Land use and land cover dynamics in Dendi-Jeldu hilly-mountainous areas in the central Ethiopian highlands

Assessing Changes in Ecosystem Service Values over 1985–2050 in Response to Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in Abaya-Chamo Basin, Southern Ethiopia

“…The expansion of agricultural land at the expense of natural vegetation, such as forest, shrubland and grassland, was the most common reported LULC change in Ethiopia [21,[25][26][27]29,30,37,72]. This change affected the country's ecosystems structure and function and altered the kind of services citizens derived from the ecosystems and their values.…”

“…In the past few decades, rapid population growth and rising demand for food in Ethiopia have led to a considerable expansion of cropland at the expense of forest, shrubland/woodlands and grasslands in various part of the country [25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. More than 23 million ha of forest and shrubland/woodlands were cleared since the second half of the twentieth century to make way for agricultural production in the country [32].…”

“…More than 23 million ha of forest and shrubland/woodlands were cleared since the second half of the twentieth century to make way for agricultural production in the country [32]. More recent case studies from different parts of Ethiopia have indicated that the conversion of natural ecosystems to settlement and cultivated land is continuing at an increasing trend [28][29][30]33,34]. This trend is expected to continue in the future as rapid population growth and declining average farm size per capita in the country further drive the expansion of cultivated land into areas covered by forest, shrubland, grassland, and wetland [35].…”

Land Use and Land Cover Changes and Their Effects on the Landscape of Abaya-Chamo Basin, Southern Ethiopia

“…Similarly, Gashaw et al [16] reported a reduction of forest, shrubland, and grassland between 1985 and 2015 in Andassa watershed in the Blue Nile Basin as a result of the expansion of cultivated land in the area. Increases in cultivated land at the expense of pastureland, forestland, and woodland were also observed in hilly-mountainous areas in the central highlands [14]. However, there are also other studies which have documented a different trend of LULC changes in the country.…”

“…Several studies related to LULC changes in Ethiopia have indicated that the country has experienced rapid and increasingly pronounced LULC changes since the second half of the 20th century [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Most of these studies have documented a considerable expansion of cropland at the expense of other LULC types in the country.…”