Spatio-temporal bamboo forest dynamics in the Lower Beles River Basin, north-western Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: Bamboo forests, which are an integral part of the eco-system and an important source of socio-economic life for rural communities in the vast savannah lowlands of Ethiopia, are experiencing signi cant changes. Therefore, examining bamboo forest cover changes and identifying responsible drivers for the changes are of the greatest importance for sustainable management of these useful resources. This study was intended to examine the spatiotemporal bamboo forest dynamics in the Lower Beles River Basin, north-western Ethiopia.Method: A combination of pixel-based hybrid classi cation techniques and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was employed to analyze bamboo forest cover changes from 1985 -2019. Focus group discussions, questionnaire, key informant interview and observation were used to identify the drivers for bamboo forest cover change.Results: The study ndings indicate that bamboo has experienced signi cant spatio-temporal change over the study period (1985 -2019) in the study District.In the base year (1985), bamboo covered 5.1% (5,277.1 ha) of the study area. Signi cant decline in bamboo forest had occurred in 2001 when the bamboo forests suffered the greatest devastation and shirked to 1.6%. In 2019, the bamboo has been rehabilitated from degradation and increased signi cantly.However, the net change over the study periods was negative where the bamboo forests declined by 0.8% (831.14 ha). Conclusion:In conclusion, the observed changes in bamboo forest cover was driven by an interplay of multiple factors. Agricultural land expansion, wild re, free grazing, lack of regulatory mechanisms and improper harvesting and expansion of settlement areas were the top ve drivers respectively while con ict, mass owering and tenure contributed for the change. Therefore, the bamboo forests deserve great attention, and the results from this study imply the need for the concerted efforts of stakeholders for sustainable management, utilization and conservation of the bamboo resources.

Assessment of ecosystem service value variation over land use/land cover dynamics in the Beles River Basin, Ethiopia

“…The loss of forest covers, woodlands and grazing lands in the basin is caused by a number of factors included: commercial and crop-livestock mixed farming land demand expansion, massive deforestation, charcoal production, uncontrolled wild re, resettlement, overgrazing, less attention land management practices and land use policy and population pressure. Studies conducted by (Abebe et al, 2021;Nyssen et al, 2018;Teklemariam et al, 2017;Woldemeskel, 1989) reported that the establishment of roads, large commercial farms, settlement hotspot and large sugar estates frequently removal forest and woodland cover change in the Beles basin without any mitigation measures. Between 2002 and 2019, built-up areas were progressively increased and covered about 5,481.9 ha of the basin.…”

“…Thus, in this basin, giant mega projects have been running such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) (Teklemariam et al, 2017) (Woldemeskel, 1989), and mechanized farms (Teklemariam et al, 2017). Subsequently, issues of socioeconomics and ecological dynamics, deforestation, severe land degradation, and con icts for land and water resource (Abebe et al, 2021;Annys et al, 2019;Nyssen et al, 2018) are become very critical.. In addition, as a result of 1984/85 drought (Woldemeskel, 1989), highly affected people from the northern and southern part of the country moved to the Tana-Beles Resettlement villages (Woldemeskel, 1989).…”

Nvironmental Impacts of Urban Sprawl Using Remote Sensing Indices: A Case Study of Amman City – The Capital of Jordan

“…The relationship between temperature and NDVI in vegetation is well-established. Whereas the NDVI is deemed as crucial indicator for urban environment (Abebe et al, 2021). Nevertheless, Studies revealed a negative relationship between NDVI and LST (Abdullah et al, 2022;Gui et al, 2019;Deng et al, 2018).…”

Species-Site Suitability Assessment of Bamboo and Its Detailed Study in Different Agroecological Zones of Kenya

“…[5,6]. Tey are substantially set up in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and cover a total area of 37 million hectares, which accounts 1% of the global timber area [7]. Global bamboo product and consumption is valued at 60 b$, with a transnational trade of 2.5 b$ per annum, supporting 1.5 billion people [8].…”