Economic and environmental rehabilitation through soil and water conservation, the case of Tigray in northern Ethiopia

Gebremeskel, Gebremedhin; Gebremicael, Tesfay Gebretsadkan; Girmay, Abbadi

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2017.12.002

Cited by 67 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…On average, 20 km km −2 of stone bunds and terraces were present in 2014 which is about six times the density of daget in previous times. This confirms the large‐scale implementation of SWC practices in different land‐use types, including cropland, grazing land, bare land and degraded shrubland, although the density of stone bunds is higher in cropland (Taye et al ., ; Gebremeskel et al ., ). The effectiveness of the introduced SWC structures, which are widely implemented in the Tigray region, for controlling soil erosion, reducing of sediment transport and runoff has been well documented elsewhere (Desta et al ., ; Descheemaeker et al ., ; Vancampenhout et al ., ; Nyssen et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…the daget which comprises uncultivated strips on which grasses and trees are grown, has been practiced by local communities in earlier times which are nowadays largely replaced by introduced SWC structures (stone bunds; Nyssen et al, 2000). Over the last few decades, large-scale physical and biological SWC structures such as stone bunds, check dams, hillside terraces, as well as exclosures have been introduced in the catchment to reverse land degradation (Herweg and Ludi, 1999;Descheemaeker et al, 2006;Vancampenhout et al, 2006;Munro et al, 2008;Nyssen et al, 2014;Gebremeskel et al, 2018).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reij et al, 1996;Pender and Kerr, 1998;Sidibé, 2005;Valentin et al, 2005;Chen et al, 2007;Lesschen et al, 2008). As the awareness of the impacts of land degradation in north Ethiopia has increased over the last decades, local communities and the Tigray regional government began to implement different physical and biological SWC structures (Herweg and Ludi, 1999;Desta et al, 2005;Nyssen et al, 2009;Frankl et al, 2013;Haregeweyn et al, 2015;Gebremeskel et al, 2018). Several studies evaluated the effectiveness of SWC practices in this semi-arid region in controlling runoff and soil loss most often using experimental plots (Herweg and Ludi, 1999;Descheemaeker et al, 2006;Vancampenhout et al, 2006;Taye et al, 2013;Etefa et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gully and soil and water conservation structure densities in semi‐arid northern Ethiopia over the last 80 years

Guyassa

Frankl

Zenebe

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Gullies have been a common phenomenon in semi‐arid northern Ethiopia for the last centuries. However, soil and water conservation (SWC) structures have been implemented for a long time to curb soil erosion. Though, like most of the affected areas worldwide, density and distribution of gullies and SWC structures, their causes and interrelations are poorly understood. The aims of this study were to develop a technique for mapping these densities of gullies and SWC structures, to explain their spatial distribution and to analyze changes over the period 1935–2014. Aerial photographs from 1935 to 1936 and Google Earth images from 2014 of the 5142 km2 Geba catchment were used. Transect lines were established to count gullies and SWC structures in order to calculate densities. On average, a gully density of 1.14 km km−2 was measured in 1935–1936 of which the larger portion (75%) were vegetated, indicating they were not very active. Over 80 years, gully density has significantly increased to 1.59 km km−2 with less vegetation growing in their channel, but 66% of these gullies were treated with check dams. There was c. 3 km km−2 of indigenous SWC structures (daget or lynchets) in 1935–1936 whereas a high density (20 km km−2) of introduced SWC structures (mainly stone bunds and terraces) were observed in 2014. The density of gullies is positively correlated with slope gradient and shrubland cover and negatively with cropland cover, whereas the density of SWC structures significantly increased with increasing cropland cover. Density maps of gullies and SWC structures indicate sensitive areas to gully formation and priority areas for the implementation of SWC structures in Geba catchment. The obtained results illustrate the feasibility of the methods applied to map the density of gullies and SWC structures in mountainous areas. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gully and soil and water conservation structure densities in semi‐arid northern Ethiopia over the last 80 years

Guyassa

Frankl

Zenebe

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…The Korir experimental site is located at 13.64°N and 39.59°E and 2059 m a.s.l while Hatset is located between 14.06°N and 39.49°E at 1935 m a.s.l. The sources of water for irrigation in Korir and Hatset schemes is from earthen dams constructed in 1997 and 2015, respectively [14,31]. Subsistent small-scale farmers have predominantly use irrigation schemes to produce crops during the long dry season (November-June).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In northern Ethiopia (Tigray region), most farmers use conventional irrigation practices instead of the drip and sprinkler irrigation systems to irrigate their crops [16,18,31]. As a result, these mechanized irrigation practices (drip irrigation and sprinkler) are limited in the region [10,14,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of irrigation scheduling and different irrigation methods on onion and water productivity in Tigray, northern Ethiopia

Haile

Gebremicael

Kifle

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Efficient irrigation water use can meet its objective if irrigated agriculture is managed properly in regions where water is limited. A two-year (2016)(2017) field experiments were conducted in the semiarid areas of Tigray in northern Ethiopia to evaluate irrigation scheduling with different irrigation methods. The experiments were carried out to identify their contribution for enhancing onion and water productivity in water-stressed irrigation schemes of Korir and Hatset sites. Six factorial treatments comprising of three levels of irrigation methods (furrow, basin and flood) and two levels of irrigation scheduling (fixed interval and farmer's practices) were evaluated with three replications. The agronomic and irrigation parameters were subjected to separate level-wise comparison followed by the factorial interaction effects. The results showed that the fixed irrigation interval, basin irrigation method and their 2 factorial combinations showed better performances and produced a higher yield and water productivity.On average, 263.85 q/ha and 281 q/ha of onion were obtained under the basin irrigation method and basin irrigation with fixed irrigation interval (T2) at both sites and seasons. For the T2, 6.27 and 6.06 kg/m 3 of water productivity (WP) and 4.39 and 4.24 kg/m 3 of irrigation water productivity (IWP) were obtained at Korir and Hatset sites, respectively showing higher results as compared to other treatment combinations.Moreover, the basin irrigation method produces higher marketable onion bulbs that are essential for onion producers to earn maximum profit from selling and enhance their livelihoods. Treatments comprising basin method and fixed interval showed better onion and water productivity in the water-limited irrigation schemes of Tigray. Hence, focusing on enhanced irrigation scheduling techniques and irrigation methods are important for effective agricultural water management. Farmers, irrigation experts, water resources managers and decision-makers are suggested to use these techniques to save the limited water resources and increase agricultural productivity.

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Change in low flows due to catchment management dynamics—Application of a comparative modelling approach

Gebremicael

Mohamed

Zaag

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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Understanding the natural low flow of a catchment is critical for effective water management policy in semi-arid and arid lands. The Geba catchment in Ethiopia, forming the headwaters of Tekeze-Atbara basin was known for its severe land degradation before the recent large scale Soil and Water conservation (SWC) programs. Such interventions can modify the hydrological processes by changing the partitioning of the incoming rainfall on the land surface. However, the literature lacks studies to

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Economic and environmental rehabilitation through soil and water conservation, the case of Tigray in northern Ethiopia

Cited by 67 publications

References 93 publications

Gully and soil and water conservation structure densities in semi‐arid northern Ethiopia over the last 80 years

Gully and soil and water conservation structure densities in semi‐arid northern Ethiopia over the last 80 years

Effects of irrigation scheduling and different irrigation methods on onion and water productivity in Tigray, northern Ethiopia

Change in low flows due to catchment management dynamics—Application of a comparative modelling approach

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