Soil Restoration after seven Years of Exclosure Management in Northwestern Ethiopia

Mekuria, Wolde; Langan, Simon; Noble, Andrew; Johnston, Robyn

doi:10.1002/ldr.2527

Cited by 49 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Soil organic carbon did not exhibit a significant difference between middle and old age exclosures and grazing land. Similar studies by Mekuria et al (2017) in Gondar, northwest Ethiopia, and Aynekulu et al (2017) in Borana rangelands, Southern Ethiopia did not detect any significant differences in SOC between exclosure and the adjacent communal grazing land. The SOC content of the middle and old age exclosure and grazing land was rated as high, whereas as the SOC in the young exclosure was rated as medium (Tadesse et al, 1991).…”

Section: Soil Chemical Properties Soil Ph Electrical Conductivity (Esupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Exchangeable K in the exclosures and grazing land is rated as low (Landon, 2014). Similarly, Mekuria et al (2017) reported a lower exchangeable K in grazing land and seven years old exclosure in Godar, Northwestern Ethiopia. Often, K availability is more dependent on its concentration relative to Ca and Mg than on the total quantity of K present in the soil solution.…”

Section: Soil Chemical Properties Soil Ph Electrical Conductivity (Ementioning

confidence: 86%

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Changes in selected soil properties across a chronosequence of exclosures in the central dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Tesfay

Kibret

Gebrekirstos

et al. 2020

Eurasian Journal of Soil Science (Ejss)

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Section: Soil Chemical Properties Soil Ph Electrical Conductivity (Esupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Soil Chemical Properties Soil Ph Electrical Conductivity (Ementioning

confidence: 86%

Changes in selected soil properties across a chronosequence of exclosures in the central dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Tesfay

Kibret

Gebrekirstos

et al. 2020

Eurasian Journal of Soil Science (Ejss)

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“…With regard to land-use effects, the SOC stock of grazing land soil decreased significantly from the upper (162.22 Mg ha −1 ) to middle positions (75.50 Mg ha −1 ) at Guder. Soil bulk density in grazing lands is relatively higher as a result of livestock trampling [22,24,57]. At this site, a bulk density of 1.18 Mg/m 3 was recorded in the grazing land (Table 3).…”

Section: Effects Of Land-use Type On Soc and Tn Contents And Stocks Amentioning

confidence: 79%

Effects of Land Use and Topographic Position on Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Stocks in Different Agro-Ecosystems of the Upper Blue Nile Basin

et al. 2020

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Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) are key ecological indicators of soil quality in a given landscape. Their status, especially in drought-prone landscapes, is associated mainly with the land-use type and topographic position. This study aimed to clarify the effect of land use and topographic position on SOC and TN stocks to further clarify the ecological processes occurring in the landscape. To analyze the status of SOC and TN, we collected 352 composite soil samples from three depths in the uppermost soil (0–50 cm) in four major land-use types (bushland, cropland, grazing land, and plantation) and three topographic positions (upper, middle, and lower) at three sites: Dibatie (lowland), Aba Gerima (midland), and Guder (highland). Both SOC and TN stocks varied significantly across the land uses, topographic positions, and agro-ecosystems. SOC and TN stocks were significantly higher in bushland (166.22 Mg ha−1) and grazing lands (13.11 Mg ha−1) at Guder. The lowest SOC and TN stocks were observed in cropland (25.97 and 2.14 Mg ha−1) at Aba Gerima, which was mainly attributed to frequent and unmanaged plowing and extensive biomass removal. Compared to other land uses, plantations exhibited lower SOC and TN stocks due to poor undergrowth and overexploitation for charcoal and firewood production. Each of the three sites showed distinct characteristics in both stocks, as indicated by variations in the C/N ratios (11–13 at Guder, 10–21 at Aba Gerima, and 15–18 at Dibatie). Overall, land use was shown to be an important factor influencing the SOC and TN stocks, both within and across agro-ecosystems, whereas the effect of topographic position was more pronounced across agro-ecosystems than within them. Specifically, Aba Gerima had lower SOC and TN stocks due to prolonged cultivation and unsustainable human activities, thus revealing the need for immediate land management interventions, particularly targeting croplands. In a heterogeneous environment such as the Upper Blue Nile basin, proper understanding of the interactions between land use and topographic position and their effect on SOC and TN stock is needed to design proper soil management practices.

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“…Restoring degraded ecosystems through the establishment of exclosures has become a common practice in the Ethiopian highlands (Mekuria et al., 2017). Also, the use of exclosures has gained widespread acceptance as a means to restore degraded rangeland ecosystems in many of the world's semi-arid rangelands (Verdoodt et al., 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of degraded landscapes for ecosystem services in North-Western Ethiopia

Mekuria

Wondie

Amare

et al. 2018

Heliyon

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Establishing exclosures has become common in Ethiopia, especially in the central and northern highlands, where they serve as a response to persistent forest degradation, affecting forest resources and ecosystem services. We investigated changes in vegetation composition, aboveground biomass and soil properties after establishing an exclosure on degraded communal grazing land in Aba-Gerima watershed, North-Western Ethiopia. We selected 4-yr-old exclosure and paired the selected exclosure with an adjacent communal grazing land. In the exclosure, we recorded 46 plant species representing 32 families, whereas we recorded 18 plant species representing 13 families in the adjacent communal grazing lands. Most of the identified woody species are economically important. We observed significant differences between the exclosure and adjacent grazing land in woody species richness, diversity and evenness. Exclosure displayed higher woody species density, basal area and aboveground woody biomass compared to the adjacent grazing land. Landscape position influenced vegetation composition, richness and diversity in the exclosure and adjacent grazing land. Significant differences between the exclosure and adjacent grazing land in soil properties were detected. The influence of landscape positions on soil properties was not consistent. At foot slope position, in the 0- to 15-cm and 15- to 30-cm depths, soil organic carbon and nitrogen content detected in exclosure were significantly higher when compared to the values observed in the adjacent grazing land. However, differences at mid and upper slope positions were not significant. The results support that the establishment of exclosures on degraded lands could support the restoration of degraded native vegetation and soil properties, which consequently enhance the ecosystem services that can be obtained from degraded lands.

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Soil Restoration after seven Years of Exclosure Management in Northwestern Ethiopia

Cited by 49 publications

References 62 publications

Changes in selected soil properties across a chronosequence of exclosures in the central dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Changes in selected soil properties across a chronosequence of exclosures in the central dry lowlands of Ethiopia

Effects of Land Use and Topographic Position on Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Stocks in Different Agro-Ecosystems of the Upper Blue Nile Basin

Restoration of degraded landscapes for ecosystem services in North-Western Ethiopia

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