Remote sensing reveals how armed conflict regressed woody vegetation cover and ecosystem restoration efforts in Tigray (Ethiopia)

Negash, Emnet; Birhane, Emiru; Gebrekirstos, Aster; Gebremedhin, Mewcha Amha; Annys, Sofie; Rannestad, Meley Mekonen; Berhe, Daniel Hagos; Sisay, Amare; Alemayehu, Tewodros; Berhane, Tsegai; Gebru, Belay Manjur; Solomon, Negasi; Nyssen, Jan

doi:10.1016/j.srs.2023.100108

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…A previous study [26] showed that the colony loss rate in Tigray was lower (at 15.7% overall, and ranging from 9% to 19.5% between local areas) than the results in this survey and was similar when compared to international (overall proportional) loss rate figures of COLOSS reported as 16.4% to 20.9% [3][4][5]. This indicates that most of the colony losses in Tigray reported in the present study can be attributed to the disaster of the two-year war in the region, which agrees with recent reports that the Tigray war caused 70% honey bee colony losses [39] and reversed decades of ecosystem restoration [37,53], agricultural development [54,55] and livelihood improvement [34] efforts. These effects could lead to shortage of bee forage and increase rates of colony absconding.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

High Rates of Honey Bee Colony Losses and Regional Variability in Ethiopia Based on the Standardised COLOSS 2023 Survey

Hailu,

Atsbeha,

Wakjira

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

High Rates of Honey Bee Colony Losses and Regional Variability in Ethiopia Based on the Standardised COLOSS 2023 Survey

Hailu,

Atsbeha,

Wakjira

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…A previous study [26] showed that the colony loss rate in Tigray was lower (at 15.7% overall, and ranging from 9% to 19.5% between local areas) than the results in this survey and was similar when compared to international (overall proportional) loss rate figures of COLOSS reported as 16.4% to 20.9% [3][4][5]. This indicates that most of the colony losses in Tigray reported in the present study can be attributed to the disaster of the two-year war in the region, which agrees with recent reports that the Tigray war caused 70% honey bee colony losses [39] and reversed decades of ecosystem restoration [37,54], agricultural development [55,56] and livelihood improvement [34] efforts. These effects could lead to habitat degradation, shortage of bee forage and increased rates of colony absconding and death.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

High Rates of Honey Bee Colony Losses and Regional Variability in Ethiopia Based on the Standardised COLOSS 2023 Survey

Hailu,

Atsbeha,

Wakjira

et al. 2024

Insects

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The COLOSS research association has been assessing honey bee colony losses, associated risk factors and management, focusing on Western countries but with a progressive international expansion. Here, we report the first survey on the loss rates of colonies in 2022/2023 in Ethiopia using COLOSS monitoring survey tools. A face-to-face interview questionnaire survey was conducted on 64 beekeepers selected from Oromia and Tigray regions. This covered 1713 honey bee colonies distributed in 68 apiaries. The percentages of colonies lost were significantly different between Oromia (24.1%) and Tigray (66.4%) regions. Colony losses were attributed as unsolvable queen problems (8% in Oromia; 10% in Tigray), natural disaster (32%; 82%), and empty hives or dead colonies (60%; 8%). The loss rate was significantly affected by queen replacement (p < 0.0001), use of natural comb (p < 0.0001), feed supplementation (p < 0.0001), region (p < 0.0001), varroa treatment (p < 0.0001), colony splitting (p < 0.01), and merging (p < 0.01). Beekeepers in Oromia managed more colonies and implemented improved practices compared to those in Tigray. However, all beekeepers in Oromia detected at least some bees with signs of deformed wing virus, compared to 76% of beekeepers in Tigray. In conclusion, the colony loss rate was significantly different between Oromia and Tigray regions due to differences in natural disasters, management, environment and health factors.

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“…However, various natural and anthropogenic activities, such as frequent drought, deforestation, land degradation, agricultural land expansion, armed conflict, and other human activities, have significantly contributed to the decline in forest cover in Tigray 36 , 69 . Only from 1965 to 1994, the forest land coverage in Tigray decreased by 2.9% in favor of arable land and rangeland 36 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This suggests a transformation in land use patterns over those years, highlighting a trend where forest and bush areas have been reduced to make way for increased arable cultivation and grazing lands., Between 2000 and 2020, vegetation cover in Tigray increased by 2% due to a continuous reforestation and natural resource rehabilitation initiative 70 – 72 . However, during the period 2020–2022, the vegetation cover decreased by 5% of the area 72 , and forest cover declined on average by 14.5% due to the increased demand for firewood and charcoal during the wartime 69 . H. forskaolii’s coverage and population growth could also be affected by military actions such as destroying trees, soil and water conservation efforts, disrupting soil health 69 , 72 , 73 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, during the period 2020–2022, the vegetation cover decreased by 5% of the area 72 , and forest cover declined on average by 14.5% due to the increased demand for firewood and charcoal during the wartime 69 . H. forskaolii’s coverage and population growth could also be affected by military actions such as destroying trees, soil and water conservation efforts, disrupting soil health 69 , 72 , 73 . These suggest that the loss of H. forskaolii habitat is not solely an effect of climate changes but also due to other anthropogenic activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Projecting the impact of climate change on honey bee plant habitat distribution in Northern Ethiopia

Gebremedhn,

Gebrewahid,

Haile

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Climate change significantly affects the diversity, growth, and survival of indigenous plant species thereby influencing the nutrition, health and productivity of honey bees (Apis mellifera). Hypoestes forskaolii (Vahl) is one of the major honey bee plant species in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. It is rich in pollen and nectar that typically provides white honey, which fetches a premium price in both local and inter-national markets. Despite its socio-economic and apicultural significance, the distribution of H. forskaolii has been declining, raising concerns regarding its conservation efforts. However, there is limited knowledge on how environmental and climatic factors affect its current distribution and response to future climate change. The study investigates the current and projected (the 2030s, 2050s, 2070s, and 2090s) habitat distributions of H. forskaolii under three future climate change scenarios (ssp126, ssp245, and ssp585) using the Maximum Entropy Model (MaxEnt). The results show that land use (50.1%), agro-ecology (28%), precipitation during the Driest Quarter (11.2%) and soil texture (6.1%) predominantly influence the distribution of H. forskaolii, collectively explaining 95.4% of the model's predictive power. Habitats rich in evergreen trees and mosaic herbaceous with good vegetation cover are identified as the most suitable for H. forskaolii. The spatial distribution of H. forskaolii is concentrated in the highlands and mid-highlands of the eastern and southern parts of Tigray, characterized by a colder temperature. Across the three climate change scenarios, the size of suitable habitat for H. forskaolii is projected to decrease over the four time periods studied. Predictions under the ssp585 scenario reveal alarming results, indicating a substantial decrease in the suitable habitat for H. forskaolii from 4.26% in the 2030s to 19.09% in the 2090s. Therefore, given the challenges posed by climate change, research efforts should focus on identifying and evaluating new technologies that can help the H. forskaolii species in adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change.

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Remote sensing reveals how armed conflict regressed woody vegetation cover and ecosystem restoration efforts in Tigray (Ethiopia)

Cited by 10 publications

References 51 publications

High Rates of Honey Bee Colony Losses and Regional Variability in Ethiopia Based on the Standardised COLOSS 2023 Survey

High Rates of Honey Bee Colony Losses and Regional Variability in Ethiopia Based on the Standardised COLOSS 2023 Survey

High Rates of Honey Bee Colony Losses and Regional Variability in Ethiopia Based on the Standardised COLOSS 2023 Survey

Projecting the impact of climate change on honey bee plant habitat distribution in Northern Ethiopia

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