Transition from forest-based to cereal-based agricultural systems : a review of the drivers of land use change and degradation in Southwest Ethiopia
01 Jan 2018-pp 230-230
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the impacts of conversions to agroforestry and cereal-based cropping systems on biodiversity, soil fertility, soil loss and the socio-economic conditions and culture.
Abstract: The southwestern Ethiopian montane forests are one of the most species‐rich ecosystems and are recognised globally as a priority area for the conservation of biodiversity. Particularly, in contrast to the drier central and northern Ethiopian highlands, they have received little attention by researchers. Here, we review changes to agricultural systems in and around these forests that are known as the genetic home of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) and that are important to the livelihoods of many rural people who have developed traditional management practices based on agro‐ecological knowledge, religious taboos and customary tenure rights. We explored the impacts of conversions to agroforestry and cereal‐based cropping systems on biodiversity, soil fertility, soil loss and the socio‐economic conditions and culture. The increasing trend of cereal cropping, resettlement and commercial agriculture causes the deterioration of natural forest cover in the region and threatens biodiversity, land quality, sustainable, traditional farming practices and the livelihood of the local community. Large‐scale plantations of tea, coffee, soapberry locally known as endod (Phytolacca dodecandra L'Her.) and cereals have resulted in biodiversity loss. Following the conversion of forests, cultivated fields exhibit a significant decline in soil fertility and an increase in soil loss as compared with the traditional agroforestry system. The establishment of a sustainable agricultural system will require a change in paradigm, whereby the intrinsic values of the traditional forest‐based agricultural system are recognised, rather than the ongoing mimicking of agricultural policies that were developed for the open fields of central Ethiopia. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the current state of knowledge about the status of land, water, forest, rangeland and wildlife resources, and hence, assesses their degradation tendencies in Ethiopia.
Abstract: Ethiopia is gifted with abundant natural resources of adequate landmass, fertile soil, favorable climate, water, wildlife, and others. Many of its resources are not properly identified, well managed, and fully exploited. The concern of this review is collating the current state of knowledge about the status of land, water, forest, rangeland and wildlife resources, and hence, assesses their degradation tendencies. In Ethiopia, natural resources are under the influence of various interconnected factors like population pressure, agricultural expansion, migration, rapid urbanization, resettlement, climate change, and environmental pollution. Its huge population number had been putting a great burden on the sustainability of almost all types of natural resources. There is, therefore, serious degradation of land, water, forest, rangeland, and wildlife resources that appear to feed off each other. This results in severe soil loss, low vegetative cover, unsustainable farming practice, continuous use of dung and crop residues for fuel, overgrazing, and destruction and/or migration of wildlife, which again are intensifying the degradation of available resources in a vicious circle. The process ends with amplified environmental consequences such as water quality deterioration, biodiversity decline, and averts ecosystem services. It further recapitulates towards diverse socio-economic problems, political instability, marginalization, poverty, and recurrent natural hazards. The Ethiopian governments have taken several steps to address these problems like launching soil and water conservation campaign, tree planting programs, and others; success to date, however, has been limited. Special attention has to be given to properly manage the natural resources and ecosystems; so that, it can continue to provide the goods and services the population need.
99 citations
Cites background from "Transition from forest-based to cer..."
...It can also enhance soil fertility in many situations and virtually slow down or reverse land degradation, sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and secure rural livelihoods (Kassa et al. 2016)....
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...There exist widespread problem related to intensive cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation, soil erosion, water scarcity, livestock fodder, and fuelwood crisis (Hurni et al. 2010; Kassa et al. 2016)....
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...Such degradations are done mainly for fuelwood and agricultural expansion (Birhanu 2014; Kassa et al. 2016; Alemu 2017; Assefa and Hans-Rudolf 2017)....
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...Such deforestation activities and overgrazing have led to soil erosion resulting in land quality deterioration, biodiversity loss, and impact on the overall climate system posing a serious problem in every aspect of human life (Jouanjean et al. 2014; Kassa et al. 2016)....
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...The country has experienced a much rapid decline in its forest cover and a serious deterioration of its land quality over the past decades (Kassa et al. 2016; Gashaw et al. 2018)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the effect of deforestation on soil fertility, soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and hypothesize that tropical forests and agroforestry have similar characteristics, in contrast to the deforested areas used as cropland.
84 citations
Cites background from "Transition from forest-based to cer..."
...use changes have several undesirable consequences like decline in soil fertility, soil carbon and nitrogen stocks (Lemenih, 2004; Lemenih and Itanna, 2004; Tesfaye et al., 2016; Henok et al., 2017)....
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...MARK use changes have several undesirable consequences like decline in soil fertility, soil carbon and nitrogen stocks (Lemenih, 2004; Lemenih and Itanna, 2004; Tesfaye et al., 2016; Henok et al., 2017)....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the past and future of land management in Africa with a focus on northern Ethiopia, where the status of soils and forests change over the last century and how this impact people's livelihoods.
Abstract: This Special Issue of Land Degradation and Development addresses the past and the future of land management in Africa with a focus on northern Ethiopia. How did the status of soils and forests change over the last century? How does this impact people's livelihoods? In the late 19th century, gullies were already present in northern Ethiopia, though they had become stabilised by 1935. In the 1960s, a strong gully channel incision phase started, whereas since ca. 2000, gully erosion rates are again decreasing, which corresponds to increased conservation activities and improved vegetation cover. As a result, total cereal production in Ethiopia is now higher than ever, and also, food production per capita in 2005–2010 was 160% of that in 1985–1990. There is now a strong tendency to increase flower and vegetable exports, as well as a booming export of the mild narcotic khat, which is a high water consumer. International land deals did not bring improvements to the livelihood of the local people. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
65 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a hydrological and soil-erosion model, LISEM, was applied to the Gule catchment (~ 12 km2) in northern Ethiopia to evaluate its performance in describing event-based hydrologogical processes and sediment yield in a catchment under the influence of different water harvesting techniques.
Abstract: Runoff and sediment yield in semi-arid catchments are highly influenced by infrequent but very heavy rains. These events occur over short temporal scales, so runoff and sediment transport can only be understood using an event-based analysis. We applied a hydrological and soil-erosion model, LISEM, to the Gule catchment (~ 12 km2) in northern Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were: (a) to evaluate the performance of LISEM in describing event-based hydrological processes and sediment yield in a catchment under the influence of different water harvesting techniques (WHTs), and (b) to study the effect of the WHTs on catchment-scale event-based runoff and sediment yield. The model performed satisfactorily (NSE > 0.5) for most of the events when discharge was calibrated at the main outlet (Gule) and at a sub-outlet (Misbar). Runoff coefficients for the Gule catchment and Misbar sub-catchment were expectedly low due to the implementation of WHTs, which can store runoff from the rains and increase infiltration into the soil. Simulated and measured sediment yields were of similar orders of magnitude. LISEM generally overestimated sediment yield compared to the measurements. The poor performance of LISEM in predicting sediment yield could be attributed to the uncertainty of several factors controlling soil erosion and the inadequacy of LISEM in describing soil erosion on steep slopes. Catchment-scale model simulations indicated that runoff and sediment yield could be effectively reduced by implementing WHTs. The model estimated 41 and 61% reductions in runoff and sediment yield at the Gule outlet, respectively. Similarly, runoff and sediment yield at the Misbar sub-outlet were reduced by 45 and 48%, respectively. LISEM can thus be used to simulate the effects of different existing or new WHTs on catchment hydrology and sediment yield. The results of scenario predictions could be useful for land-use planners who intend to implement different measures of catchment management.
43 citations
TL;DR: The authors provide an initial review of some of the relational values articulated for agricultural systems associated with biodiversity conservation in a diverse literature and illustrate that these relational values are complex, contribute to the maintenance of multifunctional landscapes, and frequently do not adequately intersect with current conservation policy.
38 citations
References
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TL;DR: Intensive forestry practiced within subtropical forests resulted in the highest rates of forest change globally, and boreal forest loss due largely to fire and forestry was second to that in the tropics in absolute and proportional terms.
Abstract: Quantification of global forest change has been lacking despite the recognized importance of forest ecosystem services. In this study, Earth observation satellite data were used to map global forest loss (2.3 million square kilometers) and gain (0.8 million square kilometers) from 2000 to 2012 at a spatial resolution of 30 meters. The tropics were the only climate domain to exhibit a trend, with forest loss increasing by 2101 square kilometers per year. Brazil's well-documented reduction in deforestation was offset by increasing forest loss in Indonesia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Zambia, Angola, and elsewhere. Intensive forestry practiced within subtropical forests resulted in the highest rates of forest change globally. Boreal forest loss due largely to fire and forestry was second to that in the tropics in absolute and proportional terms. These results depict a globally consistent and locally relevant record of forest change.
7,890 citations
TL;DR: The large ecological and societal consequences of changing biodiversity should be minimized to preserve options for future solutions to global environmental problems.
Abstract: Human alteration of the global environment has triggered the sixth major extinction event in the history of life and caused widespread changes in the global distribution of organisms. These changes in biodiversity alter ecosystem processes and change the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change. This has profound consequences for services that humans derive from ecosystems. The large ecological and societal consequences of changing biodiversity should be minimized to preserve options for future solutions to global environmental problems.
3,977 citations
"Transition from forest-based to cer..." refers background in this paper
...Habitat conversion or modification by humans to produce goods and services is the most substantial human alteration of ecosystems threatening biodiversity (Chapin et al., 2000)....
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TL;DR: Tropical deforestation is driven by identifiable regional patterns of causal factor synergies, of which the most prominent are economic factors, institutions, national policies, and remote influences driving agricultural expansion, wood extraction, and infrastructure extension (at the proximate level).
Abstract: Articles O ne of the primary causes of global environmental change is tropical deforestation, but the question of what factors drive deforestation remains largely unanswered (NRC 1999). Various hypotheses have produced rich arguments , but empirical evidence on the causes of deforestation continues to be largely based on cross-national statistical In some cases, these analyses are based on debatable data on rates of forest cover change (Palo 1999). The two major, mutually exclusive—and still unsatisfactory—explanations for tropical deforestation are single-factor causation and irre-ducible complexity. On the one hand, proponents of single-factor causation suggest various primary causes, such as shift-On the other hand, correlations between deforestation and multiple causative factors are many and varied , revealing no distinct pattern In addition to chronicling these attempts to identify general causes of deforestation through global-scale statistical analyses, the literature is rich in local-scale case studies investigating the causes and processes of forest cover change in specific localities. Our aim with this study is to generate from local-scale case studies a general understanding of the prox-imate causes and underlying driving forces of tropical deforestation while preserving the descriptive richness of these studies. Proximate causes are human activities or immediate actions at the local level, such as agricultural expansion, that originate from intended land use and directly impact forest cover. Underlying driving forces are fundamental social processes, such as human population dynamics or agricultural policies, that underpin the proximate causes and either operate at the local level or have an indirect impact from the national or global level. We analyzed the frequency of proximate causes and underlying driving forces of deforestation, including their interactions , as reported in 152 subnational case studies. We show that tropical deforestation is driven by identifiable regional patterns of causal factor synergies, of which the most prominent are economic factors, institutions, national policies, and remote influences (at the underlying level) driving agricultural expansion, wood extraction, and infrastructure extension (at the proximate level). Our findings reveal that prior stud-Helmut Geist (e-mail: geist@geog.ucl.ac.be) is a postdoctoral researcher (geography) in the field of human drivers of global environmental change and executive director of the Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC) core project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Eric Lambin is a professor of geography with research interests in remote sensing and human ecology applied to studies of deforestation, desertification, and bio-mass burning in tropical regions. He is the chair of the IGBP and IHDP …
2,919 citations
28 Nov 2003
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the complexity of land-use/cover change and propose a framework for a more general understanding of the issue, with emphasis on tropical regions, and argue that a systematic analysis of local-scale land use change studies, conducted over a range of timescales, helps to uncover general principles that provide an explanation and prediction of new land use changes.
Abstract: We highlight the complexity of land-use/cover change and propose a framework for a more general understanding of the issue, with emphasis on tropical regions. The review summarizes recent estimates on changes in cropland, agricultural intensification, tropical deforestation, pasture expansion, and urbanization and identifies the still unmeasured land-cover changes. Climate-driven land-cover modifications interact with land-use changes. Land-use change is driven by synergetic factor combinations of resource scarcity leading to an increase in the pressure of production on resources, changing opportunities created by markets, outside policy intervention, loss of adaptive capacity, and changes in social organization and attitudes. The changes in ecosystem goods and services that result from land-use change feed back on the drivers of land-use change. A restricted set of dominant pathways of land-use change is identified. Land-use change can be understood using the concepts of complex adaptive systems and transitions. Integrated, place-based research on land-use/land-cover change requires a combination of the agent-based systems and narrative perspectives of understanding. We argue in this paper that a systematic analysis of local-scale land-use change studies, conducted over a range of timescales, helps to uncover general principles that provide an explanation and prediction of new land-use changes.
2,491 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the important farming systems of the tropics and introduce the farm-management problems that arise for each, identifying seven basically distinct systems; in each the economic implications of soil fertility, uncertainty, and labour productivity problems are discussed.
Abstract: Analysing the important farming systems of the tropics, this book introduces the farm-management problems that arise for each. It identifies seven basically distinct systems; in each the economic implications of soil fertility, uncertainty, and labour productivity problems are discussed, and consideration is given to the ways in which technological and farm-management changes can be made to overcome them. The third edition has updated case study data, and supplements on the methodology of cropping and farming system research.
1,001 citations
"Transition from forest-based to cer..." refers background in this paper
...Semi-permanent cultivation systems (Ruthenberg, 1983) in and at the margin of tropical forests are under threat worldwide (e.g. De Jong et al., 2001; Fleskens & Jorritsma, 2010) and such is also the case in southwest Ethiopia (Engdawork & Bork, 2016)....
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...Semi-permanent cultivation systems (Ruthenberg, 1983) in and at the margin of tropical forests are under threat worldwide (e....
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