Land cover transition and fragmentation of River Ogba catchment in Benin City...Glory Enaruvbe
This study examined variation in the intensity of land cover transition and the pattern of habitat fragmentation
of River Ogba catchment. Landsat images of 1988, 2002 and 2016 were classified into five categories: low
density urban, high density urban, mixed vegetation, agriculture and dense forest using maximum likelihood
classifier. Intensity analysis approach and landscape metrics were used to analyze the changes and fragmentation
of the land cover. Number of patches, largest patch Index, area-weighted shape index and Euclidean nearest
neighbour were computed. The results show that although mixed vegetation accounted for the largest land cover
category in 1988 and 2002, low density urban dominated the study area in 2016. Intensity analysis of land cover
change in the study area indicates a rising trend. The urban fringe is observed to be highly dynamic zone and this
is primarily driven by changes in agriculture, low density urban and mixed vegetation. The implications of rapid
land cover transition and fragmentation in River Ogba catchment, and especially in the urban fringe, include
threat to biodiversity, food supply and deteriorating environmental conditions. This study provides necessary
insights for developing sustainable strategies for urban landscape planning, administration and governance.
Abstract— This study was conducted in Gunugo watershed at Wolayitta zone to assess the amount of some soil chemical properties affected by traditional agroforestry practices and along different elevation gradients. The dominant agroforestry practices (homegarden, parkland and woodlot), and three elevation gradients (upper, middle and lower) were used to collect soil samples. One composite sample was taken from each sampling point from each soil depths, under three agroforestry practices and three elevation gradient with three replications to have a total of 54 soil samples at 20 x 20 m plot. Then the selected soil chemical properties among agroforestry practices and along elevation gradient was determined at p<0.05. The EC, pH and CEC of the top soil was significantly higher on homegarden than parkland and woodlot while EC, pH and total nitrogen of the sub soil were significantly higher on homegarden than parkland and woodlot. Further, only the top soil EC and CEC were significantly higher on lower elevation than upper and middle elevation and there was no significant difference in sub soil chemical parameters among elevation levels. In relation to this, most of the soil chemical properties show as the study area is being degraded. Therefore, are recommended for sustainable soil chemical property management. Hence, homegarden is suggested as a better agroforestry practice for rehabilitation of the area in a sustainable manner through enhanced accumulation of total nitrogen, good EC and CEC at all elevation gradients.
Land cover transition and fragmentation of River Ogba catchment in Benin City...Glory Enaruvbe
This study examined variation in the intensity of land cover transition and the pattern of habitat fragmentation
of River Ogba catchment. Landsat images of 1988, 2002 and 2016 were classified into five categories: low
density urban, high density urban, mixed vegetation, agriculture and dense forest using maximum likelihood
classifier. Intensity analysis approach and landscape metrics were used to analyze the changes and fragmentation
of the land cover. Number of patches, largest patch Index, area-weighted shape index and Euclidean nearest
neighbour were computed. The results show that although mixed vegetation accounted for the largest land cover
category in 1988 and 2002, low density urban dominated the study area in 2016. Intensity analysis of land cover
change in the study area indicates a rising trend. The urban fringe is observed to be highly dynamic zone and this
is primarily driven by changes in agriculture, low density urban and mixed vegetation. The implications of rapid
land cover transition and fragmentation in River Ogba catchment, and especially in the urban fringe, include
threat to biodiversity, food supply and deteriorating environmental conditions. This study provides necessary
insights for developing sustainable strategies for urban landscape planning, administration and governance.
Abstract— This study was conducted in Gunugo watershed at Wolayitta zone to assess the amount of some soil chemical properties affected by traditional agroforestry practices and along different elevation gradients. The dominant agroforestry practices (homegarden, parkland and woodlot), and three elevation gradients (upper, middle and lower) were used to collect soil samples. One composite sample was taken from each sampling point from each soil depths, under three agroforestry practices and three elevation gradient with three replications to have a total of 54 soil samples at 20 x 20 m plot. Then the selected soil chemical properties among agroforestry practices and along elevation gradient was determined at p<0.05. The EC, pH and CEC of the top soil was significantly higher on homegarden than parkland and woodlot while EC, pH and total nitrogen of the sub soil were significantly higher on homegarden than parkland and woodlot. Further, only the top soil EC and CEC were significantly higher on lower elevation than upper and middle elevation and there was no significant difference in sub soil chemical parameters among elevation levels. In relation to this, most of the soil chemical properties show as the study area is being degraded. Therefore, are recommended for sustainable soil chemical property management. Hence, homegarden is suggested as a better agroforestry practice for rehabilitation of the area in a sustainable manner through enhanced accumulation of total nitrogen, good EC and CEC at all elevation gradients.
Soil Erosion Risk Assessment Using GIS Based USLE Model for Soil and Water Co...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
— Soil erosion is natural phenomena and is modified by biophysical environment comprising soil, climate, terrain, ground cover and their interactions. Due to different factors, it is difficult to make watershed management successful in all areas at one time. Because of this, prioritization of sub watershed is very important for soil conservation planning and implementation. In Somodo watershed more than five years different soil and water conservation technologies were implemented and satisfactory result was not recorded. In this aspect, it is important to consider further watershed management planning., This study therefore investigated soil erosion risk assessment using GIS and USLE model for soil and water conservation in Somodo watershed southwestern Ethiopia with the aim of estimating soil erosion rate and identify soil erosion hot pot areas through prioritization of sub watershed in Somodo watershed by the help of GIS based USLE model. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for model input. These data were computed at a grid level with 30*30m resolution and then overlaid to generate mean annual soil loss by the help of raster calculator in Arc GIS tool. Results of the study showed that, the mean annual soil loss of the watershed was 18.69 ton ha-1 year-1 ranging from 0 to 131.21. More than 75% of the watershed have soil loss greater than 20 ton ha-1 year-1 and only 25% of the area have soil loss less than 10 ton ha-1 year-1 .On the bases of mean annual soil loss SW-4, SW-6 and SW-7 were under slight (0-10 ton ha-1 year-1) erosion severity level, while the remaining SW-2, SW-3 and SW-8 were under moderate (10-20 ton ha-1 year-1) level. And SW-1 was in high (20-30 ton ha-1 year-1) erosion severity level, where as SW-5 and SW-9 were found in very high (>30 ton ha-1 year-1) erosion severity level. Since large area of the watershed has soil loss more than tolerable level (11 ton ha-1 year-1) attention should be given to identify erosion hot spot areas to minimize the on-site and off-site problems. Therefore, the study suggested that for effective watershed management and soil conservation planning, these sub-watershed priorities should be used in the watershed.
Soil Erosion by Sustainable Phytoremediation Process Using Solar IrrigationIJMERJOURNAL
ABSTRACT: Soil and land degradation is considered for slope land such as riverbank or stream bank and lands of high forced water runoff and rainfall causes severe soil erosion is the concern of this work. The major cause of runaway unprotected soil particles due to the natural reasons, thus making uneven soil plain surface scan be remedied by tree plantation or vegetation. A precision mirror-amplifier is designed for primarily sensing soil moisture and pH level to provide eventual environmental conditions needed for irrigation and fertilization for plants to grow healthy, which in turn reduces the soil erosion. Another special sensor designed and employed here that can monitor the degradation due to erosion and the system can determine the soil’s critical limits. To design the system in an IC form, VLSI design MAGIC CAD tool is used to complete. Results from PSPICE has confirmed the proper performance of the IC and proved to be very applicable in the environment controlling systems. In this paper, design methods and results are presented for a sustainable cultivation technology to prevent soil erosion at slope land
Pastoralists’ Perceptions towards Rangeland Degradation and Management in Don...AI Publications
Local land users often have different perceptions on the problems of rangeland degradation, compared to researchers and Government officials. This study was aimed at breaching this gap, by empirically exploring pastoralists’ perceptions regarding rangeland degradation in Donga-mantung. The pastoralists’ perceptions were studied through a descriptive statistics method. Focus group discussions, field observations and structured/semi-structured survey questionnaires, were used for data collection, where 200 pastoralists were targeted. The study covered seven Ardorates based on intensity of rangeland degradation (high, medium and less). The major findings indicate that, the main livestock production constraints were Insufficient and poor pasture (50.5%), cattle diseases (24.5%), Farmer/grazer conflicts (14.5%) and insufficient cattle drinking points (10.5%). Majority of respondents (59.5 %) confirmed that cattle population is declining in the study area. According to 59.5% of the respondents, the study area present range condition has deteriorated and become poor. The major causes for degradation were overgrazing, bush encroachment, soil erosion and limited care and attention paid to rangelands. The major socio-economic impacts of rangeland degradation were poverty (51.0%), food insecurity (35.5%) and conflicts (11.0%). The pastoralists of the study area traditionally practice rangeland management in different ways such as bush burning, bush clearing and herd mobility. A proportion of them (41.5%) have adopted the planting of improved pasture(s). Government and NGOs’ supports proved to be limiting in the study area. Nevertheless, the measures perceived by pastoralists to reduce degradation of their rangeland include; planting of improved pastures (40.5%), clearance of bushes that have encroach on rangelands (28.5%), establishing community awareness and community empowerment on rangeland degradation (17.0%), reducing the number of farmlands (9.5%) and reducing soil erosion (4.5%). This study showed the need for rangeland professionals, researchers, planners and other stakeholders to integrate the communities’ perceptions and existing indigenous ecological knowledge to ensure a sustainable rangeland management.
Integrated Effect of Mulching Materials and Furrow Irrigation Methods on Yiel...Premier Publishers
A field experiment was conducted at Werer, Middle Awash Valley during the dry season of the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 to investigate the effects of mulching materials and furrow irrigation methods on onion yield and water productivity under semi-arid conditions. Split plot design with three replications, in which the irrigation methods (Conventional, Fixed and Alternate Furrow) were assigned to the main plot and the three mulching materials (no mulch, wheat straw and white plastic mulch), were to the sub-plot. Results indicate that marketable onion bulb yield and water use efficiency were affected by the main effect of furrow irrigation methods and mulching materials (p< 0.05). But the interaction of irrigation methods and mulch had no significant effect on marketable onion bulb yield and water use efficiency. The conventional furrow irrigation (10081.52kg ha-1) and wheat straw mulch (12121.63 kg ha-1) resulted in the maximum marketable bulb yield. The highest water use efficiency (3.27 kg/m3) was obtained from alternate furrow irrigation method with straw mulch. This suggests that under limited irrigation water, alternate furrow irrigation along with wheat straw mulch minimize evaporation loss; maximize water productivity and sustain onion production at Amibara and similar agro-ecology and soil type.
Increased agricultural production through both intensification and extensification is a major driver of the current biodiversity crisis. As a response, two contrasting approaches have been advocated: ‘land sparing’, which minimizes demand for farmland by increasing yield, and ‘land sharing’, which boosts densities of wild populations on farmland but decreases agricultural yields. While these approaches have been useful in drawing attention to the impact of meeting the growing global demand for agricultural products on biodiversity, they have been driven mainly by conservation ecologists, and have often overlooked important issues related to farming. As agronomists with practical experience in developing, testing and scaling alternative forms of agriculture in some of the most biodiversity-rich areas of Latin America, Eastern and Southern Africa and South Asia, we are pointing in this paper at what we see as being two major limitations of the land sparing/sharing framework: (1) the reliance on yield-density relationships that focus on trade-offs and overlook synergies between agriculture and biodiversity, and (2) the overemphasis on crop yield, neglecting other metrics of agricultural performance which may be more important to local farmers, and more strongly associated with positive biodiversity outcomes. It is our hope that this paper will stimulate other agricultural scientists to contribute to the land sparing/sharing framework, in order to develop together with conservation ecologists viable solutions for both improved agricultural production and biodiversity conservation.
Restoration, Reconciliation, and Reconnecting with Nature Nearby
`
For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159`
`
Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110
Determination of the Optimum Sulphur Fertilizer Rate for Groundnut Production...AI Publications
Laboratory studies and pot Experiments were carried out to determine the optimum sulphur (S)fertilizer rate for groundnut production in selected soils of Benue state using sorption indices. Surface soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected for sorption studies and pot experiments. The sorption study was carried out by shaking known concentrations of S (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 mgkg-1) with 5g soil sample. The suspension was filtered and the amount of S in solution determined. The amount of sulphatesorbed was estimated as the difference between equilibrium sulphate concentration and initial sulphate added. Data from the sorption study was fitted into the Langmuir and Freundlich sorption equations. Thereafter a pot experiment was carried out with six levels of solution sulphate concentration to determine the optimum S concentration for yield of groundnut and the amount of sulphur fertilizer required to achieve this concentration in the soil under study. Result show that both soils have the capacity to sorb sulphur. The sorption maxima, buffering capacity and binding energy of the soils under study are 70.66 mgkg-1, 15.81mg kg-1, 0.22 dm3 mg-1 and 117.84 mgkg1, 9.83 mg kg-1,0.08 dm3 kg-1 for Aliade and Daudu soils respectively.The highest yield in Aliade soil was obtained with 6 mg kg-1 S while 12 mg kg-1 S gave the highest yield in Daudu soil. Aliadeand Daudu soils would require 57.41 and 23.69 kg ha-1S respectively to maintain 12 mg/kg and 9mg/kg of S in the soil solution. Hence for groundnut production in Aliade soil, 57.41 kg S ha-1 is recommended while for the Daudu soil, 23.69 kg S ha-1 is recommended.
Soil Erosion Risk Assessment Using GIS Based USLE Model for Soil and Water Co...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
— Soil erosion is natural phenomena and is modified by biophysical environment comprising soil, climate, terrain, ground cover and their interactions. Due to different factors, it is difficult to make watershed management successful in all areas at one time. Because of this, prioritization of sub watershed is very important for soil conservation planning and implementation. In Somodo watershed more than five years different soil and water conservation technologies were implemented and satisfactory result was not recorded. In this aspect, it is important to consider further watershed management planning., This study therefore investigated soil erosion risk assessment using GIS and USLE model for soil and water conservation in Somodo watershed southwestern Ethiopia with the aim of estimating soil erosion rate and identify soil erosion hot pot areas through prioritization of sub watershed in Somodo watershed by the help of GIS based USLE model. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for model input. These data were computed at a grid level with 30*30m resolution and then overlaid to generate mean annual soil loss by the help of raster calculator in Arc GIS tool. Results of the study showed that, the mean annual soil loss of the watershed was 18.69 ton ha-1 year-1 ranging from 0 to 131.21. More than 75% of the watershed have soil loss greater than 20 ton ha-1 year-1 and only 25% of the area have soil loss less than 10 ton ha-1 year-1 .On the bases of mean annual soil loss SW-4, SW-6 and SW-7 were under slight (0-10 ton ha-1 year-1) erosion severity level, while the remaining SW-2, SW-3 and SW-8 were under moderate (10-20 ton ha-1 year-1) level. And SW-1 was in high (20-30 ton ha-1 year-1) erosion severity level, where as SW-5 and SW-9 were found in very high (>30 ton ha-1 year-1) erosion severity level. Since large area of the watershed has soil loss more than tolerable level (11 ton ha-1 year-1) attention should be given to identify erosion hot spot areas to minimize the on-site and off-site problems. Therefore, the study suggested that for effective watershed management and soil conservation planning, these sub-watershed priorities should be used in the watershed.
Soil Erosion by Sustainable Phytoremediation Process Using Solar IrrigationIJMERJOURNAL
ABSTRACT: Soil and land degradation is considered for slope land such as riverbank or stream bank and lands of high forced water runoff and rainfall causes severe soil erosion is the concern of this work. The major cause of runaway unprotected soil particles due to the natural reasons, thus making uneven soil plain surface scan be remedied by tree plantation or vegetation. A precision mirror-amplifier is designed for primarily sensing soil moisture and pH level to provide eventual environmental conditions needed for irrigation and fertilization for plants to grow healthy, which in turn reduces the soil erosion. Another special sensor designed and employed here that can monitor the degradation due to erosion and the system can determine the soil’s critical limits. To design the system in an IC form, VLSI design MAGIC CAD tool is used to complete. Results from PSPICE has confirmed the proper performance of the IC and proved to be very applicable in the environment controlling systems. In this paper, design methods and results are presented for a sustainable cultivation technology to prevent soil erosion at slope land
Pastoralists’ Perceptions towards Rangeland Degradation and Management in Don...AI Publications
Local land users often have different perceptions on the problems of rangeland degradation, compared to researchers and Government officials. This study was aimed at breaching this gap, by empirically exploring pastoralists’ perceptions regarding rangeland degradation in Donga-mantung. The pastoralists’ perceptions were studied through a descriptive statistics method. Focus group discussions, field observations and structured/semi-structured survey questionnaires, were used for data collection, where 200 pastoralists were targeted. The study covered seven Ardorates based on intensity of rangeland degradation (high, medium and less). The major findings indicate that, the main livestock production constraints were Insufficient and poor pasture (50.5%), cattle diseases (24.5%), Farmer/grazer conflicts (14.5%) and insufficient cattle drinking points (10.5%). Majority of respondents (59.5 %) confirmed that cattle population is declining in the study area. According to 59.5% of the respondents, the study area present range condition has deteriorated and become poor. The major causes for degradation were overgrazing, bush encroachment, soil erosion and limited care and attention paid to rangelands. The major socio-economic impacts of rangeland degradation were poverty (51.0%), food insecurity (35.5%) and conflicts (11.0%). The pastoralists of the study area traditionally practice rangeland management in different ways such as bush burning, bush clearing and herd mobility. A proportion of them (41.5%) have adopted the planting of improved pasture(s). Government and NGOs’ supports proved to be limiting in the study area. Nevertheless, the measures perceived by pastoralists to reduce degradation of their rangeland include; planting of improved pastures (40.5%), clearance of bushes that have encroach on rangelands (28.5%), establishing community awareness and community empowerment on rangeland degradation (17.0%), reducing the number of farmlands (9.5%) and reducing soil erosion (4.5%). This study showed the need for rangeland professionals, researchers, planners and other stakeholders to integrate the communities’ perceptions and existing indigenous ecological knowledge to ensure a sustainable rangeland management.
Integrated Effect of Mulching Materials and Furrow Irrigation Methods on Yiel...Premier Publishers
A field experiment was conducted at Werer, Middle Awash Valley during the dry season of the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 to investigate the effects of mulching materials and furrow irrigation methods on onion yield and water productivity under semi-arid conditions. Split plot design with three replications, in which the irrigation methods (Conventional, Fixed and Alternate Furrow) were assigned to the main plot and the three mulching materials (no mulch, wheat straw and white plastic mulch), were to the sub-plot. Results indicate that marketable onion bulb yield and water use efficiency were affected by the main effect of furrow irrigation methods and mulching materials (p< 0.05). But the interaction of irrigation methods and mulch had no significant effect on marketable onion bulb yield and water use efficiency. The conventional furrow irrigation (10081.52kg ha-1) and wheat straw mulch (12121.63 kg ha-1) resulted in the maximum marketable bulb yield. The highest water use efficiency (3.27 kg/m3) was obtained from alternate furrow irrigation method with straw mulch. This suggests that under limited irrigation water, alternate furrow irrigation along with wheat straw mulch minimize evaporation loss; maximize water productivity and sustain onion production at Amibara and similar agro-ecology and soil type.
Increased agricultural production through both intensification and extensification is a major driver of the current biodiversity crisis. As a response, two contrasting approaches have been advocated: ‘land sparing’, which minimizes demand for farmland by increasing yield, and ‘land sharing’, which boosts densities of wild populations on farmland but decreases agricultural yields. While these approaches have been useful in drawing attention to the impact of meeting the growing global demand for agricultural products on biodiversity, they have been driven mainly by conservation ecologists, and have often overlooked important issues related to farming. As agronomists with practical experience in developing, testing and scaling alternative forms of agriculture in some of the most biodiversity-rich areas of Latin America, Eastern and Southern Africa and South Asia, we are pointing in this paper at what we see as being two major limitations of the land sparing/sharing framework: (1) the reliance on yield-density relationships that focus on trade-offs and overlook synergies between agriculture and biodiversity, and (2) the overemphasis on crop yield, neglecting other metrics of agricultural performance which may be more important to local farmers, and more strongly associated with positive biodiversity outcomes. It is our hope that this paper will stimulate other agricultural scientists to contribute to the land sparing/sharing framework, in order to develop together with conservation ecologists viable solutions for both improved agricultural production and biodiversity conservation.
Restoration, Reconciliation, and Reconnecting with Nature Nearby
`
For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159`
`
Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110
Determination of the Optimum Sulphur Fertilizer Rate for Groundnut Production...AI Publications
Laboratory studies and pot Experiments were carried out to determine the optimum sulphur (S)fertilizer rate for groundnut production in selected soils of Benue state using sorption indices. Surface soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected for sorption studies and pot experiments. The sorption study was carried out by shaking known concentrations of S (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 mgkg-1) with 5g soil sample. The suspension was filtered and the amount of S in solution determined. The amount of sulphatesorbed was estimated as the difference between equilibrium sulphate concentration and initial sulphate added. Data from the sorption study was fitted into the Langmuir and Freundlich sorption equations. Thereafter a pot experiment was carried out with six levels of solution sulphate concentration to determine the optimum S concentration for yield of groundnut and the amount of sulphur fertilizer required to achieve this concentration in the soil under study. Result show that both soils have the capacity to sorb sulphur. The sorption maxima, buffering capacity and binding energy of the soils under study are 70.66 mgkg-1, 15.81mg kg-1, 0.22 dm3 mg-1 and 117.84 mgkg1, 9.83 mg kg-1,0.08 dm3 kg-1 for Aliade and Daudu soils respectively.The highest yield in Aliade soil was obtained with 6 mg kg-1 S while 12 mg kg-1 S gave the highest yield in Daudu soil. Aliadeand Daudu soils would require 57.41 and 23.69 kg ha-1S respectively to maintain 12 mg/kg and 9mg/kg of S in the soil solution. Hence for groundnut production in Aliade soil, 57.41 kg S ha-1 is recommended while for the Daudu soil, 23.69 kg S ha-1 is recommended.
In the agroecological zone of the Biemso basin in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, soil erodibility
and rainfall erosivity patterns were estimated. The study aimed at investigating the temporal
variability of rainfall erosivity using the Fournier Index Method and assessing the soil
erodibility parameters of a Sawah site using the WEPP model. Four plots representing the
major land uses in the area for maize, oil palm, natural vegetation and plantain cultivation
were selected. Results showed that soil organic matter content ranged from 1.95 to 5.52%;
sand ranged from 14.34 to 31.86 %; silt ranged from 31.63 to 68.77%; clay ranged from 16.04
to 20.08% and very fine sand from 3.38 to 8.84%. The derived interrill erodibility (Ki) values
ranged from 44.26 to 51.70 kg s m-4 under all land uses considered at the study site and soils
in the study area were moderately resistant to erosion by raindrops. The derived rill erodibility
(Kr) values ranged from 0.005 to 0.012 s m-1 under all land uses considered at the study site.
Rill erodibility values were higher at the foot slopes under all land uses except under Oil Palm
land use. Rainfall values exceeded the 20-25 mm threshold value for erosive rains. Erosivity
values determined for the study site revealed a moderate erosion risk in the major rainy season
(April-July); low erosion risk in the minor rainy season (August-October ) and very low erosion
risk in the dry season (November-March). It is recommended that soil and land management
practices that would reduce water erosion during the major rainy season should be implemented
such as bunding, mulching and contour farming.
Role of watershed management in reducing soil erosion zewde azewde alemayehu
Soil is one of the most important and essential natural resources. Soils offer plants physical support, air, water, temperature moderation, nutrients, and protection from toxins. Soils provide readily available nutrients to plants and animals by converting dead organic matter into various nutrient forms.
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.): Land use/land cover changes and...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
Water hyacinth was officially reported in Ethiopia in 1956 at Koka Dam and Awash River and it is considered as a constraint to the development of the country. Thus, this study was undertaken to determine Water hyacinth and associated land cover/use changes, and capture perceptions regarding community-based management to enhance its proper control/eradication in Lume and Boa districts, east Shoa zone, Ethiopia using integrated approach. The method of study included Water hyacinth and associated land use/cover change analyses, focus group discussions, discussions with experts at the district, zone and region levels and undertaking consultative workshop. The land use/land cover change analyses revealed increased area coverage by Water hyacinth from about 145.53 ha in 1986 to 2319.48 ha in 2015 with decline in the area of water bodies and wetlands. The annual rate of increase in the area of the weed was about 51.51% while water bodies and wetlands declined by about 0.49% and 1.16%, respectively. Of the 10 group discussions undertaken in the study districts with the communities, 9 of them reported water hyacinth to increase in terms of area coverage since its appearance in their areas which concurs the results obtained from satellite image analyses and they reported the weed to be very harmful to their livelihood. Furthermore, the nine group discussants disclosed water hyacinth to be of no use to them. Recommendations included developing comprehensive management strategies and action plans, analysis and defining roles of each stakeholder, awareness creation, training, institutional linkages, co-management and reduction of nutrient load in water bodies.
DOI: 10.21276/ijlssr.2016.2.3.14
ABSTRACT- The physico-chemical properties of four lands use types in Akokwa of Ideato North, Imo State, Nigeria
were determined. The land use patterns were fallow land (FL), cassava continuously cultivated land (CL), Oil palm
plantation (OPL) and Yam plot (YL). Composite samples were collected from various depths (0 -15 cm, 15 – 30 cm,
30 – 45 cm) across these land use patterns and analyzed in the laboratory. Data generated were subjected to analysis of
variance. Results obtained showed significant difference (P≤0.05) in soil bulk density, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen
(TN), available phosphorus (Av. P) and ECEC across the four land use types. The bulk density value was highest at
30 – 45 cm depth by CL (1.93 g/cm3), followed by YL (1.89 g/cm3), OPL (1.70 g/cm3) and FL (1.68 g/cm3). The TN
content of the soil was highest in the FL at 0 – 15 cm depth (0.25%) while the lowest was found in the CL plot (0.03%).
The soil Av. P content was highest in the FL at 0 – 15 cm depth (9.63 mg/kg) while the lowest value was obtained in CL
plot (1.16 mg/kg). The values of OC at the depths of 0 – 15 cm, 15 – 30 cm and 30 – 45 cm in the FL (1.03%, 0.49%.
0.45%) were found to be significantly different (P≤0.05) from the CL (0.39%, 0.15%, 0.13%) land use type. Results
obtained showed that different land use types have varying effects on soil physical and chemical properties. The fallow
land had on the surface (0 – 15 cm) the highest content of soil chemical properties and lowest bulk density. Therefore,
farmers may periodically fallow their lands to build up organic matter, stabilize soil aggregates, improves nutrient cycles
for sustainable productivity.
Key-words- Land use, Soil chemical properties, Bulk density, Fallow land, Cassava land, Yam land, Oil palm land
Evaluations of Stream Flow Response to Land use and Land Cover Changes in Wab...IJCMESJOURNAL
Land Use and Land Cover Change (LU/LC) is one of the notable human induced worldwide changes. Hence, understanding the stream flow responses of a watershed to this dynamic change is becoming fundamental for water resources management planning. The study was conducted with the objective to analyses the impact of Land use and Land cover changes on stream flow response of Wabe watershed, in Omo-Gibe basin. Land use and land cover maps were developed using satellite image of Landsat5 TM 1988, Landsat7 ETM+ 2001 and Landsat8 OLI/TIRS 2018 through maximum likelihood algorithm of supervised classification using ERDAS Imagine 2014 and ArcGIS software for satellite image processing and map preparation. A physical based, semi-distributed hydrological model SWAT was used to simulate LU/LC change effects on the stream flow responses of watershed. During the study period the land use and land cover has changed due to natural and anthropogenic activity. The results depicted that there was an incessant expansion of agricultural land, built-up area and forest cover, on the other hand declining of agroforestry; grassland and woodland were happened during from the 1988 to 2018 periods. Due to the occurred LU/LC changes, the mean monthly stream flow were increased by 5.97m3/s for wet season and similarly the dry season flow showed increasing by 0.96m3/s during the study periods from 1988 up to 2018. Generally the result indicated that large changes of the stream flow in the watershed. Hence result notified an urgent intervention, so as to regulate the LU/LC change and to reduce its strong impacts on the stream flow of the Wabe watershed.
A study was conducted at a sawah site in Ghana to examine the relationship between landscape
position and some selected soil properties with the aim of generating adequate data for modeling
landscape relationships and to aid both researchers and farmers in taking critical management
decisions. Soil properties namely total porosity, moisture content, infiltration rates, hydraulic
conductivity, sand content, silt content, clay content, gravel concentration, bulk density, soil pH, total
nitrogen, soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity were collected and analysed. Data were
collected at the foot slopes, middle slopes and at the upper slopes from four major landuses (maize, oil
palm, natural vegetation and plantain) in the study area. Simple statistical parameters such as mean
and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. Moisture content, total porosity, soil pH, organic
matter and carbon and total nitrogen increased downslope whilst sand content, clay content, bulk
density occurred at upper slopes decreased downslope. Management practices appeared to have
influenced infiltration rate, hydraulic conductivity and silt content.
Effect of different Grass Species on Soil Loss, and Runoff at Assosa, Benisha...BRNSSPublicationHubI
Land degradation is a severe environmental problem across sub-Saharan Africa, and Ethiopia is among the most affected countries. This study aimed to know the potential of different grasses for soil and water conservation. Three different grasses were used to evaluate their potential for conserving the soil and water on the farmland, with three replications each for 2 consecutive years. Vetiver, Desho, and elephant grass had deposited 10 and 7 ton/he of soil relative to a plot without any grass control. Furthermore, they had increased the soil water by 22.6% as compared to a plot without any grass. Thus, the study revealed the best potential of Vetiver, and Desho grass to conserve both the soil and water. Therefore, the study revealed the best and most promising potential for treating degraded land with biological measures.
Inland valleys are being used under the Sawah technology for rice production to reduce rice imports to
Ghana. Sawah technology is assumed to benefit from geological fertilization. However, there is no
quantitative information on runoff and sediment flows in the agricultural watershed of Ghana. This
study was carried out at Biemso in the southern part of the country. The aim was to estimate runoff and
sediment transport using the water erosion prediction project (WEPP) model (version 2006.500), from
hillslope to the valley bottom where rice is cultivated using the Sawah technology. A digital elevation
model (DEM) was created from ground survey and used to select the various plots (hillslopes) and to
select slope input parameters. Four plots (hillslopes) were selected for the model simulation. Data on
local daily values of rainfall and on minimum and maximum temperatures were used to set a CLIGEN
model station file to determine climate input parameters for the model. Rainfall characteristics (erosivity
and distribution) were analysed. Soil erodibility was also determined. Soil and crop management input
parameters required by the model were identified and or estimated from field measurements and
secondary sources. The model was run for two management scenarios: Fallow and continuous maize
systems. The results of the simulation showed that 2.9 to 3.9 and 6.8 to 10.2 t/ha/year of sediments were
eroded from upper catchment to valley bottom under fallow system and maize, respectively. The range
of values for runoff produced under fallow was 17.4 to 40 mm whereas that under maize system is 158.7
to 233.62 mm. The study has shown that land use system in the study area has a great influence on
geological fertilization. In addition, the valley bottom where rice is produced under the Sawah system is
enriched with organic matter from upslope.
Identification Of Soil Erosion Prone Zones Using Geomatics Technology In Part...IJERA Editor
Soil erosion is the removal and subsequent loss of soil by the action of water, ice, wind and gravity. Soil erosion is a process that occurs naturally at a slow rate. The average natural geologic rate of soil erosion is approximately 0.2 tons per acre per year. Erosion is the process were by the earth or rock is loosened or dissolved and removed from any part of earth‟s surface. Geological erosion is the rate at which the catchment or land would normally be eroded without any disturbance by human activity. If man alters the natural system by means of various land use practices that is caused accelerated erosion. The present study area is covering Parts of North Arcot The area is lies between E78°30'-E78°45' lattitudes N12°15'-N12°30„. The total aerial extent of the study area is 720 sq.km. It falls in the survey of India Toposheet 58 L11 on 1:50,000 scale. The IRS – 1D satellite imagery data were subjected to different types of image enhancement techniques and soil erosion areas were mapped out and GIS databases were generated showing the soil erosion areas using Arc Map 9.1 version. GIS overlay function was executed between soil erosion prone areas and the various controlling variables and the area has been fragmented into a number of polygons of land segments depending upon the controlling variables. Finally, the remedial measures were suggested for each land segment according to the controlling variables.
Similar to Rate of gully expansion on major land uses, the case of huluka watershed, central rift valley, ethiopia (20)
Rate of gully expansion on major land uses, the case of huluka watershed, central rift valley, ethiopia
1. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online)
Vol.4, No.15, 2014
63
Rate of Gully Expansion on Major Land Uses, the Case of Huluka
Watershed, Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia
Hagos Gebreslassie1
. Gessesse Dessie2
. Awdenegest Moges2
1. Department of Natural Resource Management, Adigrat University, Ethiopia
2. Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawssa University, Ethiopia
Corresponding outer: hagmeb@gmail.com
Abstract
Gully erosion is among the many phenomenon which has been interweaving the socio economic and
environmental issues of Ethiopians. Actions have been taken to address the problem inadequately. This study
was thus aimed at determining the distribution and expansion rates of gullies on the major land cover – land uses
in Huluka watershed. This was achieved through collecting historic land cover – land use data using Geographic
Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) and gully expansions using gully assessment method
called ‘Assessment of Gully Erosion Rate Through Interview and Measurements (AGERTIM)’. Field
observations, discussion with elders were also employed to validate results from remotely sensed data.
Accordingly, about 58km length of active (unstable) gullies with 4.7m width and 2.6m depth was registered in
the study watershed. Out of this majority of the active gullies were found on lands commonly used for grazing
purpose followed by on the land used for crop cultivation purpose. Unlike the frequency, the dimensions of the
gullies on crop land were found larger than the gullies on the lands used for grazing purpose. All active gullies in
the watershed have showed continuous and progressive expansion in the last 30 years though the tremendous
expansions were seen with in latest period 2005 – 2009 indicating exacerbating rate of gully expansion in the
study area. Despite the rapid gully expansions, no any protection and treating measure was registered in the
watershed. This study has thus recommended an intervention of concerned bodies to reverse the rapid gully
expansions in the study watershed.
Keywords: Major Land use, land cover, critical period, AGERTIM, Gully development
1. Introduction
Soil erosion is one of the major problems confronting Agriculture worldwide. Although the problem is as old as
settled agriculture, its extent and impact on human welfare and global environment are more now than ever
before. A continuation of high soil erosion will eventually lead to a loss in crop production leading to increase
the demands for input like fertilizers and other inputs often result in increased yield in the short term. The
economic impact of soil erosion at global scale is not available (Eswaran et al. 1999) except some information
for local and regional scales. Productivity of some lands in Africa (Dregne 1990; Hurni 1993) has declined by
50% as a result of erosion. Yield reductions in Africa (Lal 1995) due to past soil erosion may range from 2 to
40%, with an annual mean loss of 8.2% for the continent. If accelerated erosion continues unabated, yield
reductions by 2020 may be 16.5%. Annual reductions in total production for 1989 due to accelerated erosion was
8.2 million tons for cereals, 9.2 million tons for roots and tuber crops, and 0.6 million for pulses. On a global
scale the annual soil loss of 75 billion tons of soil costs the world about USD 400 billion per year or
approximately USD 70 per person per year (Lal et al. 1998). From this, it is possible to imagine the impacts of
soil degradation on the agricultural production of Ethiopia.
Gully erosion is geographically a wide spread problem and is the worst stage of soil erosion. In Africa about 29
million ha of land is affected from gully. In Ethiopian high lands, gullies particularly sever and widespread on
7.6million ha. Gully erosion is more difficult and expensive to control than sheet and rill erosion. It is also more
spectacular than inter-rill erosion. Contrary to rill and sheet erosion, the damage done to land by gully erosion is
more permanent. Gully erosion also causes depreciation in land value by lowering the water table and depleting
the available water reserves. Buildings and infrastructures are also undermined by rapidly advancing gullies.
This all can clue us how much gully erosion is affecting the well being of humans (agriculture) than the other
type of soil erosion.
To reduce the effect of gully erosion, it is important to understand the extent of gully distribution, on which type
of land use is more distributed and why. Despite this fact, the attention paid to gullies research and treatment in
Ethiopia specifically central rift valley is very limited. Therefore, this research was initiated to assess the
distributions and expansions rate of gullies on major land uses of central rift valley, Huluka watershed
specifically.
2. Materials and methods
2.1 Area description
The study area (Huluka watershed) is located geographically 70
16.4'to 70
30.7' N and 380
47.7' to 380
44.3' E
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(Figure 1) and elevated on average 1977 m.a.s.l. It is found in Ethiopian central rift valley system and located
235 km south of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The Average annual temperature ranges 10-25 °C. The
area has bimodal rain fall distribution, i.e., in the period July to October (wet season) and March to June (small
rain season). 83 % of the soil in the area is sandy loam whereas 9% is sand soil (EARO 2002). Andosols and
Nitosols soil types are the common soil class in the study area (ORS 2004). Huluka watershed is dominated with
Acacia-Balanites with some thorny shrub lands supporting crop-livestock based farming systems. Farmers are
mainly involved in producing annual crops and livestock product.
Figure 1: location of study area
2.2 Methodology
The major source of land use data was mainly from the land cover data derived from multi temporal satellite
images and topographic maps. Five dates of remotely-sensed land sat images acquired in dry season was
collected from different sources. These images procured and processed using image processer ERDAS
IMAGINE 8.4 software. To generate the land cover related data, all satellite images have passed three processes
(pre processing, classification and post classification). As obvious, it could not be difficult to guess the land use
type after identifying the land cover class of a given land. Topographic maps collected from Ethiopian mapping
agency was also good source of spatial information.
Assessment of Gully Erosion through Interviewing followed by field Measurement (AGERTIM) adopted from
Nyssen et al. (2006) was used to collect the data related to gully. All active gullies were first assessed based on
land use and slope class distribution. The cross sections were determined using GPS tracking. The proximate age
of each gully was assessed from the local elders. For the purpose of estimating rate of gully development in the
periods 1973 – 1986, 1986 – 2000, 2000 – 2005 and 2005 – 2009, active gullies were sampled randomly from
the old gullies formed before 1973. Based on this, 8 active gullies were sampled from cultivated, grass, shrub
and wood lands of the medium and gentle slope classes. Each of the selected gullies was subdivided based
structure homogeneity. String, tape meter and graded staffs together with three personnel at a time were used to
measure the dimensions (bottom width, depth, top width, length, area cross and volume) of the gullies. In this
study, the excavated volume of gullies and bulk density of the soil was important to compute the amount of soil
lost due to gully expansions.
A total of 60 respondents were involved in assessing the rate of gully development. The respondents were
selected purposely based on age above 60 years and their proximity to each selected gullies or part of gullies.
From the discussion, identification of head, transport and tail parts of the gully was possible. The part of gully
formed within each period on the upper (inlet) direction was taken as ‘Head’ while to the lower (out let)
direction was considered as ‘Tail’. The remaining part was considered as transport zone. To increase the
accuracy of the data related to gully, each period was linked with different events commonly known by the local
farmers happened in each period. Besides to this, different features like bridge, big trees and crosses of public
roads were used as references.
3. Result and Discussion
3.1 Result
3.1.1 Gully Inventory
Slope of Huluka watershed ranges from 0.8 to 83.3%. This range of slope was classified into three slope
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categories i.e steep slope, medium slope and gentle slope. The steep slope class was from 19% to 83.3% covered
about 10773 ha of the watershed. The second (medium) slope class is 6-12 % which covered about 6765 ha. The
3rd
and the lower slope class was 0.8-5% covered about 5361ha. The field survey in Huluka watershed has
indicated 40 dynamic gullies which are currently existed on the two slope classes (medium and gentle). Of these
dynamic gullies, 25 were on the medium sloped part of the watershed while the remaining 15 dynamic gullies
were on the gentle slope. But, nothing gullies were found in the steep sloped part of the watershed.
The gullies on the medium sloped area have 4.7m and 2.4m average width and depth, respectively. The width to
depth ratio of the gullies in medium sloped part of the watershed was 2.2 m for each 1m. From the 25 dynamic
gullies in medium slope, eight were formed before 1973, four were formed in the period 1973 – 1986, eight were
formed in 1986 – 2000 and the remaining five were formed after 2000. Out of 40 dynamic gullies 31 were found
in shrub and grass lands and 5were found on cultivated land. The remaining 4 dynamic gullies were found on
wood land and open land. But, relatively wider, longer and deeper gullies were found in cultivated land. The
average gully length to area ratio (gully density) in medium slope was estimated to be 7.3m in each hectare.
In the gentle sloped part of the watershed (around the Lake Langano), surface and sub surface gullies were
identified. Local farmers have listed many possible indicators which insure the existence of sub-surface gullies
beside to the surface gullies. Some of the indicators were (1) conversion of surface flow in to underground flow
i.e. the flowing water is not visible to human eye. (2) Events such as land sinking. The other active gullies
observed in this slope class were the surface active gullies. Unlike to the sub surface gullies, the surface gullies
were very accessible for assessment.
The gullies on gentle slope have 4.7m of average width and 2.7m of average depth. The average width to depth
ratio of active gullies in gentle slope was 1.8. That was each one meter deep active gullies were 1.8 meter wide.
This was small as compared to the gullies in medium slope. Most of the active gullies in gentle slope fall on
periods before 1973 and after 2000. It means that the gullies in the gentle slope of the watershed were both
young and old like that of in middle slope class of the watershed. The average width of the active gullies in
cultivated land and open land were registered to be 6.2m and 6.4m, respectively. The average gully density was
estimated to be 1.5m in each hectare was found to be much lower than compared with that of on middle slope
class.
3.1.2 Rate of Gully Development
Ones the gullies were formed by different factors; some of them ceases their expansion and changed in to stable
gullies while others continuously expand through time along the three sections. The total length of the active
gullies in Huluka watershed was about 37km. based on the length of the gully it was estimated that about 51
thousand ton of soil was displaced in each year. The development of the gullies varied based on slope class,
period, land use types and section of gullies. Higher expansion of gullies was observed in the medium slope class
than the gentle slope class. About 61% of soil losses were registered to be from medium slope while the
remaining 39% was from gentle slope. Increasing Progression of gully development was observed from the
earliest period (1973 – 1986) up to the more recent period (2005- 2009). The trend of soil loss from Huluka
watershed during the last 37 years (1973 – 2009) is displayed in figure 8.
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
160000
180000
1973 - 1986 1986 - 2000 2000 - 2005 2005 - 2009
periods
Soilloss(ton/yr)
Figure 2: Estimated soil loss in different periods due to expansion of old gullies
Figure 1 show the soil displaced from its original place due to the expansion of old gullies. The rate of soil loss
due to old gully development has shown continuous increase. It increased from about 3.3 thousand ton in each
year of the period 1973-1986 to 170 thousand ton in each year of the period 2005-2009. Dramatic increase of old
gully development was observed in the last two periods. From the total soil lost within the last 37 years, 77%
was displaced within the last ten years only, while the remaining about 23% was displaced in 27 years of the
period 1973-2000. Moreover, local farmers indicated that the development of gullies were fast in the past few
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years. The rate of gully development registered in Huluka watershed was not uniform across different LU. It
varied from one LU type to other type of LU (figure 2).
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
C
ultivated
land
W
ood
land
O
pen
land
G
rass
land
S
hrub
land
LULC types
soilloss(ton/hayr)
1973-1986
1986-2000
2000-2005
2005-2009
Figure 3: Rate of gully development for some LU classes in different periods
As displayed in figure 7, the rate of gully development on each LU have shown continuous increasing progress
from the period 1973 – 1986 to the period 2005 – 2009. Rate of soil loss due to expansion of gullies on open
land increased from 2.1 ton ha-1
yr-1
in 1986 -2000 to 6 ton ha-1
yr-1
in 2005-2009. The old gullies in cultivated
land have also expanded dramatically. There was 0.3 ton of soil loss from one hectare in each year for the period
1973 – 1986 and this rate of gully development was increased to 8.2 ton ha-1
yr-1
in the period 2005 - 2009. In
the case of grass and shrub lands, the rate of gully development was increased from 0.1ton ha-1
yr-1
each by the
period 1973 – 1986 to 4.5 ton ha-1
yr-1
and 3.3ton ha-1
yr-1
during 2005 – 2009, respectively. Slight expansion of
old gullies was registered in wood lands and increased from about 0.1tonha-1
yr-1
in 1973 – 1986 to 1.5 ton ha-1
yr-
1
in 2005-2009.
The expansion rate variations of old gullies were not only among gullies. But, it was also within the gully it self.
It was varied from one part of the gully to the other part of the gully. The gullies in the study area had shown
different rate of expansion through its transport zone, tail and head. Based on this, the active gullies in different
slope and LU class in Huluka watershed has lost on average about 39 thousand ton only from their transport zone
in each year. About 11 thousand ton of soil was displaced from the retreat of head section of the old gullies,
while about 1.5 thousand ton of soil was removed from the progress of these gullies along the tail in each year.
The section based gully development rate was dependent on LU types. Higher rate of gully development in the
transport section was observed in the gullies which were found on cultivated land than on the remaining LU
types. In the same way, high rate of gully development at head and tail was observed on the gullies in grass land
than on the remaining LU types. Minimum rate of gully development in all sections was recorded from the
gullies on wood land as compared to the other LU types.
3.2 Discussion
3.2.1 Gully Distribution
As presented in the result part, some of the gullies in Huluka watershed are old while others are young, some are
active while others are stabilized and some are laid on the upper surface of the land while some others are
incised internally in the sub-surface of the land. This all variations were attributed to the variations of slope,
land use classes and other factors.
The distribution of the active gullies among slope classes and land use classes was not uniform. All of the active
gullies were found in the medium and gentle sloped parts of the watershed. No gully was found on the steep
slope of the watershed. This may be attributed to the relative variation of vegetation cover and public
interference. In line with this assumption, Ephrem (2008) have found land sloped over 20% is less affected with
soil erosion. This was in contrary to the reports by many investigators. For example, according to Morgan,
(1996), Vanwalleghem et al. (2003), Zucca et al. (2006) and Parkner et al. (2007) showed that steep slope is
positively correlated to gullying of land under insignificant interference of other factors. This can lead us to the
conclusion that the determinant factor in Huluka watershed is more related to human interference than the
natural factors.
The variation of gully distribution in the study area was not only across slope classes. Difference in gully
distribution was also observed among the different LU classes of the same slope class. Higher gully distribution
was observed on grass and shrub lands than on cultivated land. This may be due to the removal of the rills during
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the pre – stage of gullies development as a result of the recurrent cultivation practices on cultivated land which
was not common in other LU classes. This agrees to the reports of Pathak et al. (2005) and Galang et al. (2007).
Unlike the distribution, the cross sections were found somewhat larger on cultivated land as compared to other
LU classes. This was due to the high intervention of the local community that made it susceptible for erosion.
The width of gullies was found longer than the depth. This was attributed to the faster development of gullies
along sides to new lands than in to depth. This was in line with the result of Awdenegest and Holden (2008).
Comparing to deep narrow gullies, the wider in width and shallow in depth gullies have more on – site impacts.
Local farmers noted that it was through the side way of expansion that gullies have invaded their land. This
agrees with the report of Bryan and Jones (1997).
3.2. 2 Gully Developments on major Land Uses
The result has indicated that gullies expand through side wall collapse, retreating toward the hilly direction and
tunneling of gullies in the tail direction. Like the distribution of the gullies, the rate of gully development in
Huluka watershed was not found uniform throughout the watershed. Instead, it varies based on the slope class,
periods and LU types. Moreover, it was not equal among the different sections of the gully itself. Since the
medium and gentle sloped parts of the watershed were highly interfered with intensive cultivation and
overgrazing, fast rate of gully development was registered as compared to the steep part of the watershed which
was comparatively under good vegetation cover (shrub land, fragmented and continuous natural forest). The
result of this study strengthens Sidorchuk (1999) idea and confined that the main causes of gully formation were
anthropogenic factors (clearing of native forests and tilling of fallow lands). Moreover, Valentin et al. (2005) has
listed some of the anthropogenic factors such as inappropriate cultivation and irrigation systems, overgrazing,
road building and settlements that were involved in gully formation
Rate of gully development has shown continuous progress across the periods considered. Especially, dramatic
increase in rate of gullying in each LU classes was observed after 2000. Here, even though there were many
factors that were determinant factors, the rapid LU change into cultivated land had a good contribution. As an
additional clue to this, higher rate of gully development that was registered on the highly interfered LU classes
(cultivated, open and grazing lands) than less interfered LU classes (shrub land and natural forests). Especially,
the current rate of gully development in cultivated land of the study area (8.2 ton ha-1
yr-1
) was comparable to the
sever rate of gully development reported in different agriculture dominated areas of Ethiopia. For instance,
Awdenegest and Holden (2008) has reported about 11ton ha-1
yr-1
to Humbo catchment, southern Ethiopia;
Nyssen et al. (2006) has reported 6.2 ton ha-1
yr-1
in Tigray, north Ethiopia and by Shibru et al. (2003) has
reported 1.7ton m-2
in eastern Ethiopian high lands.
Though gullying of land is cumulative effect of many factors, the loss of vegetations and cultivating intensity
were the main factors. Due to reduction of productivity and increasing household size, farmers have increased
the recurrence of plowing from time to time and expanded cultivated land by devegetating other lands to increase
yields. This made the land very easy to be penetrated by flowing water and be cracked through time. Both these
conditions have increased the susceptibility of the land for erosion. In line with this, Nyssen et al. (2006) have
given the same justification to the sever gully expansion in Tigray. The fast rate of gully development in case of
open lands is related to the increased high concentration of surface run – off due to the diversion of flowing
water toward the open lands (public roads). Moreover, the absences of vegetation cover had an input in
accelerating gullying of land on cultivated land. But, gullying in open land was reduced due to the crusting of the
upper surface resulted from movement of human being and animals. Not only this, there were also some acts of
protection measures done by the vehicle drivers. In case of grass land, the animal trampling and over grazing
were the responsible factor to worsen gullying of land. In general, it was the absence of vegetation and the
intensive interventions as a main cause for fast gully development in different LU (eg., Sidorchuk, 1999; Bork et
al., 2001; Valentin et al., 2005).
As stated in the above, the old gullies in Huluka watershed were still active in transport zone (middle section),
tail (lower section) and head (upper section). Currently in most old gullies, the head parts was characterized with
narrow and shallow cross - sections and free of any vegetation on its floor. This was an indication how much it is
young and possibility of the gullies to increase along the head section in line with Valentin et al. (2005). Had it
been with wide, deep cross - sections and with vegetations around its floor and walls like the report by
Awdenegest and Holden (2008), it would have been assumed as old and stabilized section of gully. In the
transport zone (middle part), it was through wall sliding and floor incision that the gullies expand. The width of
this section was enlarging by tension cracks around walls at the two sides that displaced large part of land. This
phenomenon was the major cause for soil loss from gullies in Huluka watershed. This agrees with the findings
by Awdenegest and Holden (2008). There were gullies which directly contributed sediments to Lake Langano
and main streams. In reverse to these, there are gullies with which some bottom part of them were buried with
the soil that came from the area above. This was the reason why low rate of gully development in tail section of
gullies. The same justification was given by Tigist et al. (2009).
In general, faster rate of gully development was seen in the middle section (transport zone) of the gully than the
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head and tail section. This agrees with Peter and Shiu-hung (1997) and Awdenegest and Holden (2008). The
reason was related to the pressure from local community and due to the probability of collapsing part of the land
due to caving of the gully sides through time in addition to incising by flowing water. Moreover, it is difficult to
intervene with easy conservation measure. For example, it is unlikely to tackle it with recurrent cultivation
practice. Instead, the cultivation practice around the sides make susceptible to be cracked and then collapsed.
This may be the reason why development rate of transport zone was fast in cultivated land. Respondents have
revealed the possibility of holding back the progress of head and tail gully development with simple
conservation practice while they were at rill stage. This depended on the flowing water, which was not fast at
head and tail as compared to the transport zone. Especially, the tail part of the gully was a zone of deposition
where soil displaced from above deposited so that burry some part of the gully. It was due to the absence of
recurrent cultivation practices why the rate of gully development in tail and head was fast in grass land as
compared to on cultivated land. The same justification, i.e wide distribution of gullies on grass, bush land and
continually forested lands than on the cultivated land and area converted from cultivated land to forest land
(Pathak et al.2005 and Galang et al. 2007).
4. Conclusion
As presented in the result part, the gullies in Huluka watershed are old while others are young, some are active
while others are stabilized and some are laid on the upper surface of the land while some others are incised
internally in the sub-surface of the land. This all variations were attributed to the variations of slope and land use
classes. As obvious, the economic activities (cultivation, grazing and forestry) done in the study area were found
the main exacerbating gully erosion in the area. As in the result and discussion section implied, the cultivation
practices (plowing) were found important factor in impeding formation of new gullies but exacerbating
expansions of already formed gullies (gully sides). This was why abundant gully number was registered on lands
used for grazing purpose (grass land, shrub land and forest lands) than on the lands used for cultivation purpose
(crop land). This factor was also found important to vary the gully expansion from one section to the other
section (head, transport zone, tail). Despite the rapid expansions of already formed gullies and formation of new
gullies both on surface and sub surface, there was no any deliberately done protection and/or rehabilitation
measures registered in the study area.
The worsening of gully erosion from time to time in Huluka watershed is mean to increasing the off – site and on
– site impacts. This trend of gully erosion is not good to the watershed and to Lake Langano. Therefore, there is
a need of an intervention with effective gully control measure to impede the gully expansion so that the
degradation of lands of the watershed and sediment yields to the lake from gully erosion will be reduced. the
intervention in cultivated lands should be in way that can rehabilitate the already formed gullies while in the
case of the lands used for other purposes it should be in way how new gully formation can protected and
stabilized
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