Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia

Dessale Wasie; Fantaw Yimer; Shiferaw Alem

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12

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Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia

Dessale Wasie, Fantaw Yimer, Shiferaw Alem

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 9, Issue 3)

Received: 15 January 2020 Accepted: 4 March 2020 Published: 3 June 2020

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Abstract

Soil erosion is a major challenge in sustaining agricultural production. Area closure with tree planting and physical conservation measures, implemented by various land rehabilitation programs is one of the best options to address the soil erosion problem. This study was conducted to assess the effect of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices on woody vegetation rehabilitation and soil erosion reduction in Hawassa Zuriya Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Vegetation cover type classification and delineation were completed for each land management category (closure area with SWC, closure area without SWC and open grazing area) in the field. RUSLE model integrated with a GIS environment was used to estimate the annual soil losses. Results showed that SWC practices were increased forest, shrub and grass coverage, and reduced bare land surface coverage. The average C (p=0.02) and P values (p=0.04), and annual soil erosion rate were significantly lower in closure with SWC (p=0.0001) compared to the value without SWC and open grazing land. Thus, the average annual soil erosion rate was reduced below a tolerable (< 1 t/ha/yr.) level by SWC practices. The overall results confirmed that integrated soil and water conservation practices reduced soil erosion rates and improved woody species diversity. Therefore, area closure integrated with SWC practices is the best option to improve the biophysical condition of degraded lands.

Published in	American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12
Page(s)	44-50
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Area Closure, Grazing Land, Soil Erosion, Species Diversity, Vegetation Cover

References

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APA Style

Dessale Wasie, Fantaw Yimer, Shiferaw Alem. (2020). Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 9(3), 44-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12

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ACS Style

Dessale Wasie; Fantaw Yimer; Shiferaw Alem. Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2020, 9(3), 44-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12

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AMA Style

Dessale Wasie, Fantaw Yimer, Shiferaw Alem. Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia. Am J Environ Prot. 2020;9(3):44-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12,
  author = {Dessale Wasie and Fantaw Yimer and Shiferaw Alem},
  title = {Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia},
  journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {44-50},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20200903.12},
  abstract = {Soil erosion is a major challenge in sustaining agricultural production. Area closure with tree planting and physical conservation measures, implemented by various land rehabilitation programs is one of the best options to address the soil erosion problem. This study was conducted to assess the effect of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices on woody vegetation rehabilitation and soil erosion reduction in Hawassa Zuriya Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Vegetation cover type classification and delineation were completed for each land management category (closure area with SWC, closure area without SWC and open grazing area) in the field. RUSLE model integrated with a GIS environment was used to estimate the annual soil losses. Results showed that SWC practices were increased forest, shrub and grass coverage, and reduced bare land surface coverage. The average C (p=0.02) and P values (p=0.04), and annual soil erosion rate were significantly lower in closure with SWC (p=0.0001) compared to the value without SWC and open grazing land. Thus, the average annual soil erosion rate was reduced below a tolerable (< 1 t/ha/yr.) level by SWC practices. The overall results confirmed that integrated soil and water conservation practices reduced soil erosion rates and improved woody species diversity. Therefore, area closure integrated with SWC practices is the best option to improve the biophysical condition of degraded lands.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia
AU  - Dessale Wasie
AU  - Fantaw Yimer
AU  - Shiferaw Alem
Y1  - 2020/06/03
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12
T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
SP  - 44
EP  - 50
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5699
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12
AB  - Soil erosion is a major challenge in sustaining agricultural production. Area closure with tree planting and physical conservation measures, implemented by various land rehabilitation programs is one of the best options to address the soil erosion problem. This study was conducted to assess the effect of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices on woody vegetation rehabilitation and soil erosion reduction in Hawassa Zuriya Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Vegetation cover type classification and delineation were completed for each land management category (closure area with SWC, closure area without SWC and open grazing area) in the field. RUSLE model integrated with a GIS environment was used to estimate the annual soil losses. Results showed that SWC practices were increased forest, shrub and grass coverage, and reduced bare land surface coverage. The average C (p=0.02) and P values (p=0.04), and annual soil erosion rate were significantly lower in closure with SWC (p=0.0001) compared to the value without SWC and open grazing land. Thus, the average annual soil erosion rate was reduced below a tolerable (< 1 t/ha/yr.) level by SWC practices. The overall results confirmed that integrated soil and water conservation practices reduced soil erosion rates and improved woody species diversity. Therefore, area closure integrated with SWC practices is the best option to improve the biophysical condition of degraded lands.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Dessale Wasie

Department of Soil and Water Resource Management, College of Agriculture, Woldia University, Mersa, Ethiopia
Fantaw Yimer

School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Shashemanne, Ethiopia
Shiferaw Alem

Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Mendel University in Brno, Hawassa, Ethiopia

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APA Style

Dessale Wasie, Fantaw Yimer, Shiferaw Alem. (2020). Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 9(3), 44-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12

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ACS Style

Dessale Wasie; Fantaw Yimer; Shiferaw Alem. Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2020, 9(3), 44-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12

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AMA Style

Dessale Wasie, Fantaw Yimer, Shiferaw Alem. Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia. Am J Environ Prot. 2020;9(3):44-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12,
  author = {Dessale Wasie and Fantaw Yimer and Shiferaw Alem},
  title = {Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia},
  journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {44-50},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20200903.12},
  abstract = {Soil erosion is a major challenge in sustaining agricultural production. Area closure with tree planting and physical conservation measures, implemented by various land rehabilitation programs is one of the best options to address the soil erosion problem. This study was conducted to assess the effect of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices on woody vegetation rehabilitation and soil erosion reduction in Hawassa Zuriya Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Vegetation cover type classification and delineation were completed for each land management category (closure area with SWC, closure area without SWC and open grazing area) in the field. RUSLE model integrated with a GIS environment was used to estimate the annual soil losses. Results showed that SWC practices were increased forest, shrub and grass coverage, and reduced bare land surface coverage. The average C (p=0.02) and P values (p=0.04), and annual soil erosion rate were significantly lower in closure with SWC (p=0.0001) compared to the value without SWC and open grazing land. Thus, the average annual soil erosion rate was reduced below a tolerable (< 1 t/ha/yr.) level by SWC practices. The overall results confirmed that integrated soil and water conservation practices reduced soil erosion rates and improved woody species diversity. Therefore, area closure integrated with SWC practices is the best option to improve the biophysical condition of degraded lands.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Effect of Integrated Soil and Water Conservation Practices on Vegetation Cover Change and Soil Loss Reduction in Southern Ethiopia
AU  - Dessale Wasie
AU  - Fantaw Yimer
AU  - Shiferaw Alem
Y1  - 2020/06/03
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12
T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
SP  - 44
EP  - 50
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5699
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20200903.12
AB  - Soil erosion is a major challenge in sustaining agricultural production. Area closure with tree planting and physical conservation measures, implemented by various land rehabilitation programs is one of the best options to address the soil erosion problem. This study was conducted to assess the effect of integrated soil and water conservation (SWC) practices on woody vegetation rehabilitation and soil erosion reduction in Hawassa Zuriya Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Vegetation cover type classification and delineation were completed for each land management category (closure area with SWC, closure area without SWC and open grazing area) in the field. RUSLE model integrated with a GIS environment was used to estimate the annual soil losses. Results showed that SWC practices were increased forest, shrub and grass coverage, and reduced bare land surface coverage. The average C (p=0.02) and P values (p=0.04), and annual soil erosion rate were significantly lower in closure with SWC (p=0.0001) compared to the value without SWC and open grazing land. Thus, the average annual soil erosion rate was reduced below a tolerable (< 1 t/ha/yr.) level by SWC practices. The overall results confirmed that integrated soil and water conservation practices reduced soil erosion rates and improved woody species diversity. Therefore, area closure integrated with SWC practices is the best option to improve the biophysical condition of degraded lands.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download