Northwest Highlands Of Ethiopia Research Articles

Perceived Determinants of Smallholder Households’ Resilience to Livelihood Insecurity in Goncha District, Northwest Highlands of Ethiopia

Climate change, hazards to productive assets, social-related shocks, and land productivity reduction are all likely to make poor households less resilient. In Ethiopia’s highlands, the ability to deal with household resilience against poverty in the face of uncertainty is minimal. In the Goncha district of Ethiopia’s Northwest highlands, the study attempts to identify factors of household resilience to livelihood insecurity under crop-livestock mixed agricultural systems. Face-to-face interviews with 280 households were conducted using a structured questionnaire to acquire primary data. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and structural equation modeling. The results revealed that household resilience to livelihood insecurity was significantly influenced by perceptions of sustainable farming practices, the cultivation of more fertile farmland, savings performance, diversification of income-generating activities, intensification of livestock husbandry practices, access to irrigation practice, and familiarity with practical technologies. Hence, scaling up sustainable farming systems and practical technologies, improving saving habits, increasing income diversification, and intensifying agroforestry are perceived to be significant to increase smallholder household resilience to livelihood insecurity over agroecologies.

Growth and tuber yield responses of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) varieties to seed tuber size in northwest highlands of Ethiopia

Field experiment was conducted during the 2019 irrigation season to evaluate the growth and tuber yield responses of potato varieties in the highlands of Ethiopia. The treatments consisted of four potato varieties (Belete, Shonkolla, Gudanie and Local) and three seed tuber sizes (small (31.5 ± 2.5 g), medium (57 ± 2.5 g) and large (77.5 ± 2.5 g). The experiment was laid out in factorial arrangement using randomized complete block design with three replications in factorial arrangement. The results showed that, variety and seed tuber size in their main effects significantly influenced almost all the tested parameters of potato. Tuber size and variety also interact to influence days to 90% maturity, plant height, large-sized tuber yield, marketable and total tuber yields. Large-sized seed tubers of Belete and Gudanie varieties recorded the highest marketable tuber yields of 39.13 t ha−1 and 38.63 t ha−1, respectively while the lowest (12.12 t h−1) was recorded from local variety planted using small-sized seed tubers. Large-sized seed tubers of Gudanie variety gave the highest net benefit (131,376.50 ETB ha−1) with unacceptable marginal rate of return (<100%) while Belete variety with small-sized seed tubers recorded the highest marginal rate of return (1657.14%) with relatively lower net benefit. Optimizing the seed tuber size is therefore necessary to increase productivity and profitability of potato production. In this regard, Gudanie variety combined with medium-sized seed tuber recorded relatively higher net benefit (123,410.80 ETB ha−1) with acceptable marginal rate of return (100.9%). Accordingly, production of Gudanie variety using medium-sized seed tubers (57 ± 2.5 g) could be recommended for the economical production of potato and improvement of the income and food security of the smallholder farmers in the study area and areas with similar agro-ecologies.

Land use change and its effect on selected soil properties in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia

Evidence on land use/land cover (LULC) change and its effect on soil properties are important for sustainable land management interventions. Hence, this study was conducted to analyze LULC change over a period of 31 years and to evaluate the effects of land use on soil properties in the Ganzer watershed, northwest Ethiopia. Landsat satellite images (1988, 2002 and 2019) were used as a source of information image analysis and LULC classification were done using ERDAS imagine 2010 software. About 24 composite soil samples were collected from four land use types (natural forest, plantation forest, cultivated and grazing lands) at two soil depths (0–20 and 20–40 cm) to determine soil properties. Standard soil analytical methods were used in carrying out soil analysis. The result revealed that the study site has undergone extensive land use changes where cultivated and grazing lands declined by 5.4% and 22.6%, respectively. However, the settlement and forest lands increased by 7.9% and 20%, respectively (1988–2019). The soil physicochemical properties differed significantly (p < 0.05) across the land use types and with soil depth. Higher contents of clay, pH, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K, Na) and CEC were recorded in the natural forest than in the other land use types. Similarly, pH, clay, BD and exchangeable bases increased with an increase in soil depth across all land use types. Generally, LULC change in the study area showed a significant increase in settlement and forest lands due to population pressure and expansion of eucalyptus plantation forests. These inappropriate land use changes have a negative effect on soil properties. Therefore, an appropriate and effective intervention in the land use systems should be implemented to amend soil properties.

Spatiotemporal rainfall and temperature variability in Suha watershed, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Northwest Ethiopia

The aim of the study is to analyze the spatio-temporal variability and projectionof rainfall and temperature(2021-2040) in Suha watershed, North West highlands of Ethiopia. The study used 4km × 4km reconstructed (blended) monthly rainfall and temperature data from National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia (NMAE) and Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) of Cen Trends v1 (0.25° × 0.25°), respectively. Mann-Kendall test, Sen's slope estimator, coefficient of variation, autoregressive integrated model , and the inverse distance weighted tool were usedto analysis therainfall and temperaturevariability for different timescale and agroecology. The coefficient of variation showed the existence of high seasonal variability than theyear-to-year in the watershed. Kiremt (main rainy season) rainfall showed substantial inter-annual variability throughout the time of observation (1990-2020). Besides, the Mann-Kendall test and the Sen's slope estimator detected that except, Belg (little rainy season) rainfall, all the others including the annual exhibited a nonsignificant increasing trend at p < 0.05. Spatially, the upper part of the watershed is wetter than the lower portion and a large portion of it (40%) received 930-1024mm of rainfall per year. The minimum temperature showed a decreasing trend (0.01°C per year), while the maximum temperature exhibited the opposite result (0.02°C per year). The seasonal variability in both cases showed mixed outcomes. Forty-two percent of the watershed experiences a minimum temperature of 10.6-12.0°C, whereas 45% experiences a maximum temperature between 24.1 and 26.0°C. Meanwhile, the projected result showed that there is a decreasing trend for mean annual rainfall and an increasing trend for mean annual temperature from 2021 to 2040. Hence, policymakers have to give priority to the designing and application of area-specific adaptive strategies to curb the impact of climate variability. Rainwater harvesting and small-scale irrigation practice could be possible options.

Smallholder farmers’ decisions to the combined use of soil conservation practices in Tiwa watershed, Northwest highlands of Ethiopia

Soil erosion by water is a critical problem in the northwest highland of Ethiopia. The limited decision of farmers to the combined use of soil conservation practices is one of the main accelerating factors to soil erosion by water. The study aimed to identify determinants influence farmers' decision to the combined use of vegetation stabilized terracing and composting under legume-cereal crop rotation on particular croplands in Tiwa watershed, northwest highlands of Ethiopia. The survey was conducted among randomly selected 155 household heads. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to identify the determinants. Farmland ownership status, plot distance from home, soil fertility status, and technical fitness of terraces were major influential factors for farmers’ decision to the combined use of vegetation stabilized terracing, compost, and legume-cereal crop rotation on a specific field. Therefore, to promote the combined use of soil conservation practices in the broad context, the policy should be recognized these institutional, technical, and plot-level factors influence farmers' decision to adopt over time.

Stakeholder Perceptions on Multiple Ecosystem Services of Soil Conservation Practices in Tiwa Watershed, Northwest Ethiopia

Understanding stakeholders’ perceptions and preferences regarding different soil conservation practices (SCPs) are essential for addressing short-term ecosystem service (ES) values from a particular field. Demand for multiple ESs of SCPs has received limited attention. This study aimed to examine stakeholders’ perceptions on multiple ESs of SCPs in Tiwa watershed, Northwest highlands of Ethiopia. Results of the multi-criteria analysis method indicated that the combination of vegetation stabilised terracing, compost and crop residue under the legume-cereal crop rotation (LCCR) system was the most preferred conservation method for enhanced provisional, regulating and social ESs. Soil bunds stabilised with Sesbania sesban shrubs were the second preferred by providing more ESs. Subsequently, the inclusion of crop residue into the soil under the LCCR system, followed by compost use was perceived to regulate soil fertility and increase crop yields, and reduce the cost of chemical fertiliser in the short term. Hence, it is recommended that a combination of terraces stabilised with Sesbania sesban, and compost under the LCCR system can be the best alternative approach for multiple ESs in the highland of Ethiopia.

Gully erosion and its impacts on soil loss and crop yield in three decades, northwest Ethiopia

This paper investigated the rate of gully formation and development, and its impacts on land competition and crop yield reduction in Genbo Wonze watershed, northwest highlands of Ethiopia. Geometrical gully dimension measurements, field observations and satellite imagery assessment have been performed selecting 22 gullies. The result shows that road construction and design problem of soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs) were found as important causes of gully formation and development. The total volume of soil lost from 22 gullies in three decades was ~ 340,957 t and ~ 10 ha productive agricultural land was changed to unproductive land. The annual rate of gully erosion was found to be 62 t ha−1 with an average gully density of 16.4 m ha−1. Gully erosion also results a loss of 24 t year−1 Teff grain yield (Eragrostis teff, E. abyssinica) and 14 t year−1 animals forage. In general, gully erosion is found to be a serious problem causing soil loss and crop yield reduction, and in shrinking the size of agricultural land. To arrest the problem, proper design of SWCPs within farmlands, proper runoff discharge mechanisms along roads, and controlled grazing systems within the grazing lands ought to be executed.

Performance of common pool resources management in the mixed farming system in Goncha district, northwest highlands of Ethiopia

Common pool resources, such as forests, shrubs, and grasslands, have been and continue to deliver a valuable contribution to the livelihood of millions of smallholder farmers in the mixed farming system areas. However, these resources are threatening by the overuse of the local community in the Ethiopian highlands. Studies accommodating sustainable management of ecological, economic, social, and institutional criteria on common pool resources are very limited over those highlands. The study is aimed at evaluating the performance of common pool resources management schemes in Goncha district, in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. It was developed as an alternative management scenario of common pool resources. Participatory key informant interviews were conducted with purposely selected twenty-four farmers, twelve practitioners, and three experts to generate the data. The data were analyzed by using a multi-criteria analysis (weighted score) method. The study indicated that complete enclosure management of forests and shrublands was highly contributed to enhancing biodiversity and curb gullies expansion, while poorly performed in harvesting and fair distribution of fodder and fuelwood. Alternatively, grasslands management in the periodic enclosure without rotation was largely emphasized on the fair distribution of fodder. Natural forests and shrublands in the semi-open-access management and grasslands in the open-access management were performed between very weak and poor performance to almost all criteria/indicators. Therefore, the management schemes of common pool resources should reformulate to the integrated premise of ecological, economic, institutional, and social criteria for sustainable management and productive crop-livestock mixed farming systems.

Impacts of soil and water conservation practices after half of a generation age, northwest highlands of Ethiopia

Soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs) have been implemented in many parts of Ethiopia for the past 4–5 decades, however, farmers’ are destructing the constructed SWCPs claiming lack of short-term benefits like minimizing slope gradient, reducing soil erosion, improving soil fertility and consequently increasing crop productivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of SWCPs age on maize grain yield, sediment trapping, soil moisture conservation and slope gradient change in Koga catchment, in the northwest highland of Ethiopia. Physical (fanya juu and soil bund) and biophysical (fanya juu integrated with grass) SWCPs were investigated using field experiment. SPSS version 24 software was used for data analysis. Three treatments were designed in three replications: (i) Fields treated with Fanya Juu (FJ), (ii) Fields treated with soil bund (SB), and (iii) Fields treated with a combination of FJ and Grass (G). The investigated SWCPs were grouped into three age classes (<5 years, 5−10 years and >10 years). The result shows that significantly higher maize grain yield was recorded in fields treated with aged SWCPs than recently constructed SWCPs. Maize grain yield was also higher in fields treated with biophysical SWCPs than fields treated with physical SWCPS alone. Unlike aged SWCPs, significantly higher amount of sediment was recorded behind recently constructed SWCPs because of soil erosion from the newly constructed unstable soil ridges in addition to soil erosion from upslope fields. The sediment trapping efficiency of SWCPs decreases as age increases, because the area of sediment deposition was filled by sediment due to lack of maintenance. Aged SWCPs significantly reduced slope gradient due to the long year trapped sediment and man-made ridge lines made during construction. In general, although the investigated SWCPs improved crop grain yield, maintained soil moisture and reduced slope gradient; the effects were insignificant compared with expectations after 4–5 decades. For instance, slope gradient didn’t change to its minimum. Hence, researchers and experts are expected to develop alternative approaches like ‘’Slope Reversing Terrace (SRT)’’ or modify the existing practices, after half of a generation age experience.

Effect of Soil Microbiome from Church Forest in the Northwest Ethiopian Highlands on the Growth of Olea europaea and Albizia gummifera Seedlings under Glasshouse Conditions

Loss of beneficial microbes and lack of native inoculum have hindered reforestation efforts in the severely-degraded lands worldwide. This is a particularly pressing problem for Ethiopia owing to centuries-old unsustainable agricultural practices. This study aimed to evaluate the inoculum potential of soils from church forest in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia and its effect on seedling growth of two selected native tree species (Olea europaea and Albizia gummifera) under a glasshouse environment. Seedlings germinated in a seed chamber were transplanted into pots containing sterilized and/or non-sterilized soils collected from under the canopy of three dominant church forest trees: Albizia gummifera (AG), Croton macrostachyus (CM), and Juniperus procera (JP) as well as from adjacent degraded land (DL). A total of 128 pots (2 plant species × 4 soil origins × 2 soil treatments × 8 replicates) were arranged in a factorial design. Overall, seedlings grown in AG, CM, and JP soils showed a higher plant performance and survival rate, as a result of higher soil microbial abundance and diversity, than those grown in DL soils. The results showed significantly higher plant height, root collar diameter, shoot, and total mass for seedlings grown in non-sterilized forest soils than those grown in sterilized soils. Furthermore, the bacterial relative abundance of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Nitrospirae was significantly higher in the non-sterilized forest soils AG, CM, and JP (r2 = 0.6–0.8, p &lt; 0.001). Soil pH had a strong effect on abundance of the bacterial community in the church forest soils. More specifically, this study further demonstrated that the effect of soil microbiome was noticeable on the performance of Olea seedlings grown in the soil from CM. This suggests that the soils from remnant church forests, particularly from the canopy under CM, can serve as a good soil origin, which possibly would promote the native tree seedling growth and survival in degraded lands.

Soil Properties and Crop Productivity Strategies as a Potential Climate Variability Adaptation Options in Adefwuha Watershed, Ethiopia

Land degradation and climate change are universal agenda for the 21st century. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the effect of watershed management on selected soil properties, wheat grain yield, farmers income and climate change adaptation strategies in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia. Two treated and untreated watersheds were selected, and data were collected at representative locations (upper, middle and lower slope positions) in both watersheds. Soil samples were collected to determine the soil physical and chemical properties. Wheat grain yield was collected in the field. To identify climate change adaptation strategies and to evaluate households’ income field survey and questionnaire were administered using random sampling technique. The result shows that total nitrogen, available phosphorous, soil organic matter, soil organic carbon, soil reaction and moisture contents were significantly affected positively by watershed management. In the treated watershed, the wheat crop yield was increased by 33.2% and household income increased by 13.77% due to the watershed management interventions. The communities were practicing planting multipurpose trees and shrubs on their farmland, practicing irrigation development, implementing different soil and water conservation practices on their farms and communal lands, intensifying crop productivity and destocking in the two watersheds to adapt climate change. In this regard, this watershed management approach should be up-scaled to other areas and research work has to be extended to show the effect of watershed management on climate change adaptation.

Breeding practices and trait preferences of smallholder farmers for indigenous sheep in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia: Inputs to design a breeding program.

The aim of this study was to identify breeding practices and trait preferences for indigenous sheep in three districts (Estie, Farta and Lay Gayient) located in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia. Questionnaire survey and choice experiment methods were used to collect data from 370 smallholder farmers. Respondents were selected randomly among smallholder farmers who own sheep in the aforementioned districts. A generalized multinomial logit model was employed to examine preferences for sheep attributes, while descriptive statistics and index values were computed to describe sheep breeding practices. Having the highest index value of 0.36, income generation was ranked as the primary reason for keeping sheep, followed by meat and manure sources. The average flock size per smallholder farmer was 10.21 sheep. The majority of the smallholder farmers (91%) have the experience of selecting breeding rams and ewes within their own flock using diverse criteria. Given the highest index value of 0.34, body size was ranked as a primary ram and ewe selection criteria, followed by coat color. Furthermore, choice modeling results revealed that tail type, body size, coat color, growth rate, horn and ear size have shown significant influences on smallholder farmers' preference for breeding rams (P<0.01). The part-worth utility coefficients were positive for all ram attributes except ear size. For breeding ewes, mothering ability, coat color, body size, lambing interval, growth rate, tail type and litter size have shown significant effects on choice preferences of smallholder farmers (P<0.05). Moreover, significant scale heterogeneity was observed among respondents for ewe attributes (P<0.001). Overall, the results implied that sheep breeding objectives suitable for the northwest highlands of the country can be derived from traits such as linear body measurement, weight and survival at different ages, and lambing intervals. However, selection decisions at the smallholder level should not only be based on estimated breeding values of traits included in the breeding objective but instead, incorporate ways to address farmers' preference for qualitative traits.

Effects of Soil Bund and Stone-Faced Soil Bund on Soil Physicochemical Properties and Crop Yield Under Rain-Fed Conditions of Northwest Ethiopia

Research-based evidence on the effects of soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs) on soil physicochemical properties and crop yield is vital either to adopt the practices or design alternative land management strategies. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of about 10-year-old soil bund (SB) and stone-faced soil bund (SFSB) structures on selected soil physicochemical properties, slope gradient, barley grain yield, and yield components in the Lole watershed, in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia. The experiment consisted of three treatments: (i) fields treated with SB, (ii) fields treated with SFSB, and (iii) fields without conservation practices (control) with three replications at three slope classes. A total of 27 composite soil samples from 0 to 20 cm depth and barley grain yield samples from 27 locations were collected. The soil samples were analyzed for bulk density, soil texture, porosity, soil reaction, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, and potassium. Barley grain yield was analyzed using different agronomic parameters. The result indicated that SB and SFSB positively influenced the physicochemical properties of soils and barley grain yield. The interslope gradient between the successive SBs and SFSBs was reducing. Moreover, the untreated fields showed significantly lower barley grain yield, plant height, and straw biomass. Hence, SB and SFSB practices were found to be effective in changing slope gradient, improving soil fertility, and increasing crop yield. Therefore, this finding is vital to create awareness and convince farmers to construct SWCPs on their farmlands for sustainable land management.

Development of Web Mapping Application for Spatial Ecotourism Information Using QGIS Plugin and Freely Available Web Platforms in North West Highlands of Ethiopia a Case Study: Chokie Mountain Watersheds

Ecotourism is a sustainable, green and smokeless industry of the society by providing alternative source to the livelihood and local community, in order to re-naturalize the environment to bring the man closer to the natural environment. The use of web application has changed the way tourists gather information about tourist attraction spots of the research area. The aim of the study is to assess and identify ecotourism attraction sites of Chokie Mountain watersheds for touristic activities to develop a web-based GIS mapping portal for the improvement of nature-based ecotourism activities. The web-based GIS portal for Web Mapping Application is available for the user with the skills necessary to create standard web mapping services. We have implemented web mapping services based on formal cartographic visualization rules in the open source QGIS software and threejs JavaScript plugin. Threejs plugin is used for 3D visualization, interaction and export terrain data, map canvas image and vector data to HTML page and JS. The result of web-based GIS portal supports spatial and non-spatial database of tourist attraction and tourist service data with attractive user interface.

Tree-ring record in Ethiopian church forests reveals successive generation differences in growth rates and disturbance events

Forests provide fundamental ecosystem services. Environmental changes are predicted to affect forest growth directly through increased environmental stressors, and indirectly by amplifying disturbance. To increase our understanding of effects of environmental changes and disturbance on Afromontane forest growth, we used tree-ring data collected from Juniperus procera trees from church forests in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia. We used structural change models to detect structural shift in growth trends. We applied Linear Mixed Effect Models (LMM) to compare growth rate differences between successive tree generations. The running mean method and radial growth pattern analysis were used to detect disturbance events. Three groups of generations were identified based on Basal Area Increment (BAI) rates. There are significant differences (χ2 = 204.64, P < .001) among generations in pace of BAI, indicating that old generation trees grew at a slower pace than younger ones. Radial growth patterns were homogeneous for the old generation, but diverse in young trees. The observed high growth rates in the younger generation may have a negative effect on the longevity of the individuals and positively affect carbon accumulation in the biomass. Disturbance was detected in all generations, but worsened in the 20th century. About 35% of disturbances matched with climate extreme events, providing evidence that the disturbance is both human-induced (i.e., site-specific) and climate-induced. Thus, forest management plans should emerge from a sound understanding of climate-forest-human interaction.