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Climate variability adversely affects rural households in Ethiopia as they depend on rain-fed agriculture, which is highly vulnerable to climate fluctuations and severe events such as drought and pests. In view of this, we have assessed the impacts of climate variability on rural household’s livelihoods in agricultural land in Tarchazuria district of Dawuro Zone. A total of 270 samples of household heads were selected using a multistage sampling technique with sample size allocation procedures of the simple random sampling method. Simple linear regression, the standard precipitation index, the coefficient of variance, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze climatic data such as rainfall and temperature. Two livelihood vulnerability analysis approaches, such as composite index and Livelihood Vulnerability Index-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (LVI-IPCC) approaches, were used to analyze indices for socioeconomic and biophysical indicators. The study revealed that the variability patterns of rainfall and increasing temperatures had been detrimental effects on rural households' livelihoods. The result showed households of overall standardized, average scores of Wara Gesa (0.60) had high livelihood vulnerability with dominant major components of natural, physical, social capital, and livelihood strategies to climate-induced natural hazards than Mela Gelda (0.56). The LVI-IPCC analysis results also revealed that the rural households in Mela Gelda were more exposed to climate variability than Wara Gesa and slightly sensitive to climate variability, considering the health and knowledge and skills, natural capitals, and financial capitals of the households. Therefore, interventions including road infrastructure construction, integrated with watershed management, early warning information system, providing training, livelihood diversification, and SWC measures' practices should be a better response to climate variability-induced natural hazards. Keywords: Households;  Livelihood Vulnerability Index; climate variability; Tarchazuria District   Copyright (c) 2021 Geosfera Indonesia and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share A like 4.0 International License

Background Soil erosion in Ethiopian highlands is highly consistent with land use/land cover (LULC) changes that are associated with deforestation and a decline in biodiversity. However, identifying soil erosion-prone areas and quantifying soil loss in rugged terrains and various agroecologies due to LULC changes have not been dedicated to scientific studies. Therefore, we quantified the impacts of spatiotemporal LULC changes on soil loss across agroecologies and slope categories using GIS and RUSLE model from 1985 to 2021 in Zoa watershed, southwest Ethiopia. Moreover, prioritizing erosion severity risks at sub-watersheds and quantifying temporal sediment yield is essential for better conservation planning. Landsat images, rainfall, Digital Elevation Model, and soil data were obtained from field observations and secondary sources. Results Bareland and farmland have been expanding at the expense of other land use types. The annual soil loss in the watershed ranged from 0 to 113.21 t ha−1 year−1, 0 to 163.16 t ha−1 year−1, and 0 to 194.58 $$\mathrm{t}\,{\mathrm{ha}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{year}}^{-1}$$ t ha - 1 year - 1 with a mean annual soil loss of 21.07, 29.35 and 40.93 t ha−1 year−1 in 1985, 2000, and 2021, respectively. Among LULC classes, the highest soil loss was generated from bareland (31.73 $$\mathrm{t }\,{\mathrm{ha}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{year}}^{-1}$$ t ha - 1 year - 1 ) and farmland (27.08 t ha−1 year−1 ) in 1985 later upsurged to 35.52 $$\mathrm{t }\,{\mathrm{ha}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{year}}^{-1}$$ t ha - 1 year - 1 and 59.91 t ha−1 year−1 in 2021, respectively, due to the maximum susceptibility of soil erosion risks from unprotected surfaces. The results also revealed that the lowland agroecology generated the highest mean soil loss of 24.05 $$\mathrm{t }\,{\mathrm{ha}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{year}}^{-1}$$ t ha - 1 year - 1 in 1985, 39.74 t ha−1 year−1 in 2000, and increased to 57.55 $$\mathrm{t }\,{\mathrm{ha}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{year}}^{-1}$$ t ha - 1 year - 1 in 2021. Considering the slope categories, the highest and most excruciating soil loss was engendered from steep (35.55–60.78 t ha–1 year–1) and very steep (52.48–72.69 $$\mathrm{t }\,{\mathrm{ha}}^{-1}\,{\mathrm{year}}^{-1}$$ t ha - 1 year - 1 ) slope terrains during 1985–2021. The northwestern part of the watershed is the most erosion-prone area which is now expanding to the central and western parts of the watershed. The sediment yield increased at the fastest rate at the watershed outlet, from 39.3% in 1985 to 94.26% in 2021. Conclusions The results of this study indicated that the conversion of other LULC categories into farmland was the most detrimental to a watershed in terms of soil loss, which necessitates the implementation of appropriate soil and water conservation measures with effective design by considering spatial variability to reduce soil erosion hazards.

The principal cause of drought in Ethiopia is asserted to be the fluctuation of the global atmospheric circulation, which is triggered by Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly (SSTA), occurring due to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. It can make extreme weather events more likely in certain regions in Ethiopia. ENSO episodes and events, and related weather events have an impact on seasonal rainfall distribution and rainfall variability over Ethiopia. Thus, the main aim of this review was to identify and organize the major impacts of El-Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on agriculture and adaptation strategies of rural communities in Ethiopia. Most of the rural communities in the country depend on rain-fed agriculture, and millions of Ethiopians have lost their source of food, water, and livelihoods due to drought triggered by ENSO. The coping strategies against ENSO induced climate change are creating a collective risk analysis, and Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) at the national level. In addition, community-based coping strategies for ENSO are integrated with watershed management, livelihood diversification and land rehabilitation to better cope with erratic rainfall and drought risks in the country.