Abstract
Gullies are common features throughout the Ethiopian Highlands. Induced environmental degradation comprises not only the loss of soil volume and of arable lands, but also the triggering of landslides or off-site sedimentation problems. This experiment was initiated with the aim of evaluating the effect of brush (bamboo) wood with stone check dam on soil and water conservation (gully rehabilitation) at Benishangulgumuz region of Assosa zone (Assosa district of selga-19 for two consecutive research years (2013/14-2014/15) on farm land. The gully site was selected purposively based on the prevalence of gully erosion. Biophysical and socio -economic data were collected from the gully and participant farmers to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures. The potential of the check dam to conserve the soil was evaluated by using the pin installed in front the check dam to observe the change of gully depth, cross sectional area and soil loss data were collected. A total of 22 households were sampled to assess the perception, acceptance and adoption level of the farmers using simple random sampling technique. the result indicates that the gully depth and volume of soil loss, were reduced from 0.94m to 0.58m and volume of soil loss from 468 ton/ha/yr to 204 ton/ha/yr. The interviewed farmers response also indicated that, all (100%) of them were mentioned the presence and severity of soil erosion on their farm land and which is increasing from time to time in alarming rate and where all of the farmers mentioned loss of fertile top soil and in turn yield reduction as its integral effect. 95.5% of the farmers were confident enough to rehabilitate the gully using bamboo with stone check dam by supplementing with other biological measures and all (100%) of the farmers ratified the effectiveness of the measures to rehabilitate the gully and willing to implement on their farm land thereby to disseminate the technology to non- participant farmers.
Highlights
Land degradation, comprising degradation of the natural vegetation cover, soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and moisture stress is a well-known problem in Ethiopian highlands
The phenomenon of gully development is not restricted to Highlands of Ethiopia, but seems to be a phenomenon on subcontinental scale in Africa [2]
The result obtained from this study indicated the conservation/rehabilitation potential of using bamboo with stone check dam to manage gully
Summary
Land degradation, comprising degradation of the natural vegetation cover, soil erosion, loss of soil fertility and moisture stress is a well-known problem in Ethiopian highlands. Soil erosion in Ethiopian Highlands degrades the soil resources on which agricultural production are based. This threat stems from the depletion and degradation of the vegetation cover of the country, especially forests, and exploitative farming practices. Gullies are common features throughout the Ethiopian Highlands. Induced environmental degradation comprises the loss of soil volume and of arable lands, and the triggering of landslides or off-site sedimentation problems. The phenomenon of gully development is not restricted to Highlands of Ethiopia, but seems to be a phenomenon on subcontinental scale in Africa [2]
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