Effect of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Soil Erosion in Ethiopia

Abstract

Land degradation is one of a serious agricultural problem that posed severe threat to food production and the livelihood of peoples in Ethiopia. It resulted in high economic loss and threat in natural environment. The country loses about $106 million annually through soil and nutrient loss. Soil degradation is the one and the major form of land degradation that have been stayed for long period as the bottlenecks of the country's economy and human wellbeing. The economic loss soil degradation in the form of soil erosion and nutrient depletion only from the highlands of the country is about10-11% of agricultural gross domestic products. Soil erosion is one of the major causes of soil degradation in the country. The annual soil loss rate on average is about 42 tones/ha for croplands, and up to 300 tones/ha in extreme cases. The average total soil loss of the country is estimated as 12 ton/ha/year, which varied based on land cover types. Ethiopia historically passed signifi cant dynamics in land use/land cover since long ago to date. Land use and land cover changes and degradation are increasing at alarming rate generally throughout the country. The change in land use types played a signifi cant role in this increased rate of soil erosion in Ethiopia. Cultivated lands showed continuously increasing trend at the expense of forest and grasslands. The rapidly increasing population has led to a declining availability of cultivable land and a very high rate of soil erosion. The objective of this review paper is to view the effect of Land Use-Land Cover change in soil erosion in Ethiopia

Evaluation of soil erosion and sediment yield spatio-temporal pattern during 1990–2019

“…Furthermore, Borrelli et al (2017) strongly approved the findings, the study revealed that cropland is likely to produce a soil erosion rate up to 77 times higher than that observed in natural forests. The same views are shared in Tsegaye (2019) and Aneseyee et al (2020), the authors observed an increase in soil erosion as the cultivation area was continuously increasing in space and time. W4GR (2018), through an integrated water resource management program in the Sebeya watershed also supports these findings, he reported about 18 000 ha (50%) of the entire watershed are exposed to extreme erosion risk mainly accelerated by unsustainable farming practices and inadequate cattle drenching among other.…”

The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Land Use Land Cover Change, and Its Impact on Soil Erosion in Tagaw Watershed, Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

“…Meanwhile, shrubland, grassland, and marshland were covered by grasses and trees with small canopies; therefore, these land-use types were considered as low soil erosion risks. [63,69,[79][80][81] Based on the analysis, the area of land cover has a great influence on soil erosion. As obtained from soil loss assessment, the amount of soil erosion was in the order of bare land > farmland > built-up >shrubland > grassland > marshland > forest in 1995 and 2016.…”

Determinants of Organic Fertilizer Adoption in Moretna Jeru District, Northern Ethiopia

“…In Ethiopia, soil erosion and diminishing soil fertility are the two most signi cant problems or bottlenecks to agricultural productivity and economic progress [4]. According to research ndings, the primary drivers of climate variability were variations in crop yields, soil fertility loss, water scarcity, and crop diseases [5][6][7].…”

“…According to research ndings, the primary drivers of climate variability were variations in crop yields, soil fertility loss, water scarcity, and crop diseases [5][6][7]. e average annual soil removal across the country was projected to be around two billion tons [4]. As a result, it is vital to use a technique that promotes soil fertility while also preventing erosion and introducing crop insurance programs in the region [8].…”