The soils of Jinka in Southern Ethiopia were studied based on the detail works on soil pit description, characterizing and classification following the FAO and USDA guidelines. For this, along with the toposequence and landscape, six soil profiles were opened on an area of 100 ha of research field to make them suit for sustainable soil management practices. The soils were generally described as dark reddish brown to very dark brown and deep. These soils were characterized as slightly (4.87) to moderately acidic (6.18). The OC and available phosphorus were found to range from low to medium. All micronutrients were found to be highly associated with lower soil reaction. These soils group can be classified as Cambisols. Therefore, amending the soil with lime based on exchangeable acidity, essential and deficient nutrients will be vital for supplying food and feed crops in the region. However, continuous assessment of the nutrient status at every five to seven years is necessary to make sure that the soil quality is maintained.
Understanding tempo-spatial dynamics of land-use/cover (LULC) and its drivers is instrumental in synthesizing knowledge for informed natural resource management planning and associated decisions. The present study investigates tempo-spatial LULC changes, their drivers and the associated impacts in three sub-basins (Zeway, Ketar and Bulbula) in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia. Satellite imageries of different periods in ArcGIS, field observations, focus group discussions (FGDs) and secondary data were used to analyse the LULC dynamics, their drivers and associated impacts from 1973 to 2014. The overall accuracy of 1973, 2003 and 2014 classification maps was 88.7%, 88.9% and 91.6%, respectively. The analysis results revealed a continuous increase of farmland and town built-up areas at the expense of grasslands, shrub-bush land and woodlands. It further indicated area of open irrigated agriculture, increasing from none to 2.61% of the total area. The FGDs demonstrated agricultural land expansion, resettlement and wood extraction were proximate causes of the observed LULC changes. Population increases, changes in land tenure system and decreased farmland productivity were determined to be the underlying causes of the changes. The FGDs further indicated these changes have negatively affected the natural resources. The present study findings indicate the need to reconsider land-use decision tradeoffs between economic, social and environmental demands, and their implications for other similar areas in Ethiopia and beyond. Quantitative analysis and periodic evaluation of the drivers of such change and the impacts of existing and emerging land-uses in the face of changing climate is recommended to facilitate sustainable use of the fragile ecosystems in the Ethiopian CRV. K E Y W O R D S GIS, Lake Zeway, land-cover, land-use, satellite image | 77 ABERA Et Al.
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