Lake Abiyata Research Articles

Breeding biology of Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus at Lake Tana, Ethiopia

Great White Pelicans, once thriving at Lake Shala, have faced a decline in breeding pairs at Lake Abijata due to increased salinity and overfishing. A study at Lake Tana Biosphere, from December 2020 to December 2021, aimed to understand their breeding biology, which had not been previously documented. We conducted intensive searches for nests and monitored them during incubation and post-hatching to assess reproductive success. The study found pelicans breed year-round, with peaks from late December to March and June to July. The average clutch size was 2.14, with egg dimensions averaging 90.33 mm in length and 58.70 mm in breadth and a mean weight of 173.68 g. No significant differences were observed in these measurements, but a positive correlation was found between egg length, weight, and breadth and weight. However, no correlation existed between length and breadth. Out of 98 eggs, 84 hatched, resulting in 80 and 91.5 % hatchability rates across two breeding seasons, averaging 85.71 %. The hatching success rate did not differ significantly between seasons. Unfortunately, only 37 pelicans reached the pre-fledging stage, indicating a high mortality rate of 63 %. The study concluded that the breeding performance of Great White Pelicans at Lake Tana is poor, with human disturbance, overfishing, and predation on nestlings posing significant threats to their nesting success. This highlights the need for conservation efforts to address these challenges and protect the species.

Geology, mineralogy, geochemistry and genesis of volcano-sedimentary hosted Lake Abiyata diatomite in central main Ethiopian Rift

The Abiyata Diatomite deposit is located in the Main Ethiopian Rift, which is characterized by strong extensional tectonics. The deposit is mostly made up of diatomaceous earth, which is a sedimentary rock made up of the fossilized remnants of diatoms, which are tiny algae. Diatomite's geological, geochemical, and mineralogical features, as well as its formation, are discussed in this research. To characterize diatomite from Abiyata, chemical, mineralogical, technological, and micro paleontological examinations were conducted on samples collected from outcrops and stream sections. The XRD characteristic peaks of diatomite demonstrate that it is primarily made up of Opal A silica, however certain crystalline phases were discovered in adequate amounts. Quartz and feldspar were the predominant crystalline phases, with lesser amounts of Calcite, Cristobalite, Illite, Mordinite, Wairakite, Halloysite, Clinoaptilolite, Adularia, and Tridymite. From SEM photomicrographs diatomites are primarily formed of benthic freshwater diatom species such as Staurosirella pinnata, Staurosira construens, Pseudostaurosira brevistriata, Epithemia Sorex and surirella pinnata. Diatom species, sedimentary profile sections and mineralogical data suggest that diatomite was deposited in lacustrine-type freshwater shallow lake environment. Chemical data obtained from 10 diatomite samples show that while silica is the bodybuilding material for diatomite. i.e., Silica (SiO2), 76.9 %; Alumina (Al2O3), 3.49 %; Sodium Oxide (Na2O), 1.52 %; Potassium Oxide (K2O), 1.107 %; Iron Oxide (Fe2O3), 1.1 %; Loss on ignition (LOI) 13.7 and other oxides are below 1 %. Studies from technological properties like physical tests, chemistry, and mineralogy and micropaleontology of Abiyata diatomite suggest that calcined diatomite can be used for waste treatment processes in the filter aid industry and as filler material.

Spatiotemporal lakes surface area changes over 35 years and potential causes in the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia

Study RegionCentral Rift Valley (CRV) region, Ethiopia. Study FocusThe study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal change in lake water surface extents over 35 years (1986–2020) and identify potential causes. Three alternative multispectral water indices—Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Automatic Water Extraction Index (AWEI), and Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI)—derived from Landsat sensors (TM, ETM+, OLI) were utilized to extract and analyze the lake surface area. The Mann-Kendall correlation was applied to examine whether hydro-meteorological and anthropogenic variables are possible causes for changes. New Hydrological Insights for the RegionMNDWI outperforms other indices with over 96 % accuracy in mapping lake surface area. Lake Abiyata experienced the most significant reduction in surface area from 1986 to 2020 (>50 %), followed by Lake Ziway (<2 %) while Lake Langano remained relatively stable. This significant reduction positively correlates to alterations in lake water depth (R2=0.92). Factors such as increased temperature, evaporation, and water abstraction for soda ash production negatively correlated with lake surface area, while inflow from Bulbula River and mean annual rainfall showed positive correlations. Abiyata Lake's decrease in surface area is primarily attributed to water abstraction for soda-ash manufacturing and incoming river flow. If the current trends in water abstraction from the Lake and income water diversion continue, there is a high possibility that Lake Abiyata will change into a terminal lake shortly.

Unveiling hydrological dynamics in data-scarce regions: experiences from the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes Basin

Abstract. The hydrological system of the Rift Valley Lakes in Ethiopia has recently experienced changes over the past 2 decades. Potential causes for these changes include anthropogenic, hydro-climatic, and geological factors. The main objective of this study was to utilize an integrated methodology to gain a comprehensive understanding of the hydrological systems and potential driving factors within a complex and data-scarce region. To this end, we integrated a hydrologic model, change point analysis, indicators of hydrological alteration (IHA), and a bathymetry survey to investigate hydrological dynamics and potential causes. A hydrologic model (the Soil and Water Assessment Tool Plus, SWAT+) was parameterized for the gauged watersheds and extended to the ungauged watersheds using multi-site regionalization techniques. The SWAT+ model performed very well to satisfactorily for daily streamflow in all watersheds with respect to the objective functions of the Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE), the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percent bias (PBIAS). The findings reveal notable changes in lake inflows and lake levels over the past 2 decades. Lake Chamo experienced an increase in area of 30.1 km2 (9.5 %), an increase in depth of 4.4 m (30.9 %), and an increase in volume of 7.8×108 m3 (27.2 %). In contrast, Lake Abijata witnessed an extraordinary 68 % decrease in area and a depth decrease of 1.6 m (37.2 %). During the impact period, the mean annual rainfall experienced a decrease of 6.5 % and 2.7 % over Lake Abijata and Lake Chamo, respectively. Actual evapotranspiration decreased by 2.9 % in Lake Abijata but increased by up to 4.5 % in Lake Chamo. Surface inflow to Lake Abijata decreased by 12.5 %, while Lake Chamo experienced an 80.5 % increase in surface inflow. Sediment depth in Lake Chamo also increased by 0.6 m (4.2 %). The results highlight that the changing hydrological regime in Lake Chamo is driven by increased surface runoff and sediment intrusion associated with anthropogenic influences. The hydrological regime of Lake Abijata is affected by water abstraction from feeding rivers and lakes for industrial and irrigation purposes. This integrated methodology provides a holistic understanding of complex data-scarce hydrological systems and potential driving factors in the Rift Valley Lakes in Ethiopia, which could have global applicability.

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial diversity from three soda lakes in the East African Rift Valley determined by amplicon sequencing.

Soda lakes are unique poly-extreme environments with high alkalinity and salinity that support diverse microbial communities despite their extreme nature. In this study, prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial diversity in samples of the three soda lakes, Lake Abijata, Lake Chitu and Lake Shala in the East African Rift Valley, were determined using amplicon sequencing. Culture-independent analysis showed higher diversity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities in all three soda lakes than previously reported. A total of 3,603 prokaryotic and 898 eukaryotic operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were found through culture-independent amplicon sequencing, whereas only 134 bacterial OTUs, which correspond to 3%, were obtained by enrichment cultures. This shows that only a fraction of the microorganisms from these habitats can be cultured under laboratory conditions. Of the three soda lakes, samples from Lake Chitu showed the highest prokaryotic diversity, while samples from Lake Shala showed the lowest diversity. Pseudomonadota (Halomonas), Bacillota (Bacillus, Clostridia), Bacteroidota (Bacteroides), Euryarchaeota (Thermoplasmata, Thermococci, Methanomicrobia, Halobacter), and Nanoarchaeota (Woesearchaeia) were the most common prokaryotic microbes in the three soda lakes. A high diversity of eukaryotic organisms were identified, primarily represented by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Compared to the other two lakes, a higher number of eukaryotic OTUs were found in Lake Abijata. The present study showed that these unique habitats harbour diverse microbial genetic resources with possible use in biotechnological applications, which should be further investigated by functional metagenomics.

Plant growth-promoting characteristics of halotolerant endophytic bacteria isolated from Sporobolus specatus (Vahr) Kunth and Cyperus laevigatus L. of Ethiopian rift valley lakes.

Understanding plant microbes' intimate relationship and search for beneficial microbes is a sustainable alternative to improve plant growth and yield under a wide range of biotic and abiotic stress conditions. More than 20% of the total global agricultural land is affected by salinity. High salinity challenges crop plants by affecting several metabolic pathways and decreasing plant growth and yield. Unlike chemical fertilizers and pesticides, endophytic microbes offer an eco-friendly approach to increasing crop yield via various metabolites during salinity stress. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize endophytic halotolerant bacterial isolates from haloalkaliphytes, investigate their plant growth-promoting (PGP) properties and tolerance for various stress conditions. Sporobolus specatus (Vahr) Kunth and Cyperus laevigatus L. grass samples were collected from the shores of two Ethiopian soda lakes (Lakes Abijata, and Chitu, respectively). A total of 167 halotolerant endophytic bacterial isolates, that clustered into 21 ARDRA (Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis) groups, affiliated to members of 11 bacterial genera, namely Halomonas, Agrobacterium, Exiguobacterium, Jonesia, Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas, Alishewanella, Kosakonia, Bacillus, Paracoccus and Pannonibacter, were identified based on 16S rRNA sequencing. Most of the strains were able to produce IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) and hydrogen cyanide, grow on a nitrogen-free medium and solubilize phosphate. In vitro tolerance tests reveal that isolates were tolerant to: 5.0-15% NaCl, up to 40% PEG 6000, temperatures up to 50°C, and pH 5-11. These characteristics of the isolates indicate their potential PGP application under various plant stress conditions.

Implications of water abstraction on the interconnected Central Rift Valley Lakes sub-basin of Ethiopia using WEAP

Study regionCentral Rift Valley Lakes sub-basin, Ethiopia. Study focusThe competition for water is rapidly increasing in Central Rift Valley lakes sub-basin due to the combined effect of various water resources developments. However, the impacts of recent and future water resources development pathways on the water balance of the three interconnected lakes (i.e. Lake Ziway, Langano and Abiyata) are unknown. The Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model was used to assess the development impacts on water resources of the interconnected lakes. We considered three development pathways that are, recent (2009–2018), short-term (2019–2028) and long-term development (2029–2038). Lake Ziway water inflows from six catchments were estimated using the Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) rainfall-runoff model. Crop water requirements for irrigation schemes were estimated by the CROPWAT model. New hydrological insights for the regionWEAP simulations show a total water demand of 102.3 Mm3 under the recent development pathway that increases by 46% and 118% for short-term and long-term development pathways, respectively. This will notably affect the water balance of the interconnected lakes and cause an unmet water demand of 47.9 Mm3 for the long-term (2028–2038). For Lake Ziway and Abiyata, water levels will decrease substantially to cause water scarcity in the long-term, and developments in Lake Ziway will significantly affect water storage in Lake Abiyata storages in Lake Abiyata. Overall, future developments will threaten the water resource of the interconnected lake system.

Alleviating Water Scarcity in the Central Rift Valley Lakes through an Inter-Basin Water Transfer, Ethiopia

Demand for fresh water, as one of the major natural resources, is increasing rapidly with increasing development and environmental degradation. The continued abstraction of water from Lake Ziway and its main feeder rivers Meki and Katar for irrigation indicates that the water demand may soon exceed the supply. To illustrate disparities in spatial distribution of water resources, the Upper Awash sub-basin, which shares a water-divide with the CRVL sub-basin, has large flow volumes particularly in the rainy season and suffers with seasonal flooding. The rationale behind regaining the water in CRVL relies on this non-uniform spatial distribution of fresh water, calling for a balance between water surplus and deficit regions. For this reason, Inter Basin Water Transfer (IBWT) is suggested as a viable option to augment utilizable water resources of the Upper Awash sub-basin to reduce the significant pressure on the water supply of the rapidly developing urban and irrigation areas in the CRVL sub-basin. A water evaluation and planning (WEAP) model was used to quantify the amount of surplus water in the donor basin, when examining the hydrological dynamics of the basins. Furthermore, optimal flow diversion scenarios were generated by maintaining two baseline scenario constraints. The estimated surplus water in the rainy season is expected to contribute 18 million cubic meters (mcm), 88 mcm and 192 mcm in months June, July and August respectively under average conditions. The optimal amount of diverted water could potentially stabilize the environmental degradation of Lake Ziway and Lake Abijata by compensating for development-driven abstraction and surface water evaporation respectively.

Greening a Tropical Abijata-Shala Lakes National Park, Ethiopia - A Review

The aim of this review is to assess and document the status of Abijata-Shala Lakes’ National Park (ASLNP), to investigate the possible causes for the water level reduction of Lake Abijata and to promote sustainable utilization of the Park. The Park was established to protect and conserve large number of water birds that use Lake Abijata as feeding and Lake Shala as nesting and breeding grounds. Actually, Lake Shala is the continent’s most important breeding colony of great white pelicans. The Park also provides wintering ground and maintenance station for large number of birds including from Southern African, Sub-Saharan and Palaearctic species. Consequently, the Park was submitted to the Ramsar Convention on wetlands as an international important candidate site. However, this natural heritage is currently deteriorating due to human encroachment, grazing by cattle, uncontrolled water abstraction and other anthropogenic activities. Since the 1980s, the water level of Lake Abijata has significantly dropped, fishery has totally collapsed, and birds such as Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor Geoffroy) and Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus roseus) have been migrating to nearby lakes. Briefly, the lake is shrinking (so far greater than about 100 km2) and facing imminent threat of collapse obliterating the existence of the Park. As a result, the Park is one of IBAs (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas) in danger sites, which are priority sites for immediate action. To improve this deteriorating condition of the Park, I demonstrate resources use of the Park within the framework of green economy, which protects ecosystem services and utilizes natural resources sustainably. Lastly, a few recommendations for management measures are outlined as mechanisms to protect the ecosystems and the park.

Characterization of Water Level Variability of the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes

In this paper, the water level fluctuations of eight Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes were analyzed for their hydrological stability in terms of water level dynamics and their controlling factors. Long-term water balances and morphological nature of the lakes were used as bases for the analyses. Pettit’s homogeneity test and Mann–Kendall trend analysis were applied to test temporal variations of the lake levels. It is found that the hydrological stability of most of the Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes is sensitive to climate variability. In terms of monotonic trends, Lake Ziway, Hawassa, Abaya and Beseka experienced significant increasing trend, while Ziway, Langano and Chamo do not. In addition, homogeneity test revealed that Lake Hawassa and Abaya showed significant upward shift around 1991/1992, which was likely caused by climate anomalies such as the El Niño / Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena. Lake Abiyata is depicted by its significant decreasing monotonic trend and downward regime shift around 1984/1985, which is likely related to the extended water abstraction for industrial consumption.

Prokaryotic Community Diversity Along an Increasing Salt Gradient in a Soda Ash Concentration Pond.

The effect of salinity on prokaryotic community diversity in Abijata-Shalla Soda Ash Concentration Pond system was investigated by using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene 454 pyrosequencing. Surface water and brine samples from five sites spanning a salinity range of 3.4 % (Lake Abijata) to 32 % (SP230F, crystallizer pond) were analyzed. Overall, 33 prokaryotic phyla were detected, and the dominant prokaryotic phyla accounted for more than 95 % of the reads consisting of Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, candidate division TM7, Deinococcus-Thermus, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Euryarchaeota. Diversity indices indicated that operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness decreases drastically with increasing salinity in the pond system. A total of 471 OTUs were found at 3.4 % salinity whereas 49 OTUs were detected in pond SP211 (25 % salinity), and only 19 OTUs in the crystallization pond at 32 % salinity (SP230F). Along the salinity gradient, archaeal community gradually replaced bacterial community. Thus, archaeal community accounted for 0.4 % in Lake Abijata while 99.0 % in pond SP230F. This study demonstrates that salinity appears to be the key environmental parameter in structuring the prokaryotic communities of haloalkaline environments. Further, it confirmed that the prokaryotic diversity in Lake Abijata is high and it harbors taxa with low or no phylogenetic similarities to existing prokaryotic taxa and thus represents novel microorganisms.

Understanding the relative impacts of natural processes and human activities on the hydrology of the Central Rift Valley lakes, East Africa

Significant changes have been observed in the hydrology of Central Rift Valley (CRV) lakes in Ethiopia, East Africa as a result of both natural processes and human activities during the past three decades. This study applied an integrated approach (remote sensing, hydrologic modelling, and statistical analysis) to understand the relative effects of natural processes and human activities over a sparsely gauged CRV basin. Lake storage estimates were calculated from a hydrologic model constructed without inputs from human impacts such as water abstraction and compared with satellite-based (observed) lake storage measurements to characterize the magnitude of human-induced impacts. A non-parametric Mann–Kendall test was used to detect the presence of climatic trends (e.g. a decreasing or increasing trends in precipitation), while the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) analysis was used to assess the long-term, inter-annual climate variability within the basin. Results indicate human activities (e.g. abstraction) significantly contributed to the changes in the hydrology of the lakes, while no statistically significant climatic trend was seen in the basin, however inter-annual natural climate variability, extreme dryness, and prolonged drought has negatively affected the lakes. The relative contributions of natural and human-induced impacts on the lakes were quantified and evaluated by comparing hydrographs of the CRV lakes. Lake Abiyata has lost ~6.5 m in total lake height between 1985 and 2006, 70% (~4.5 m) of the loss has been attributed to human-induced causes, whereas the remaining 30% is related to natural climate variability. The relative impact analysis utilized in this study could potentially be used to better plan and create effective water-management practices in the basin and demonstrates the utility of this integrated methodology for similar studies assessing the relative natural and human-induced impacts on lakes in data sparse areas. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Current Population Status and Activity Pattern of Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) and Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) in Abijata-Shalla Lakes National Park (ASLNP), Ethiopia

A study of the population status, habitat preference, and activity pattern of nonbreeding flamingos was carried out in Lakes Abijata, Shalla, and Chitu, part of the Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia, from 2011 to 2013. The current population status and habitat preference of flamingos in the area are still poorly known. Likewise, data on diurnal and seasonal activity pattern of the species are scarce and this leads to the misunderstanding of how Flamingos use local wetlands throughout the different seasons. Data regarding population size and activity pattern were gathered during the wet and dry seasons. Point-count method was used to estimate the population size. Behaviors were recorded using scan sampling techniques. A total of 53671 individuals representing two species of flamingo were counted during both wet and dry seasons from the three lakes. There were more flamingos during the dry season than the wet season in Lake Abijata contrary to Lakes Shalla and Chitu during the wet season. Lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) were the most abundant species comprising 95.39%, while Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) accounted for 4.61% of the total population. Lake Abijata is the major stronghold of Lesser Flamingos in the area. There was significant variation in the mean number of both species during the wet and dry season in the different study sites of the lake, respectively. The species were known to use varied habitats within the lakes. The Lesser Flamingo mainly preferred the shoreline and mudflat areas of the lakes. However, Greater Flamingo on several occasions showed preference to offshore area of the lakes. Seasonal average flock sizes were not similar between the species. There was a strong relationship between time allocated to each activity and time of day. Feeding activity varied among daylight hours and was higher in the evening (76.5%) and late morning (74.56%) and least during midday (54%). Some variations in activity breakdown were observed between time blocks and season. Conservation efforts in the park should include the wild flora and fauna not only of the land but also of the aquatic systems. The information in this study will be very useful for the future management of the species in the area.

The diatom Thalassiosira faurii (Gasse) Hasle in the Ziway–Shala lakes (Ethiopia) and implications for paleoclimatic reconstructions: Case study of the Glacial–Holocene transition in East Africa

The species Thalassiosira faurii (Gasse) Hasle was found dominating the planktonic diatom community during summer 2012 in Lake Langano which is part of the Ziway–Shala alkaline lake system in Ethiopia. In a previous study, the species had been recorded in high abundance in 13.5–12calka old sediments from the neighbor Lake Abiyata. Using a transfer function for conductivity, peaks in abundance had been interpreted as dry spells at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition since the species was considered strictly halophilous.In this study, a strain of Thalassiosira faurii was isolated from Lake Langano and grown in the laboratory. The observation of its morphology and reproduction, and comparison between modern and fossil populations helped to improve the taxonomic definition of the species. The autecology of the species was also investigated through a salinity tolerance test. The results revealed that the species was much more sensitive to salinity than previously believed. A new conductivity optimum was derived from the experiment and incorporated into the transfer function. The reassessment of lake conductivity variations along the core of Lake Abiyata showed that the intensity of the dry periods preceding the onset of the Holocene had been probably over-estimated.The reconsideration of the species relationship to conductivity may have important consequences for paleoclimatic reconstructions in tropical Africa where Thalassiosira faurii has been reported in abundance. The use of experimentation on local diatom strains allows paleoecologists to solve the problems of low representation of some species in modern dataset and of regional autecological variability within morphotypes.

Feeding Ecology of Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) in Abijata-Shalla Lakes National Park (ASLNP) with Special Reference to Lakes Abijata and Chitu, Ethiopia

Feeding Ecology of Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) in Abijata-Shalla Lakes National Park (ASLNP) with Special Reference to Lakes Abijata and Chitu, Ethiopia

Ecological succession and land use changes in a lake retreat area (Main Ethiopian Rift Valley)

In the semi-arid Main Ethiopian Rift Valley, ecological succession is related to continuous lake retreat. Human activity, through its impact on land use and cover, affects this ecological succession at various degrees. Through a remote sensing study, we explored how the drivers for land use and cover changes (LUCC) have changed over the last decades and which impact this has on ecological succession. Remote sensing data used include a Landsat MSS from 1973, a Landsat TM from 1986 and Landsat ETM+ from 2000; a conventional type of classification was used whereby supervised classification of the 2000 image was supplemented by unsupervised classification of the older images. Due to decreased rainfall and water abstraction for intense irrigated agriculture in its catchment, Lake Abijata lost 46% of its area between 2000 and 2006. On the emerged land, an ecological succession was observed along the environmental gradient of the retreating lake: emerged bare land, grassland, land with few scattered Acacia shrubs and open woodlands. Between 1986 and 2000, LUCC tendencies were totally reversed and woody vegetation decreased strongly, indicating increased human impact. This land degradation took place in a context of instable political situation, fuelwood extraction, higher population density and better communications.

Continuing land degradation: Cause–effect in Ethiopia's Central Rift Valley

AbstractThe Central Rift Valley (CRV) is one of the most environmentally vulnerable areas of Ethiopia. Most of the lowland in the CRV is arid or semiarid, and droughts occur frequently. We studied the dynamics of land use and cover and land degradation by analyzing Landsat data from 1973, 1985, and 2006 using Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing techniques. The analysis revealed that in the last 30 years, water bodies, forest, and woodland decreased by 15·3, 66·3, and 69·2 per cent, respectively; intensive cultivation, mixed cultivation/woodland, and degraded land increased by 34·5, 79·7, and 200·7 per cent. The major causes of land use and cover change (LUCC) and land degradation in the area were population and livestock growth in regions of limited resources, unsustainable farming techniques, the Ethiopian land tenure system and poverty. Lake level and area decline, and accelerated land degradation are the major environmental impacts of LUCC observed in the CRV. The environmental and socio‐economic consequences of LUCC and land degradation are far‐reaching. As a result of the expansion of land degradation over time, agricultural productivity has decreased and worsened food insecurity (shortages) and poverty in the Ethiopian CRV. In addition, if current trends in LUCC continue, Lake Abiyata will dry up by 2021. A detailed study of the degradation amount in relation to soil erosion, sediment yield to the lakes and catchment characteristics should be made using adaptable models; so as to guide the implementation of comprehensive and sustainable land use management by giving more attention to erosion prone areas. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Sieve mesh size and quantitative chironomid paleoclimatology

The minimum sieve mesh size for fossil chironomid analysis is usually set at 100 μm, to ensure adequate recovery of small species. Yet taking into account the labor intensity of sorting and identifying fossil chironomid remains, the large numbers of samples requiring processing in paleoclimate studies with high temporal resolution, and the increasing need to engage non-specialist analysts in this work, it seems appealing to sieve samples through a larger mesh size that would mainly retain easier-to-see, easier-to-extract and easier-to-identify fossil specimens. In this study we evaluated the influence of sieve mesh size on chironomid-based quantitative paleoenvironmental reconstructions in African lakes. We developed two chironomid-salinity calibration data sets based on either the >100 μm or >150 μm size fractions of surface-sediment fossil assemblages, and compared the performance of salinity-inference models derived from them. We find that, despite ∼35% additional fossil loss, restriction to >150 μm data did not appreciably affect individual taxon optima or tolerances, and resulted in only a modest reduction of mean taxon richness per lake. Parameters of statistical model performance were as good, or better than those of models based on the >100 μm data, albeit only after excluding two atypically dilute ( 150 μm or >100 μm data to a 200-year fossil record from Lake Abiyata, Ethiopia, produced very similar trends, amplitudes and uncertainty ranges of inferred past salinity change. Restriction to >150 μm data reduced the mean fossil yield of core samples by ∼20% on average, i.e. fossil loss was markedly lower than in surface-sediment samples. Using the larger mesh size reduced sample processing time by up to 50%, partly by removing a significant proportion of visually obstructive organic debris, and partly by allowing a greater fraction of chironomid fossils to be identified directly in the sorting tray. The fraction of 1st instar group taxa in surface-sediment samples was reduced from 13% to 3%, increasing the mean taxonomic resolution of fossil assemblages, and thus their ecological specificity.

Hydrogeochemical and lake level changes in the Ethiopian Rift

The Ethiopian Rift is characterized by a chain of lakes varying in size, hydrological and hydrogeological settings. The rift lakes and feeder rivers are used for irrigation, soda extraction, commercial fish farming and recreation, and support a wide variety of endemic birds and wild animals. The level of some lakes shows dramatic changes in the last few decades. Lakes Abiyata and Beseka, both heavily impacted by human activities, show contrasting lake level trends: the level of Abiyata has dropped by about 5 m over three decades while Beseka has expanded from an area of 2.5–40 km 2 over the same span of time. Changes in lake levels are accompanied by dilution in ionic concentration of lake Beseka and increase in salinity of lake Abiyata. Although the principal hydrogeochemical process in the rift lakes is controlled by the input and output conditions and carbonate precipitation, anthropogenic factors such as water diversion for irrigation and soda ash extraction played important role. The recent changes appear to have grave environmental consequences on the fragile rift ecosystem, which demands an integrated basin-wide water management practice. This paper demonstrates the drastic changes of lake levels and associated changes in lake chemistry of the two studied lakes. It also gives the regional hydrogeochemical picture of the other rift lakes that do not show significant response due to climate change and human impact.

Analysis of the hydrological response of a tropical terminal lake, Lake Abiyata (Main Ethiopian Rift Valley) to changes in climate and human activities

AbstractIntegrated dynamic water and chloride balance models with a catchment‐scale hydrological model (PRMS) are used to investigate the response of a terminal tropical lake, Lake Abiyata, to climate variability and water use practices in its catchment. The hydrological model is used to investigate the response of the catchment to different climate and land‐use change scenarios that are incorporated into the lake model. Lake depth–area–volume relationships were established from lake bathymetries. Missing data in the time series were filled using statistical regression techniques. Based on mean monthly data, the lake water balance model produced a good agreement between the simulated and observed levels of Lake Abiyata for the period 1968–83. From 1984 onwards the simulated lake level is overestimated with respect to the observed one, while the chloride concentration is largely underestimated. This discrepancy is attributed to human use of water from the influent rivers or directly from the lake. The simulated lake level and chloride concentration are in better agreement with observed values (r2 = 0·96) when human water use for irrigation and salt exploitation are included in the model. A comparison of the simulation with and without human consumption indicates that climate variability controls the interannual fluctuations and that the human water use affects the equilibrium of the system by strongly reducing the lake level. Sensitivity analysis based on a mean climatic year showed that, after prolonged mean climatic conditions, Lake Abiyata reacts more rapidly to an abrupt shift to wetter conditions than to dry conditions. This study shows the significant sensitivity of the level and salinity of the terminal Lake Abiyata to small changes in climate or land use, making it a very good ‘recorder’ of environmental changes that may occur in the catchment at different time scales. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.