Wetlands provide enormous socioeconomic and environmental values. However, wetlands are threatened by conversion for agricultural land in southwestern Ethiopia. The study aims to assess the impact of wetland cultivation on plant species richness, composition and soil fertility. Plant species richness and composition was investigated for 30 plots in each site of adjacent uncultivated and cultivated wetlands sites and total of 60 sampling plots were used. Soil samples were collected from 18 sample plots (9 in each site) selected using simple random method from plots used for plant survey. The results showed that cultivated sites have significantly higher (P<0.05) species richness, diversity and evenness indices than uncultivated wetlands. Though, this seems positive biological integrity in cultivated site, some ecologically and socioeconomically valuable wetland plant species were lost. Similarity of species (index 30.51%) between two sites was low. Moisture content, clay, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable K + and Na + were significantly (P<0.05) lower while silt, pH and electric conductivity (EC) were significantly (P<0.05) higher for cultivated site respect to uncultivated site. However, bulk density, sand, exchangeable Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ were not significantly (P>0.05) affected. Hence, planning wise use strategy for sustainable management of wetlands is essential.
Wetlands are a vital source of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The study investigated the plant species diversity and assesses the perception of the area people on ecosystem services, and drivers of wetland degradation in Sinana district, Southeast Ethiopia. Vegetation inventory, household survey, focused group discussion, and key informant interviews were employed to gather information. A complete of 45 sample plots laid along transacts were inventoried. A plot size of 5m x 5m (25 m2) and 1m x 1m (1m2) nested within the major plot was used for shrubs and herbaceous respectively. A total of 137 households were surveyed to collect socioeconomic data. The study identified 20 plant species belonging to 14 families. Family Cyperaceae was dominant within the studied wetland. The Shannon diversity (H = 1.15) indicates the wetland has low vegetation diversity with uneven distribution (E = 0.385) of vegetation. A total of 20 ecosystem services thought to be under-provisioning, regulating, and cultural services were identified. According to plaintiffs, major provision services are grazing of livestock (77.4%), irrigation (76.6%), and harvesting of grass for fodder (68.6%). Important drivers of wetland degradation are shortage of cropland (70.8%), lack of awareness (69.3%), upland land degradation (65.7%), and increasing population (62%). The main driver, shortage of cropland was the key driver followed by a lack of awareness and upland land degradation. Therefore, the result heightened that the studied wetland is under serious degradation due to high human pressure associated with population growth and climate change. Thus, an appropriate wetland management strategy has to be designed.
Wetlands provide several ecological and socio-economic benefits. However, in southwestern Ethiopia, the conversion of wetland to agricultural land is substantial. Hence, the aim of the study was to identify the socio-economic impacts of wetland cultivation. The impacts were assessed through focus group discussion and semi-structured questionnaire of 252 households. According to the respondents, the results indicated that the shortage of subsistence food (65.5%), shortage of cropland (64%), declining of upland crop productivity (63.5%) and increasing demand of agricultural products produced in wetland (40.48%) were the driving forces for wetland conversion and cultivation. The majority (65.48%) of the households benefited from wetland cultivation through growing different crops. However, cultivation of wetlands created deterioration of socio-economical valuable ecological factors. Among the ecological degradation, about 61.21% of households interviewed perceive the degradation of quality and quantity of domestic use of water, 91.27% perceives the decrease of grass for thatching, 100% of interviewed households perceive the loss of grass for plastering, and also for fodder. This affects the livelihood of the community through ailing from water born disease and increased cost for wastewater treatment, increasing cost of construction, reduction of milk and milk products, and to a decrease in number of livestock of 42.86, 61.51, 93.25 and 68% of interviewed households, respectively. Therefore, wetland management needs legal supports and institutions, planning of wise use and strategies for improving the productivity of upland cropland and for minimizing the load on wetland utilization for cultivation.
Diversity of woody species in natural forests has been threatened by unwise use of forest resources globally. This study was conducted to assess the woody species diversity, structure and regeneration status in the traditionally managed coffee agro-forestry system adjacent to natural forest. The study used vegetation inventory, focus group discussion and key informant interview. Vegetation data were collected from 60(sixty) sample plots (30 from natural forest and 30 from traditionally managed coffee agro-forestry). A sample plot of 20 mx20 m was used for tree and five sub plots in the main plot were used to collect seedling/sapling and shrubs. The result revealed that a total of 75 (53 from natural forest and 22 from coffee agro-forestry system) woody species belonging to 33 were found in the study area. Rubiaceae, Rutaceae and Euphorbiaceae were the dominant families in natural forest while Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, Araliaceae, Moraceae and Boraginaceae are dominant families in coffee ago-forestry system. Sorensen’s coefficient of similarity (SS) (42.76%) indicated similarity of species composition between natural forests and traditionally managed coffee agro-forestry was low. Diversity indices revealed that evenness, Shannon’s and Simpson diversity in natural forest were significantly higher than (p < 0.001) in traditionally managed coffee agro-forestry system. The result also shows that the traditionally managed coffee agro-forestry system has negatively influenced the composition, diversity, and structure and regeneration status of woody species in the study area. Thus, appropriate shade tree management need to be implemented to simultaneously improve the productivity of coffee and conserve woody species diversity in traditionally managed coffee agro-forestry system.
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