Land degradation has been a global agenda. It has been affecting both developed and
developing nations (including Ethiopia). The overall objective of the study was to assess
the impact of landscape restoration (including area closure) on the environment and
farmers‘ livelihood in Hita-Borkena watershed, northeastern Ethiopia. Three Landsat
images (1986, 2001 and 2015) were used to detect land cover dynamics. Laboratory
analysis of selected soil physico-chemical properties were made to compare the soil
properties of closed/restored and open grazing areas. Household questionnaire was
administered to investigate environmental problems before and after landscape
restoration, the role of area closure and different conservation measures, and the
impact of the restoration on farmers‘ livelihood. A total of 255 household heads were
selected randomly for the questionnaire survey. This survey was also substantiated by
interviewing agricultural experts, observation and reviewing reports prepared by Kalu
District Agriculture Office. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to
analyze quantitative data. Besides, qualitative approach was implemented in order to
analyze qualitative data. The study found out that forestlands and shrublands shrunk
through 1986 – 2015, grasslands expanded mainly due to the implementation of area
closure under MERET project since 2001. The study revealed that better organic
matter, total nitrogen, clay and silt contents, CEC and total porosity were recorded
under area closure than under open grazing land. However, both available P and K
were found minimum under the former land use type. This may be due to the reason
that such nutrients exist more in unavailable form or it may be because of the fact that
large amount of those nutrients are extracted by the restored vegetation. The study
showed that rates of soil erosion, overgrazing and illegal cutting of trees were relatively
higher before landscape restoration. The respondents also appreciated the positive role
of land restoration in improving the fertility of the soils of the study watershed and then
the positive impact to their livelihood. Based on the results of the study, it is
recommended that similar restoration activities shall be implemented in similar
environments in Ethiopia to improve both the environment and farmers‘ livelihood / Geography / Ph. D. (Geography)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/26152 |
| Date | 10 1900 |
| Creators | Alemayehu Assefa Ayele |
| Contributors | Yimer, Assefa Abegaz, Mini, Simphiwe |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xiv, 211 leaves) : color photographs, graphs (chiefly color), color maps, application/pdf |
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