Soil Properties and Crop Productivity Strategies as a Potential Climate Variability Adaptation Options in Adefwuha Watershed, Ethiopia

Abstract

Land degradation and climate change are universal agenda for the 21st century. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the effect of watershed management on selected soil properties, wheat grain yield, farmers income and climate change adaptation strategies in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia. Two treated and untreated watersheds were selected, and data were collected at representative locations (upper, middle and lower slope positions) in both watersheds. Soil samples were collected to determine the soil physical and chemical properties. Wheat grain yield was collected in the field. To identify climate change adaptation strategies and to evaluate households’ income field survey and questionnaire were administered using random sampling technique. The result shows that total nitrogen, available phosphorous, soil organic matter, soil organic carbon, soil reaction and moisture contents were significantly affected positively by watershed management. In the treated watershed, the wheat crop yield was increased by 33.2% and household income increased by 13.77% due to the watershed management interventions. The communities were practicing planting multipurpose trees and shrubs on their farmland, practicing irrigation development, implementing different soil and water conservation practices on their farms and communal lands, intensifying crop productivity and destocking in the two watersheds to adapt climate change. In this regard, this watershed management approach should be up-scaled to other areas and research work has to be extended to show the effect of watershed management on climate change adaptation.