Mapping soil erosion hotspots and assessing the potential impacts of land management practices in the highlands of Ethiopia

Tamene, Lulseged; Adimassu, Zenebe; Ellison, James; Yaekob, Tesfaye; Woldearegay, Kifle; Mekonnen, Kindu; Thorne, P.J.; Le, Quang Bao

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.04.038

Cited by 53 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(65 reference statements)

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“…However, our soil losses estimates were lower than those reported from other agro-ecosystems in Uganda (Lufafa et al, 2003), where an annual loss of 93 tons ha -1 yr-1 in Maize-Legume agro-ecosystem was estimated. In Rwanda, soil losses around 41.5 tons ha -1 yr -1 were recorded in maize-potatoes agro-ecosystems (Kagabo et al, 2013), and in Ethiopia soil losses ranging from 0.4 -88 tons ha -1 were reported from maize-based smallholder agro-ecosystems (Tamene et al, 2017b). Therefore, soil losses predicted in our study, though typical for East African Highlands, are generally lower than reported by other studies.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…These villages were selected because all six agro-ecosystems are found in each village, their soil characteristics are typical of the WUH, and both have good accessibility. Furthermore, they represent the typical ecological and smallholder land use challenges commonly found in the East African region as has been reported from Kenya (Vigiak et al, 2005), Ethiopia (Tamene et al, 2017b), and Rwanda (Kagabo et al, 2013). For this reason, results obtained in these two sites were considered representative and up-scalable.…”

Section: Description Of Study Areamentioning

confidence: 89%

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Influence of biophysical aspects on the performance of sustainable land management measures in the Usambara highlands of Tanzania

Wickama¹

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Effectiveness of soil conservation measures at a landscape scale in the WestUsambara highlands, Tanzania 15 2. Effectiveness of soil conservation measures at a landscape scale in the West Usambara highlands, Tanzania The adoption of soil and water conservation (SWC) technologies among small holder farmers in the East African highlands is an area which poses many challenges. When adoption occurs across a vast landscape, the locations and effectiveness of the adopted measures are often not adequately known. For this reason, the majority of SWC studies in the highlands of East Africa employed field surveys and experiments to locate and estimate effectiveness of the installed technologies. This approach however has certain limitations when applied at a landscape scale. Potentially, remote sensing techniques could be used for the purpose of locating soil conservation structures, while modeling can help in estimating the effectiveness of the implemented measures. This study therefore employed remote sensing and GIS techniques to 1) to locate SWC structures in two 100 km2 areas in the West Usambara highlands of Tanzania, and 2) to determine the effectiveness of the implemented measures in reducing soil erosion at a landscape scale. The study was conducted in the west Usambara highlands of north-eastern Tanzania as a paired plot design in which two blocks of 100 km 2 each were studied using pixel (Maximum Likelihood Classification) and object-based image analysis (OBIA) remote sensing techniques to detect land use patterns and adoption of soil conservation technologies. Soil losses were modeled using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)-model while effectiveness of the measures was estimated from calculations. Results indicate that there are large differences in the adoption of soil conservation technologies between the two blocks. The study also finds the Maximum Likelihood Classifier to be reliable in generating land use thematic layer maps from which soil conservation measures can be studied with ease in mountainous areas. The OBIA-technique was found to be effective in identifying, classifying and mapping of the adopted SWC technologies. Effectiveness of the installed technologies remained comparable across the blocks but with higher indices for Sunga area. The study concludes that adoption of the SWC technologies in the two blocks is largely influenced by biophysical conditions within and between the two blocks and is not related to the quality of the technologies being implemented in either block Based on: J. Wickama, R. Masselink , G. Sterk. 2015. The effectiveness of soil conservation measures at a landscape scale in the West Usambara highlands, Tanzania, Geoderma,[241][242][168][169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179]

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Description Of Study Areamentioning

confidence: 89%

Influence of biophysical aspects on the performance of sustainable land management measures in the Usambara highlands of Tanzania

Wickama¹

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“…These villages were selected because all six agro-ecosystems are found in each village, their soil characteristics are typical of the WUH, and both have good accessibility. Furthermore, they represent the typical ecological and smallholder land use challenges commonly found in the East African region as has been reported from Kenya (Vigiak et al, 2005), Ethiopia (Tamene, Adimassu, Ellison, et al, 2017), and Rwanda (Kagabo, Stroosnijder, Visser, & Moore, 2013). For this reason, results obtained in these two sites were considered representative and up-scalable.…”

Section: Description Of Study Areamentioning

confidence: 89%

“…However, our soil loss estimates were lower than those reported from other agro‐ecosystems in Uganda (Lufafa, Tenywa, Isabirye, Majaliwa, & Woomer, ), where an annual loss of 93 t ha −1 yr −1 in maize‐legume agro‐ecosystem was estimated. In Rwanda, soil losses around 41.5 t ha −1 yr −1 were recorded in maize‐potatoes agro‐ecosystems (Kagabo et al, ), and in Ethiopia, soil losses ranging from 0.4 to 88 t ha −1 were reported from maize‐based smallholder agro‐ecosystems (Tamene, Adimassu, Ellison, et al, ). Therefore, soil losses predicted in our study, though typical for East African Highlands, are generally lower than reported by other studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling and mapping erosion in smallholder agro‐ecosystems, Tanzania

2018

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The West Usambara Highlands in north‐eastern Tanzania have many smallholder agro‐ecosystems with unknown composition, management, and vulnerability to erosion. Their specific locations and spatial extent are difficult to trace by satellite images or remote sensing imagery alone. To address these limitations, we combined ground soil surveys, geographic information system, and erosion modelling to (a) locate and map smallholder agro‐ecosystems, (b) determine their biophysical characteristics, and (c) model their soil losses. Land resource information was collected from 301 random 0.1‐ha plots sampled from a total area of 200 km2. Annual soil losses were estimated using the universal soil loss equation. The study located six dominant agro‐ecosystems with the following spatial extent: maize‐bean (24.9%), maize‐bean‐agroforestry (31.2%), maize‐bean‐agroforestry‐high value trees (18.9%), tree farms (7.0%), forests (15.6%), and grazing lands (2.3%). Agroforestry and other tree‐based agro‐ecosystems dominate the area due to historical land use change and later institutional interventions. This study finds combined use of soil surveys, geographic information system, and modelling to be reliable in locating, mapping, and assessing soil losses in smallholder agro‐ecosystems. The agro‐ecosystems differ significantly (p < 0.05) in slope, vegetation cover, soil conditions, and soil losses. Soil loss in the maize‐bean agro‐ecosystem (28.3 t ha−1 yr−1) was 18 times higher compared with natural forests (1.57 t ha−1 yr−1) due to lower soil cover and inefficient conservation and cultivation practices. Our results show that adoption of soil conservation measures and improved vegetation cover technologies across the agro‐ecosystems reduces soil losses by 37% and increases organic carbon levels by 16%.

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“…Globally, total land area affected by soil erosion is 1094 Mha, of which 751 Mha is seriously deteriorated (Thomas et al, 2018). In the Tamene et al, 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to define spatial distribution of soil erosion risk, its impact factors and areas with high soil erosion potential for soil and water conservation management.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Influence of Environmental Factors on Spatial Soil Erosion Risk based on the Certainty Coefficient Method

Wang¹,

Gong²,

Yu³

2018

JRACR

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Soil erosion is a very serious ecological problem and remains a highly contentious issue in Nanling National Nature Reserve, China. This paper assessed the spatial relationships between soil erosion risk and the environmental factors affecting soil erosion. Such research is significant for monitoring future land use/cover changes, including agricultural expansion and deterioration of forest resources. First, the soil erosion spatial distribution map was obtained by interpreting consecutive Landsat 8 satellite images, of which the interpreted result was validated via the intensive fieldwork. Then, from the perspective of topography, land cover, soil and rainfall, environmental factors that may influence the soil erosion risk were selected to quantitative test the relationships between soil erosion risk and the environmental factors using a certainty coefficient method. The results indicate that soil erosion is highly correlated to specific slope categories, elevation zones, distance to rivers, land use/cover type, stratum lithology, soil types and annual 24h maximum rainfall. The occurrence probability of soil erosion is high in the area where the slope is larger than 40°. A remarkable variation in soil erosion loss displays in areas above 1300 m of elevation, and areas below 500 m. The probability of soil erosion is the highest in the area within 100 meters of distance to rivers. Cultivated land, grassland and artificial surface land covers have the strongest soil erosion. The probability of soil erosion in the Cambrian and Carboniferous strata is the highest among the lithology categories. The red soil and scrubby-meadow soil have the strongest soil erosion. Soil erosion in the area of annual maximum 24h rainfall between 110 mm and 120 mm is stronger than other area. The reported results provided viable information essential to control soil erosion, reduce soil loss, and achieve sustainable ecological development.

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Mapping soil erosion hotspots and assessing the potential impacts of land management practices in the highlands of Ethiopia

Cited by 53 publications

References 61 publications

Influence of biophysical aspects on the performance of sustainable land management measures in the Usambara highlands of Tanzania

Influence of biophysical aspects on the performance of sustainable land management measures in the Usambara highlands of Tanzania

Modelling and mapping erosion in smallholder agro‐ecosystems, Tanzania

Assessing the Influence of Environmental Factors on Spatial Soil Erosion Risk based on the Certainty Coefficient Method

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