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Landscape-based upstream-downstream prevalence of land-use/cover change drivers in southeastern rift escarpment of Ethiopia

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Abstract

Characterized by high population density on a rugged topography, the Gedeo-Abaya landscape dominantly contains a multi-strata traditional agroforests showing the insight of Gedeo farmers on natural resource management practices. Currently, this area has been losing its resilience and is becoming unable to sustain its inhabitants. Based on both RS-derived and GIS-computed land-use/cover changes (LUCC) as well as socioeconomic validations, this article explored the LUCC and agroecological-based driver patterns in Gedeo-Abaya landscape from 1986 to 2015. A combination of geo-spatial technology and cross-sectional survey design were employed to detect the drivers behind these changes. The article discussed that LUCC and the prevalence of drivers are highly diverse and vary throughout agroecological zones. Except for the population, most downstream top drivers are perceived as insignificant in the upstream region and vice versa. In the downstream, land-use/cover (LUC) classes are more dynamic, diverse, and challenged by nearly all anticipated drivers than are upstream ones. Agroforestry LUC has been increasing (by 25% of its initial cover) and is becoming the predominant cover type, although socioeconomic analysis and related findings show its rapid LUC modification. A rapid reduction of woodland/shrubland (63%) occurred in the downstream, while wetland/marshy land increased threefold (158%), from 1986 to 2015 with annual change rates of - 3.7 and + 6%, respectively. Land degradation induced by changes in land use is a serious problem in Africa, especially in the densely populated sub-Saharan regions such as Ethiopia (FAO 2015). Throughout the landscape, LUCC is prominently affecting land-use system of the study landscape due to population pressure in the upstream region and drought/rainfall variability, agribusiness investment, and charcoaling in the downstream that necessitate urgent action.

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Notes

  1. Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman, also called “false Bannana,” is a perennial herbaceous root crop with long broad leaves and bulky pseudostem. This multi-purpose root crop is widely grown and is a major food security crop in Southern Ethiopia (Kanshie 2002).

  2. “Kebele” is a group of villages forming the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia that forms a “woreda.”

  3. The mean annual rate of change dependence of the “r” equation derivation is supposed to improve its reliability over the “q” equation used by FAO (1995).

  4. Land cover conversion and land cover modification are the two types of changes in land cover. The former constitutes the complete replacement of one cover type by another. Land cover modifications, in contrast, are more subtle changes that affect the character of the land cover without changing its overall classification, which may either improve or diminish its ability for ecosystem service (Turner et al. 1995; Lambin et al. 2003; Lambin and Geist 2008).

  5. 2007/8 is the period during which the annual Commodity Food Price index showed peak value causing a rise of global agricultural land demand.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (Fund No. 41571176) for financial support and Dilla University of Ethiopia for field work support and encouragement in conducting the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Land Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Habtamu Temesgen, Wei Wu, Eshetu Yirsaw & Belew Bekele

  2. Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia

    Habtamu Temesgen & Abiyot Legesse

  3. National and Joint Local Engineering Research Center for Rural Land Resources Use and Consolidation, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Wei Wu

  4. Department of Natural Resources Management, Alage ATVET College, Alage, Ethiopia

    Eshetu Yirsaw

  5. Department of Natural Resources Management, Assosa ATVET Collage, Assosa, Ethiopia

    Belew Bekele

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  1. Habtamu Temesgen
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Correspondence to Wei Wu.

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Temesgen, H., Wu, W., Legesse, A. et al. Landscape-based upstream-downstream prevalence of land-use/cover change drivers in southeastern rift escarpment of Ethiopia. Environ Monit Assess 190, 166 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6479-8

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