Transformation of degraded farmlands to agroforestry in Zongi Village, Ethiopia

Conversion of degraded agricultural landscapes to a smallholder agroforestry system and carbon sequestration in drylands

“…Zongi village is located in Werie Leke District found in the low-lying agroecological zone of Tigray region in the northern part of Ethiopia. The geographical location of the study area lies between 13°59 0 -14°02 0 N and 38°59 0 -39°02 0 E (Chiemela et al, 2017). The area has low to moderate relief with an altitude range of 1,781-2,063 m a.s.l.…”

“…The farming system of the study area is mainly a combination of crop-tree-livestock system. The most practiced LU type is parkland AF (Chiemela et al, 2017;Noulèkoun et al, 2017). Bee-keeping is also part of the farming system.…”

“…Here in Ethiopia are the Humbo C Project of World Vision in the Southern part of the country and Bale Eco-Region C Project in South-eastern Ethiopia. Despite the success story of Zongi village regarding the reintegration of trees on agricultural lands, through sustainable land management strategies (Chiemela et al, 2017;Noulèkoun et al, 2017), less focus has been attached to the site by C investors, including the two C projects existing in the country, due to lack of scientific evidence. According to Stringer et al (2012), many of the knowledge gaps in understanding dryland C storage stem from a lack of empirical data and scientific evidence, which limits the utility of scientific knowledge for research users such as policy makers and NGOs.…”

“…The community through regeneration of under-forest and afforestation broke the jinx of severe land degradation that affected their livelihood. As a result, a substantial amount of land area (51.9 per cent) has been converted from intensively cultivated land use (LU) type to less intensively used LU types such as sparsely cultivated and shrublands (Chiemela et al, 2017). The importance of indigenous AF systems, such as the one of Zongi village, is receiving wider recognition not only in terms of agricultural sustainability, climate change mitigation but also as a means for diversified income source for landowners.…”

“…AF systems play important roles for the people of Ethiopia and the country's prospects to reduce poverty, enhance welfare and sustain economic growth (César and Ekbom, 2013). Zongi village represents a model AF site in northern Ethiopia (Chiemela et al, 2017;Noulèkoun et al, 2016Noulèkoun et al, , 2017. The community through regeneration of under-forest and afforestation broke the jinx of severe land degradation that affected their livelihood.…”