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Forest cover change over four decades in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia: comparison of three watersheds

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to quantify forest cover changes in three watersheds (Gilgel Abbay (1,646 km2), Birr (980 km2), and Upper-Didesa (1,980 km2) of the Blue Nile Basin between 1957 and 2001. Four land cover maps were produced for each watershed for 1957/1958, 1975, 1986, and 2000/2001. Nine different types of land cover were identified, five of which were forest cover classes. Between 1957 and 2001, the total forest cover increased in Gilgel Abbay (from 10 to 22 % cover) and decreased in Birr (from 29 to 22 % cover) as well as in Upper-Didesa (from 89 to 45 % cover). The increase in Gilgel Abbay was primarily due to the expansion of eucalyptus plantations. Natural forest cover decreased in all three watersheds. Wooded grassland decreased by two-thirds, dry/moist mixed forests decreased by half, and riverine forests had disappeared by 1975 in Gilgel Abbay and Birr. Major deforestation had already taken place in the northern watersheds, Gilgel Abbay and Birr, before the 1960s and 1970s, while in the southern watershed, Upper-Didesa, much of the deforestation occurred after 1975. The southern watershed still remained by far the most forested watershed in 2001 despite the strong ongoing deforestation. The changes in forest cover could affect natural resource management, greenhouse gas emissions, water resources, and agricultural production including coffee production. The patterns of change are different in the three watersheds. We therefore recommend further studies of the local conditions and drivers of change as the basis for designing effective policy to halt further loss of natural forest, which offers a wealth of ecosystem services.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funds from SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency) and The Swedish Foreign Affairs Office project “Soil and water management in agricultural production”. Image processing and land cover classification for Gilgel Abbay and Birr were done by SEARCHERS Plc., Ethiopia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 150461, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot

  2. Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7050, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot & Kevin Bishop

  3. Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Woldeamlak Bewket

  4. Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7014, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    Annemieke I. Gärdenäs

  5. Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden

    Kevin Bishop

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  1. Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot
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  2. Woldeamlak Bewket
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  3. Annemieke I. Gärdenäs
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  4. Kevin Bishop
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Correspondence to Solomon Gebreyohannis Gebrehiwot.

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Gebrehiwot, S.G., Bewket, W., Gärdenäs, A.I. et al. Forest cover change over four decades in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia: comparison of three watersheds. Reg Environ Change 14, 253–266 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-013-0483-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-013-0483-x

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