http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/14027 2001-01-13T05:52:43Z http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/16771 Effects of Land Use Type and Land Management on Soil Quality Indicators in Gerda Watershed, Northwestern Ethiopia Dejen Mera Soil fertility loss is a major global issue, especially in developing countries, including Ethiopia. This is a significant concern for sustainable agriculture, threatening food security and ecosystem health. To minimize soil quality loss and protect ecosystem health, The Ethiopian government implemented land management practices, such as soil and water conservation, area exclosure, and planting highland bamboo (Oldeania/Yushania Alpina), to protect steep slopes, prevent soil erosion, and generate income in the Dembecha district. However, there is insufficient research on how bamboo forests and area exclosure affect soil quality indicators in the northwestern highland of Ethiopia. Therefore, this study is conducted to evaluate the effects of bamboo forests on soil quality indicators and to evaluate the effectiveness of land management practices (area exclosure for grazing land and bamboo forest, and integrated soil and water conservation practice for cultivated land) on soil fertility in the Gerda watershed, Northwestern Ethiopia. Soil samples were collected from treated and untreated sites of cropland, grazing land, and bamboo forest in the upper and lower slope positions. The collected data were analyzed following standard statistical procedures concerning treatment, land use type, and slope position by using SPSS software. Land management practice, land use types, and topography significantly (P < 0.05 to P < 0.001) influence almost all physicochemical soil quality indicators. Higher clay (36.6%), pH (6.77), organic matter (11.46%), total N (0.39 %), available P (9.25 ppm), CEC (45.38 Cmol (+) kg ) were obtained from the treated bamboo forest at a lower slope. Relatively higher bulk density (1.36 g/cm3) and sand content (54.33) were recorded from untreated cultivated land at the upper slope. This result implies that highly deteriorated soil quality indicators obtained from untreated cultivated land at the upper slope might be due to improper and intensive cultivation on steep slopes, and the application of inorganic fertilizer for a long period like urea, which leads to the removal of the fertile soil part. Generally, this result indicated that soil degradation can be minimized through enhancing land management practices like area exclosure, and integrated soil and water conservation practices to make sustainable agriculture in the watershed. -1 2025-05-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/16758 Evaluating Gully Head Retreats and Its Rehabilitation Impact on Vegetation Cover of Debremewi Watershed, In North Western Ethiopia Gashaw Akele This research investigated the extent of gully head retreat and the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures on vegetation recovery in the Debremewi watershed in Northwestern Ethiopia, a region vulnerable to severe land degradation due to gully erosion. The study aimed to quantify gully head expansion, evaluate vegetation cover dynamics using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and estimate soil loss caused by gully erosion. High-resolution imagery from Google Earth Pro was utilized to assess gully head retreat over a five-year period. Initially at 2010, 35 gullies were identified, which expanded to 38 as a result of upward movement and lateral splitting after five years from existing gullies on 2015. By 2020, interventions reduced the number of actively retreating gullies to 12. However, a slight resurgence in gully expansion was observed after 2020. Vegetation cover was analyzed using Sentinel-2A imagery over three time intervals from 2016 to 2024. Results revealed that watershed management interventions significantly enhanced vegetation cover, as indicated by increased NDVI values. Nonetheless, the termination of these interventions after 2020 led to accelerated gully formation, increased soil loss, and a decline in vegetation cover. For the past four consecutive years, the total estimated soil loss from gully erosion was approximately 70,834 tons, or 94 tons per hectare, which are 23.5 ton in per year. In conclusion, while initial interventions successfully mitigated gully expansion and promoted vegetation growth, sustainable outcomes require continued maintenance and communitybased land management. This study highlights the necessity of long-term, locally led strategies to maintain ecosystem restoration in erosion-prone areas. 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/15171 Assessment of Gully Expansion and Its Causes in Woybla Watershed of Goncha Siso Enese District, Northwest Ethiopia Gashu Jemere Gully erosion in the Ethiopian Highlands dissects vital agricultural lands with the eroded materials adversely impacting downstream resources, such as siltation of reservoirs. While gully expansion and rehabilitation have been more extensively researched in the semiarid region of Ethiopia, few studies have been conducted in the (sub) humid region. For that reason, the researcher assessed the severity of gully erosion by monitoring the expansion of nine selected permanent gullies. The head-cut retreat, gully widening, gully expansion rates and associated amount of soil loss along the total gully length were monitored during 2020 -2021 rain seasons. Ground water depths were measured using nine piezometers installed 5-10 m above each gully head. The results showed that soil loss was caused by upslope migrating gully heads through a combination of gully head collapse and removal of the failed material by runoff. Collapse of gully banks and retreat of head cuts was most severe in locations where elevated groundwater tables that saturate gully heads and banks, destabilizing the soils by decreasing the bank soil strength. The water table monitoring showed that elevated groundwater tables were the most important cause of gully collapse. Similarly, the result indicated that additional factors that strongly relate to bank collapse were the height of the gully head and the size of the gully catchment. Conservation practices that address factors controlling erosion are the most effective in protecting gully erosion. These consist of lowering water table and reshaping the gully head and sidewalls to reduce the occurrence of gravity-induced mass failures. 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/15170 Land Use/Land Cover Change Detection and Assessment on Community Livelihoods in Enqulal Watershed, North Western Ethiopia Kindye Enyew Information on Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes and the driving forces behind such modifications underpin a proper understanding of the dynamics of LULC changes. This study aimed to analyses the dynamics of LULC change and its driving factors in Enqulal watershed for the year 1990–2020 which the area covered in 569.32 ha. Four satellite images downloaded from USGS were used to analyze and assess the geospatial and temporal changes in LULC. Addition, in-depth household interviews; key informant interview, focus group discussions (FGD) and field observations were used to address the drivers of LULC changes. The result showed during the last 30-year period between 1990 and 2020, the proportion of area covered by forest and grazing land was continually decreasing as it were 82.16ha (14.43%) and 185.65ha (32.61%) in 1990 and 72.36ha (12.1%) and 65.52ha (11.52%) in 2020, respectively. In contrast farm and settlement land were continuously increasing as it was 298.18ha (52.38%) and 3.33ha (0.58%) in 1990 to 334.26ha (58.26%) and 97.19ha (17.07%) in 2020 respectively. Farmland expansion, cutting trees for various purposes (such as firewood, charcoal and construction material), overgrazing and the expansion of settlements, were identified as the major proximate causes of these changes. Moreover, the major underlying drivers of LULC changes include population growth, changes in policy and institutions, poverty and lack of awareness on the importance of natural resource conservation for sustainable livelihoods. From this study, it can be concluded that Enqulal watershed has experienced a change in LULCC the past 30 years and were affected both positively and negatively for livelihoods. Hence, a wide range of policy packages were required for sustainable land management practices which take in to account synergies between the various land uses in the study area. The national and local governments should enforce sustainable land management approaches through integrating land use planning and management into all development program and projects for land. 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z