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Assessing the impacts of watershed interventions using ground data and remote sensing: a case study in Ethiopia

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology volume 19, pages 1653–1670 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Quantifying the temporal and spatial changes due to watershed interventions is important for assessing the effectiveness of natural resource management practices on vegetative cover and sediment management. This study assessed the performance of natural resource management in a target site (Aba Gerima) and compared the collateral impacts on neighbouring watersheds in Ethiopia in terms of land-use land-cover change. Changes in the extent of cropland, grassland and shrubland were assessed in the target watershed and the non-treated neighbouring watersheds using temporal satellite imagery. In addition, ground monitoring was applied to quantify the impacts on sediment accumulation, fodder biomass and vegetative cover intensity. The study findings showed substantial changes over the study period: mainly, a change from degraded and barren land to restored vegetation in the target watershed, but a continued trend of land-use change from perennial vegetation to cropland in the neighbouring untreated watersheds. There was a decrease in the rate of conversion of vegetative land cover to cropland in the target watershed, and significant on-site changes in sediment retention, fodder productivity and vegetation intensity. The study findings demonstrate a link between management interventions and improvement in soil and vegetation ecosystem functions. These results not only indicate that watershed-level interventions improve on-site soil and water environmental services but also underline the role of community managed land-use regulations in reducing pressure on natural land-use systems and thereby serve the major goal of up-scaling sustainable land management.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) which is carried out with support from the CGIAR Trust Fund and through bilateral funding agreements. For details visit https://wle.cgiar.org/donors. We also thank Mr. Ismail Mohammed for his support during data collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. RS/GIS Lab, Innovation Systems for the Drylands, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Hyderabad, 502 324, India

    M. K. Gumma, P. Panjala, A. P. Smith & K. Tummala

  2. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    G. Desta & T. Amede

  3. Water and Land Resource Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    T. Kassawmar & G. Zeleke

  4. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    A. M. Whitbread

Authors
  1. M. K. Gumma
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  2. G. Desta
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  3. T. Amede
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  4. P. Panjala
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  5. A. P. Smith
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  6. T. Kassawmar
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  7. K. Tummala
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  8. G. Zeleke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. K. Gumma.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: Shahid Hussain.

Appendix 1: Accuracy assessment of LULC areas for the years (a) 2019; (b) 2013 and (c) 2002.

Appendix 1: Accuracy assessment of LULC areas for the years (a) 2019; (b) 2013 and (c) 2002.

Classified data

Ground data

Row total

Classified total

Number Correct

Producer accuracy (%)Producer accuracy (%)

User accuracy (%)

Kappa

CL_1

CL_2

CL_3

CL_4

CL_5

(a) 2019

           

CL_1

51

1

0

3

0

55

55

51

94.44

92.73

0.87

CL_2

2

15

4

0

0

21

21

15

83.33

71.43

0.66

CL_3

0

1

13

0

1

15

15

13

74.47

86.67

0.84

CL_4

1

1

0

22

1

25

25

22

84.62

88

0.85

CL_5

0

0

0

1

1

2

2

1

33.33

50

0.49

Reference totals

54

18

17

26

3

118

118

102

   

Overall accuracy: 86.44%

           

(b) 2013

           

CL_1

58

2

0

1

0

61

61

58

92.06

95.08

0.90

CL_2

2

13

0

0

0

15

15

13

76.47

86.67

0.85

CL_3

0

2

8

0

1

11

11

8

88.89

72.73

0.71

CL_4

3

0

1

20

0

24

24

20

86.96

83.33

0.80

CL_5

0

0

0

2

11

13

13

11

91.67

84.62

0.83

Reference totals

63

17

9

23

12

124

124

110

   

Overall accuracy: 88.71%

           

(c) 2002

           

CL_1

31

0

1

0

0

32

32

31

67.39

96.88

0.95

CL_2

0

7

1

0

0

8

8

7

70

87.5

0.86

CL_3

12

1

12

0

0

25

25

12

80

48

0.41

CL_4

1

1

0

32

0

34

34

32

100

94.12

0.92

CL_5

2

1

1

0

23

27

27

23

100

85.19

0.82

Reference totals

46

10

15

32

23

126

126

105

   

Overall accuracy: 83.33%

           

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Gumma, M.K., Desta, G., Amede, T. et al. Assessing the impacts of watershed interventions using ground data and remote sensing: a case study in Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 1653–1670 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03192-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03192-7

Keywords

  • Agriculture croplands
  • Land-cover changes
  • Natural resource management
  • Restored vegetation
  • Satellite imagery

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