social impacts. The study reveals that MCA is an effective evaluation tool that can take into account non- monetary and less quantifiable effects of SWC measures, which is not possible with Cost Benefit Analysis. The results of the analysis indicate that farmers have a range of criteria to evaluate the performance of SWC measures. The relative importance of each criterion in the selection of SWC alternatives depends to a large extent on slope categories. For enhancing the adoption and impacts of land management, there is a need to increase knowledge about location specific viable LM practices, to promote collective action at watershed level, to pay more attention to farmers’ preferences and to improve the capacity and capability of farmers.

Evaluating runoff and sediment responses to human activities and climate variability is crucial for prioritizing erosion hotspots and implementing appropriate land management interventions. This study evaluated the separate and combined impacts of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices, land use/land cover, and climate variability, on runoff and sediment yield (SY) using two approaches in drought-prone watersheds of northwestern Ethiopia. In the first (paired watershed) approach, runoff and SY outputs of Kecha (treated) and Laguna (untreated) watersheds were compared. In the second approach, we compared data before and after the implementation of SWC practices in the Kecha watershed. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was adopted for both untreated and treated watersheds and used to evaluate runoff and SY responses in the two approaches. Paired watershed approach results revealed that the SWC practices reduced the surface runoff in Kecha by about 28–36% and SY by about 51–68% as compared to those in Laguna. Similarly, compared with the baseline data at Kecha, the SWC practices reduced the surface runoff and SY by about 40% and 43%, respectively, corresponding to about 65–78% of the total changes brought by changes in land use/land cover and climate variability. Hence, combining the two approaches helped reasonably estimate the reduction of surface runoff and SY due to SWC practices by about 28–40% and about 43–68%, respectively, implying that SWC practices had a considerably greater effect on SY than surface runoff. The study further revealed that the untreated Laguna watershed, where >86% of the total area is categorized as the very high soil erosion severity class, should be an immediate conservation priority. The findings of this study will be vital to devise future alternative land management scenarios in these watersheds and similar agro-ecological areas elsewhere.

BackgroundLand degradation is an urgent agenda that requires great effort and resources to ameliorate. It worsens soil components through disrupting ecological functions and threatens agriculture production. To overcome it, different soil and water conservation (SWC) practices have been undertaken in numerous parts of Ethiopia. This paper aims to review the effects of SWC practices on soil physicochemical properties and crop yield. Data were collected from secondary sources via a computer library using various databases based on developed criteria. The collected data were organized, categorized, and analyzed through descriptive statistics. The mean difference of selected soil physicochemical properties obtained from treated and untreated farmland was tested using paired t-test. Factors influencing crop yield on treated farmland were determined by a multiple linear regression model.ResultsSWC practices influenced the soil physicochemical properties and crop yield either positively or negatively. The mean values of available phosphorus (10.6 ppm, 8.7 ppm), total nitrogen (0.5%, 0.4%), soil pH (6.0%, 5.8%), soil organic matter (4.4%, 3.8%), and soil organic carbon (2.2%, 1.8%) were on treated and untreated farmland under physical SWC practices, respectively. Similarly, the mean values of these variables were higher on treated farmland than untreated farmland under both biological and integrated SWC practices. The mean value of bulk density was higher on untreated farmland than treated one and statistically significant under all SWC practices. Fanya juu and stone-faced soil bund constantly increased crop yield, whereas soil bund and stone bund did not.ConclusionProper implementation of SWC technologies through integrating physical and biological measures will boost the effectiveness of the practice in restoring soil physicochemical properties and improving crop yield. Meanwhile, government due attention paid for land resources management in Ethiopia, whereby the annual SWC and tree planting campaign underwent for a couple of decades, entails further scientific support for its efficacy.

Efforts to tackle land degradation worldwide have spurred the adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices intended to reduce surface runoff and erosion. Despite their widespread implementation, missing or incomplete monitoring remains a pervasive problem preventing evaluation of how well SWC practices meet these aims. When using runoff and sediment loss as main parameters to evaluate SWC efficacy, the key metrics are the production of flow per unit rainfall (runoff ratio), and exported sediment (sediment concentration). We develop a method to assess changes in these metrics in the absence of a flow rating curve, using more complete and reliable measurements of stage (flow depth). We apply these methods to datasets with incomplete rating curve collected from five watersheds included in the Tana and Beles Integrated Water Resource Development Project (TBIWRDP) in the Abay (Blue Nile) basin, Ethiopia. Changes in runoff ratio and sediment concentration relative to the first year of treatment varied by season. In the long wet season (Kiremt) that generates most runoff and erosion, reductions in runoff ratio and in sediment concentration occurred in four watersheds. Reductions in the runoff ratio were directly proportional to the areal density of SWC treatments in the watersheds, suggesting that SWC treatments were effective in controlling runoff and erosion.We suggest that stage and sediment concentration information can be used to assess watershed responses to SWC treatments. Focusing on these measurements, may facilitate the design of reliable and affordable monitoring programs, and ultimately facilitate improved financing approaches based on reasonable estimates of likely SWC practice performance.

Concerns have been raised on the effectiveness and sustainability of Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) practices as adaptation options to climate change and high intra– and inter–annual rainfall variabilities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study was conducted in the Ruzizi Plain, a dryland area, to assess the performance of maize (Zea mays L.) under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) and two SWC practices (tied ridges and conventional tillage). The AgMIP’s Regional Integrated Assessment (RIA) approach was used to simulate Water Use Efficiency (WUE) under the Cropping System Model–Crop Environment Resource Synthesis (CSM–CERES–Maize) of the Decision Support System for Agro–technology Transfer (DSSAT). The model was calibrated using experimental data from nine cropping seasons (2011–2018) and 100 farms. The model sensitivity was assessed as a function of temperature, water, and SWC practices for the same environments. Initial conditions of crop management practices were used as input data for CSM–CERES–Maize. Current climate data were extracted from AgMERRA datasets corrected with local data for the period of 1980 to 2021. Future climate projections (2022–2099) were obtained after down−scaling the data from the 29 General Circulation Models (GCMS) of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) and subsetted to five GCMs based on climate regimes. GCMS results were a strong indicator that climate change in this DRC dryland will result in an increase in average annual temperatures for both RCP 4.5 and 8.5, with the highest increase (3.05 °C) under hot/dry conditions for RCP8.5 and the lowest (1.04 °C) under cool/dry conditions for RCP 4.5. All the models selected for five climate regimes for 2022–2099 showed no change in the rainfall trends for RCP 4.5 (p &gt; 0.05). The models projected yield declines of 5–25%, with less yield losses under tied ridges as an adaptation practice. The use of efficient SWC practices could therefore be a promising strategy in reducing potential losses from climate change in drylands of eastern DRC.