Tadesse, L and Suryabhagavan, K V and Sridhar, G and Legesse, G (2017) Land use and land cover changes and Soil erosion in Yezat Watershed, North Western Ethiopia. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 5 (2). pp. 85-94. ISSN 20956339
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Abstract
Soil erosion affects land qualities and water resources. This problem is severe in Ethiopia due to its topographic features. The present research was aimed to estimate spatiotemporal changes in land-use/land-cover pattern and soil erosion in the Yezat watershed in Ethiopia. This study was carried out by using landsat imageries of 2001, 2010 and 2015. Images were classified into categories using supervised classification by maximum likelihood algorithm. They were also classified into different biomass levels by using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis. Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation modeling was applied in a GIS environment to quantify the potential soil erosion risk. The area under grassland, woodland and homesteads have increased by 610.69 (4%), 101.69 (0.67%) and 126.6 ha (0.83%) during 2001–2015. The extent of cultivated land and shrub/bushland was reduced by 323.43(0.02%) and 515.44 ha (3.41%), respectively, during the same period. The vegetation cover in the watershed decreased by 91% during 2001–2010, and increased by 88% during 2010–2015. Increase of NDVI values indicates better ground cover due to implementation of integrated watershed development program in the region. The estimated annual soil losses were 7.2 t ha−1 yr−1 in 2001, 7.7 t ha−1 yr−1in 2010 and 4.8 t ha−1 yr−1in 2015. Management interventions are necessary to improve the status and utilization of watershed resources in response to sustainable land management practices for sustainable livelihood of the local people.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Research Program : East & Southern Africa |
| CRP: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Biomass; GIS; NDVI; Land-use and land-cover; Remote sensing; RUSLE; Watershed; Watershed resources |
| Subjects: | Others > GIS Techniques/Remote Sensing Others > Soil Science Others > Watershed Management Others > African Agriculture |
| Depositing User: | Mr Ramesh K |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Jun 2017 10:56 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2017 10:56 |
| URI: | http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/10068 |
| Official URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2017.05.004 |
| Projects: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Funders: | Open Access funded by International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and Power Press |
| Acknowledgement: | Open Access funded by International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and Power Press. The authors wish to thank the School of Earth Sciences, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, for providing funds and facilities. Financial support from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments to improve the manuscript. |
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