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Forest cover change and its driving forces in Fagita Lekoma District, Ethiopia

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Abstract

This study investigated forest cover change and the driving forces behind it in Fagita Lekoma District of Ethiopia that resulted in increased forest cover, which might be uncommon outside this case study area. The LULC change analysis was made from 2003 to 2017 based on Landsat images. Socioeconomic analysis was carried out to identify the major driving forces that resulted in LULC change. A questionnaire survey, focused group discussion, key informant interviews and field observation were employed to analyze the link between LULC change and the driving forces. The 15-year period (2003–2017) image analysis revealed that the coverage of forest lands, built-up areas and grassland has increased by 256%, 100% and 96%, respectively, at the expense of cultivated lands and wetlands. The increased forest cover is due to the woodlots expansion of Acacia decurrens Willd, which are designed for sustainable livelihoods and a land revitalization strategy in the study area. Rapid population growth, an increasing demand for charcoal and subsequent market opportunities, preferred qualities of A. decurrens or black wattle to halt land degradation as well as to improve land productivity, have been identified as the major driving forces of forest cover change. Chi squared analysis revealed that: a comparative cash income from the sale of A. decurrens; a dependency on natural forests; the distance from the district administrative center; the size of the active labor force, and the area of land owned have significantly affected the cover change. The major forest cover change is due to the expansion of A. decurrens plantations that have socioeconomic and environmental implications to improve rural livelihoods and revitalize the land. Thus, the positive experiences identified in this study should be scaled-up and applied in other similar settings.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Fagita Lekoma district forestry experts, Abebaw and Muluken Tekitikew, for their unreserved support during data collection. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the respondents involved in the socio-economic survey.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Yigez Belayneh, Guo Ru, Awoke Guadie, Zebene Lakew Teffera & Mengesha Tsega

  2. Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch 21, Ethiopia

    Awoke Guadie

  3. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Guo Ru

Authors
  1. Yigez Belayneh
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  2. Guo Ru
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  3. Awoke Guadie
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  4. Zebene Lakew Teffera
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  5. Mengesha Tsega
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guo Ru.

Additional information

Project funding: The work was supported by the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Fund for Soft Science (17692102400), the Shanghai Pujiang Program (17PJC098).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Tao Xu.

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Belayneh, Y., Ru, G., Guadie, A. et al. Forest cover change and its driving forces in Fagita Lekoma District, Ethiopia. J. For. Res. 31, 1567–1582 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0838-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0838-8

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