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Mapping soil erosion hotspots and assessing the potential impacts of land management practices in the highlands of Ethiopia

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Title Mapping soil erosion hotspots and assessing the potential impacts of land management practices in the highlands of Ethiopia
 
Creator Tamene, Lulseged
 
Contributor Adimassu, Zenebe
Ellison, James
Yaekob, Tesfaye
Woldearegay, Kifle
Mekonnen, Kindu
Le, Quang Bao
Thorne, Peter
 
Subject sediment delivery ratio
graphical user interface
soil erosion management scenario
basona district
 
Description An enormous effort is underway in Ethiopia to address soil erosion and restore overall land productivity.
Modelling and participatory approaches can be used to delineate erosion hotspots, plan site- and context-specific interventions and assess their impacts. In this study, we employed a modelling interface developed based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation adjusted by the sediment delivery ratio to map the spatial distribution of net soil loss and identify priority areas of intervention. Using the modelling interface, we also simulated the potential impacts of different soil and water conservation measures in reducing net soil loss. Model predictions showed that net soil loss in the study area ranges between 0.4 and 88 t ha−1 yr−1 with an average of 12 t ha−1 yr−1. The dominant soil erosion hotspots were associated with steep slopes, gullies, communal grazing and cultivated areas. The average soil loss observed in this study is higher than the tolerable soil loss rate estimated for the highland of Ethiopia. The scenario analysis results showed that targeting hotspot areas where soil loss exceeds 10 t ha−1 yr−1 could reduce net soil loss to the tolerable limit (< 2 t ha−1 yr−1). The spatial distribution of soil loss and the sediment yield reduction potential of different options provided essential information to guide prioritization and targeting. In addition, the results can help promoting awareness within the local community of the severity of the soil erosion problem and the potential of management interventions. Future work should include cost-benefit and tradeoff analyses of the various management options for achieving a given level of erosion reduction.
 
Date 2017-09-01
2017-03-01T02:10:36Z
2017-03-01T02:10:36Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier https://mel.cgiar.org/dspace/limited
Lulseged Tamene, Zenebe Adimassu, James Ellison, Tesfaye Yaekob, Kifle Woldearegay, Kindu Mekonnen, Quang Bao Le, Peter Thorne. (1/9/2017). Mapping soil erosion hotspots and assessing the potential impacts of land management practices in the highlands of Ethiopia. Geomorphology, 292, pp. 153-163.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/6108
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Language en
 
Rights CC-BY-NC-4.0
 
Format PDF
 
Publisher Elsevier (12 months)
 
Source Geomorphology;292,(2017) Pagination 153,163