The effectiveness of loose rock check dams for gully control in Tigray, northern Ethiopia

Nyssen, Jan; Veyret-Picot, Maude; Poesen, Jean; Moeyersons, J; Haile, Mitiku; Deckers, Jozef; Govers, Gérard

doi:10.1079/sum2003223

Cited by 95 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…This is probably partly the result of the many implemented SWC-measures, the recovery of vegetation and the improved soil protection that was noted over the past thirty years (Munro et al 2008). Many of these measures, such as stone bunds and exclosures (Descheemaeker et al 2008;Nyssen et al 2010), check dams in gullies (Nyssen et al 2004b) and the implementation of small reservoirs (Haregeweyn et al 2008) also decrease storm runoff. The implemented SWCmeasures therefore probably also have a significant effect on the reduction of sediment supply to river systems at the medium-sized catchment scale.…”

Section: Suspended Sediment Yield and Soil And Water Conservation Mementioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment dynamics and the role of flash floods in sediment export from medium-sized catchments: a case study from the semi-arid tropical highlands in northern Ethiopia

et al. 2010

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Purpose The Ethiopian highlands are a fragile environment, characterized by steep slopes, intense rainfall, a sparse vegetation cover and the occurrence of flash floods. Although important efforts have been made to mitigate the ongoing soil erosion and land degradation problems, the sediment dynamics at medium-sized catchment scale (100-10,000 km²)are not fully understood. Therefore, this study aims to provide a better of sediment export processes and the importance of flash flood events in semi-arid tropical catchments. 2Methods Measuring campaigns were conducted in 10 subcatchments of the Geba, a tributary of the Tekeze, representative of the northern Ethiopian highlands. During 2 to 4 rainy seasons, the rivers were sampled for their suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and runoff discharge.Results and discussion Variations in SSC and sediment grain-size distribution indicate changes in sediment supply during the rainy season, due to the depletion of readily available sediments and the development of a vegetation cover.Also during flood events, changes in sediment supply are observed. Sediment yields (i.e. 497-6,543 t km -2 yr -1 ) are higher than suggested by previous studies and correlate with rainfall depth. The majority of sediment export occurs during a few short but intense flash floods. No clear effect of implemented soil and water conservation measures could be detected in the sediment yields of the catchments.Conclusions Sediment export rates in the Ethiopian highlands are high, are characterized by important changes in sediment supply and are mainly controlled by the occurrence and magnitude of flash flood events. Mitigation measures to reduce sediment yield at the catchment scale should therefore not only focus on the reduction of hillslope erosion rates, but also on the magnitude of these floods.

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Section: Suspended Sediment Yield and Soil And Water Conservation Mementioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment dynamics and the role of flash floods in sediment export from medium-sized catchments: a case study from the semi-arid tropical highlands in northern Ethiopia

et al. 2010

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“…Gullies form because they are the most energy efficient way to carry runoff generated by landscape disturbances from the uplands to the valley bottoms [11,12]. Gullies are defined as incisions in…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Practices for Controlling Shallow Valley-Bottom Gullies in the Sub-Humid Ethiopian Highlands

Addisie

Langendoen

Aynalem

et al. 2018

Water

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Abstract:Rehabilitation of large valley bottom gullies in developing countries is hampered by high cost. Stopping head cuts at the time of initiation will prevent large gullies from forming and is affordable. However, research on practices to control shallow gully heads with local materials is limited. The objective of this research was therefore to identify cost-effective shallow gully head stabilization practices. The four-year study was conducted on 14 shallow gullies (<3 m deep) in the central Ethiopian highlands. Six gullies were used as a control. Heads in the remaining eight gullies were regraded to a 1:1 slope. Additional practices implemented were adding either riprap or vegetation or both on the regraded heads and stabilizing the gully bed downstream. Gully heads were enclosed by fencing to prohibit cattle access to the planted vegetation. The median yearly head retreat of the control gullies was 3.6 m a −1 with a maximum of 23 m a −1 . Vegetative treatments without riprap prevented gully incision by trapping sediments but did not stop the upslope retreat. The gully heads protected by riprap did not erode. Regrading the slope and adding riprap was most effective in controlling gully head retreat, and with hay grown on the fenced-in areas around the practice, it was profitable for farmers.

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“…Innovation in gully erosion control research is rather limited compared to innovation in gully erosion process research. Conventional gully control approaches were widely used in the world by virtue of effectiveness and cost efficiency [2,3,21,37,38]. Land smoothing or reshaping, which smoothes the surface to less than a 25 degree slope, and forms a terrace for forestry is used as a new method to control gully erosion in many countries [26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the “Ecological and Economic Approach for the Restoration of Collapsed Gullies” in Southern China Really Economic?

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2015

Sustainability

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Collapsed gully erosion constantly plagues the sustainability of rural areas in China. To control collapsed gully erosion, an ecological and economic approach, which uses tree plantation to gain economic benefits and control soil erosion, has been widely applied by local governments in Southern China. However, little is known about the economic feasibility of this new method. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness and economic benefits of the new method. Based on a case study in Changting County, Southeast China, two farms were selected to represent a timber tree plantation and a fruit tree plantation, respectively. The Annual Capital Capitalization Method and Return on Investment (ROI) were selected to conduct cost-benefit analysis. In contrast to previous studies, we found that the new approach was far from economic. The value of the newly-built forestland in Sanzhou Village and Tufang Village is 2738 RMB ha , respectively, which are extremely lower than the costs of ecological restoration. Meanwhile, the annual ROI is −3.60% and −8.90%, respectively, which is negative and also far poorer than the average value of forestry in China. The costs of conservation were substantially over the related economic benefits, and the investors would suffer from greater loss if they invested more in the conservation. Low-cost terraces with timber trees had less economic loss compared with the costly terraces with fruit tree plantation. Moreover, the cost efficiency of the new approaches in soil conservation was OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 10309 also greatly poorer than the conventional method. The costs of conserving one ton soil per year for conventional method, new method for planting timber trees, and planting fruit trees were 164 RMB, 696 RMB, and 11,664 RMB, respectively. Therefore, the new collapsed gully erosion control methods are uneconomic and unsuitable to be widely carried out in China in the near future.

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The effectiveness of loose rock check dams for gully control in Tigray, northern Ethiopia

Cited by 95 publications

References 4 publications

Sediment dynamics and the role of flash floods in sediment export from medium-sized catchments: a case study from the semi-arid tropical highlands in northern Ethiopia

Sediment dynamics and the role of flash floods in sediment export from medium-sized catchments: a case study from the semi-arid tropical highlands in northern Ethiopia

Assessment of Practices for Controlling Shallow Valley-Bottom Gullies in the Sub-Humid Ethiopian Highlands

Is the “Ecological and Economic Approach for the Restoration of Collapsed Gullies” in Southern China Really Economic?

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