Abstract
Increased flooding and newly formed rills and gullies were observed in the Cheleleka wetland watershed, over the past three to five years. These events are due to problems related to land use changes and are adversely affecting land productivity. This study was conducted to quantify, analyze and map soil erosion risk areas using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. Only 13.6 percent of the study area has a soil loss value less than 10 ton per hectare per year with the remaining area experiencing a higher soil loss value. A large area, 53.6 percent of the watershed, is under severe to extremely severe soil loss (>45 ton per hectare per year). Another 17.3 percent of the study area has annual soil loss of 20–45 ton per hectare. A significantly large area of the Cheleleka wetland watershed has non-tolerable soil erosion that threatens annual crop production, land productivity, and hydrological functioning of the area. From the conservation perspective, a large proportion of the watershed needs immediate watershed management intervention.
Highlights
Increased flooding and newly formed rills and gullies were observed in the Cheleleka wetland watershed, over the past three to five years
Several studies in Ethiopia have revealed that soil erosion has become an alarming problem (Wagayehu and Drake (2003); Admasu (2005); Bewket and Teferi (2009); Haile and Fetene (2012)) and it is the major factor affecting the sustainability of agricultural production
Our findings revealed that the study area is facing forest transformation, which is very likely intensified by the demand for subsistence agricultural land
Summary
Increased flooding and newly formed rills and gullies were observed in the Cheleleka wetland watershed, over the past three to five years These events are due to problems related to land use changes and are adversely affecting land productivity. Soil erosion is a natural geological phenomenon resulting from the removal of soil particles by water or wind (Gitas et al 2009) This natural process can be accelerated by human activities creating soil loss that exceeds the soil formation rate in a given area. Using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) methods, Gessesse (2007), estimated an alarming 82% forest decline in the area when comparing 1972 forest cover to 2000 In many cases, this conversion occurred without evaluating the land use capacity, exposing the new cultivated fields to a high level of degradation. The increasing discharge from the wetland through the ‘TikurWuha’ River is partially related to the activities of erosion and the sedimentation processes in the Cheleleka watershed (Gessesse 2007; Tenalem et al (2007); Kebede et al (2014))
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