slopes are often steep, and lithosols (shallow soils consisting of imperfectly weathered rock fragments) abound, accounting for another 10 percent of the continents surface. Based on the classification, two sub watersheds fell under very low erosion severity classes (01 ton/ha/yr), 22 sub-watersheds fell under low erosion severity classes (15 ton/ha/yr). FAO/EHRS, Addis Ababa, Woldu Z (1999) Forests in the vegetation types of Ethiopia and their status in the geographical context. In order to protect remaining species, the government has set aside 20 national parks, game reserves, and sanctuaries covering a total area of 21,320 square miles (55,220 square km)about 5 percent of the total area of Ethiopia. /MaxWidth 2000 EurLex-2 Because Ethiopia is located in the tropical latitudes, its areas of lower elevation experience climatic conditions typical of tropical savanna or desert. Leuven, Relief Society of Tigray, Africa Museum and Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nyssen J, Frankl A, Haile M, Hurni H, Descheemaeker K, Crummey D, Ritler A, Portner B, Nievergelt B, Moeyersons J, Munro N, Deckers J, Billi P, Poesen J (2014) Environmental conditions and human drivers for changes to north Ethiopian mountain landscapes over 145years. The finding was also consistent with the finding of Belayneh et al. The second group of soils, eutric cambisols and ferric and orthic luvisols, are found in the Simien plateau of the Western Highlands. 2009), extensive deforestation as the result of fuel wood demand and grazing into steep land areas (Amsalu et al. The fifth soil group is lithosols found primarily in the Denakil Plain. The moderate and low soil erosion severity areas should be managed through terracing, inter-cropping, contour farming, strip cropping, conservation tillage, mulching and biological stabilizers based on their slope range, soil type and land use type. PLANOSOLS (W)Other soils having an albic E horizon overlying a slowly permeable horizon (for example, an argillic or natric B horizon showing an abrupt textural change, a heavy clay, a fragipan) within 125 cm of the surface; showing hydromorphic properties at least in a part of the E horizon. Therefore, the soil erosion could be reduced if the current land use land cover scenario is considered. The result reveals that from the gross 456,415.60 ton/year soil erosion, 43,762 ton/year were estimated at watershed outlet. The first type is composed of euritic nitosols and andosols and is found on portions of the Western and Eastern highlands. Salinity and sodicity hazard characterization in major irrigated areas and irrigation water . 556 556 556 556 333 500 278 556 500 722 500 500 500 0 0 0 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1770.2011.00489.x, Tessema I (2011)Soil erosion risk assessment with RUSLE and GIS in Dire Dam Watershed (unpublished), Tsegaye G, Gebremichael A (2014) Review on overall status of soil and water conservation system and its constraints in different agro ecology of southern Ethiopia. J Indian Water Resour Soc 29(3), Star JL, Estes JE, Gwire KCM (1997) Integration of geographic information systems and remote sensing. Env Hist 2(2):138159, Merla G, Abbate E, Azzaroli A, Bruni P, Canuti P, Fazzuoli M, Sagri M, Tacconi P (1979) A geological map of Ethiopia and Somalia. Cont Min Petrol 166(2):351370, Nyssen J, Poesen J, Moeyersons J, Deckers J, Haile M, Lang A (2004) Human impact on the environment in the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlandsa state of the art. Lithosols, Cambisols, Nitosols, Vertisols, Xerosols, Solonchaks, Fluvisols and Luvisols cover more than 80% of the country . (2014) GIS Based Soil Loss Estimation Using RUSLE Model: The Case of Jabi Tehinan Woreda, ANRS, Ethiopia. The predominant vegetation dry shrub steppe and grassland. Nitosols develop on gently sloping ground. Dijo watershed is the largest watershed in Rift valley Basin of Ethiopia. 2001). Paolo Billi . Podzols having a thin iron pan in or over the spodic B horizon, Other Podzols showing hydromorphic properties within 50 cm of the surface, Other Podzols having a B horizon in which a subhorizon contains dispersed organic matter and lacks sufficient free iron to turn redder on ignition, Other Podzols in which the ratio of percentage of free iron to percentage of carbon is 6 or more in all subhorizons of the B horizon, Other Podzols lacking or having only a thin (2 cm or less) and discontinuous albic E horizon; lacking a subhorizon within the B horizon which is visibly more enriched with carbon. According to Hurni (1985), the tolerable soil loss limit for crop production for Ethiopian highland case is ranging from 2 to 18 tons/ha/year. DC, USA. The soils of Ethiopia can be classified into five principal types. (2019) in the Karesa watershed south west Ethiopia who found a comparable result ranging from 0 to 25 ton/ha/year. LUVISOLS (L)Other soils having an argillic B horizon. startxref In the central highlands of Ethiopia, the main soil parent material is olivine basalt of tertiary age. 6 Tidal flushing must be strong enough to remove the alkalinity formed in the process of pyrite for- mation. Soil degradation in the 2} } \right), $$, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-020-01017-z, Soil erosion and sediment yield assessment using RUSLE and GIS-based approach in Anjeb watershed, Northwest Ethiopia, Application of revised universal soil loss equation model for assessment of soil erosion and prioritization of ravine infested sub basins of a semi-arid river system in India, Geospatial assessment of soil erosion intensity and sediment yield: a case study of Potohar Region, Pakistan, Estimation of soil loss using remote sensing and GIS-based universal soil loss equation in northern catchment of Lake Tana Sub-basin, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Northwest Ethiopia, Soil erosion estimation using RUSLE and GIS techniquesa study of a plateau fringe region of tropical environment, Estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield concentration across the Kolleru Lake catchment using GIS, Estimating water erosion using RUSLE, GIS and remote sensing in Wadi-Qandeel river basin, Lattakia, Syria, Potential soil erosion estimation and area prioritization for better conservation planning in Gumara watershed using RUSLE and GIS techniques, Spatial distribution of soil erosion and sediment yield in the Pra River Basin, https://doi.org/10.3844/ajessp.2015.245.255, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-019-0188-2, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9904-8, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2005.03.012, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1770.2011.00489.x, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Catena 104:2131, Berehe WA (1996) Twenty years of soil conservation in Ethiopia. Whereas the rest low and moderate soil erosion risk classes account 24.7% and 5.07%, respectively (Table8). 15). /Type /FontDescriptor Finally, the raster map has been reclassified based on their erodibility values. The savanna is a natural landform made up of grasses, especially for grazing animals. The major part of the Simien Mountains consists of remnants of a Hawaiian-type shield volcano. 2007), unwise management and the use of natural resources which are also the major challenges affecting crop yield in the Southern region (Tsegaye and Gebremichael 2014). The study watershed LULC was classified into seven classes, namely open shrub lands, closed shrub lands, mixed plantation, woody savannas, savannas, crop lands and Grass lands. Soilsdeveloped over the lava deposits are mainly lithosols, while regosols are predominant on the Quaternary and pre-Cretaceous basinal deposits. occurrence in South America In South America: Soils slopes are often steep, and lithosols (shallow soils consisting of imperfectly weathered rock fragments) abound, accounting for another 10 percent of the continent's surface. /StemH 78 J Petrol 45:793834, Ibrahim KM (1978) Phytogeographical divisions of Africa. None of these Soil Groups had further subdivisions. 1997). 1.1 and to Lorenzo Orioli for the information and photos of the Sanetti Plain. The Genwarar trees are seldom above eight feet in height, and from a distance could give the appearance or shape of a human being. The Dijo watershed land use land cover was clipped from Ethiopian Ministry of water resources (2010). J Afr Earth Sci 45:478488. Agriculture is the main source of income in Ethiopia. Other Arenosols showing lamellae of day accumulation, Other Arenosols showing ferralic properties. (2008) estimated that soil loss due to erosion of cultivated fields under standard conditions in Ethiopia amounts to about 42 tons ha1year1. Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. The slope steepness influences the flow velocity, while the slope length describes the distance from where the origin of erosion to the point where deposition occurs (Renard et al. http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/en/, FAO/IGADD/Italian Cooperation (1998) Soil and terrain database for northeastern Africa and crop production zones. /Subtype /TrueType This accounts for the influence of soil and cover management, such as tillage practices, cropping types, crop rotation, fallow, etc., on soil erosion rates. Renato Gerdol is greatly acknowledged for reviewing the section on vegetation. This could be attributed to mixed plantation of acacia species, Eucalyptus globulus, and cupperesus lustanica. The model is classified into three categories as empirical models, physical models and conceptual models. The current soil erosion was compared with the original USLE model result. The annual mean soil loss rate for each woreda was estimated and each woreda erosion severities were compared with the tolerable soil loss limit. 2011). In: Pilger A, Rosler A (eds) Afar depression of Ethiopia. The soils of Ethiopia can be classified into five principal types. and map erosion vulnerable areas using RUSLE model. Major soil types and Soil Erodibility (K_factor) map of the study area. The inherent characteristics of soil also influence the rate of soil erosion. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. using RUSEL models. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. (2019) in (Table5). 0 0 0 556 0 0 0 556 0 0 0 0 0 0 222 0 The current finding also in consistence with the finding of Tessema (2011), who reported the annual Soil loss for Dire Dam Watershed from 0.00 to 263.25 ton/ha/year, Amsalu and Mengaw(2014), reported the annual soil loss in Jabi Tehinan Woreda ranges from nearly 0 in south and central parts of the area to 504.6 ton/ha/year in steeply sloping mountainous areas of the north and north-eastern parts of the catchments. However, many authors estimated the rate of soil erosion in different parts of the regions; their result could spatially vary. Policy aim at keeping land productivity will need to focus to reduce low and moderate soil erosion through terracing, inter-cropping, contour farming, strip cropping, conservation tillage, mulching and biological stabilizers based on their slope range, soil type and land use type. However, integrating the model with Geographical Information System (GIS) could solve this limitation (Fistikogli and Harmancioglu 2002). This study tried to quantify and map soil erosion in Dijo watershed. 8), which is within the ranges of Bekele et al. 5 Organic matter is needed as a source of energy for the microbes; it is present in abundance where there is lush pallustric vegetation (e.g. Of the 25 World Reference Base/FAO soil orders, 17 exist in Ethiopia. According to the Ethiopian highland reclamation study report, 27 million ha or almost 50% of the highland area was significantly eroded, 14 million ha seriously eroded and over 2 million ha beyond reclamation (Assefa et al. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. This study had integrated Geographic Information System (GIS), Six Meteorological stations data were collected for the estimation of rainfall. This study has been conducted at Dijo watersheds in the Rift valley Basins of Ethiopia to estimate soil erosion rate and identify erosion hotspot areas for proper planning using Geographic Information System and Universal Soil Loss Equation adapted to Ethiopian condition. Solonetz showing hydromorphic properties within 50 cm of the surface. In the two South Hemisphere ecoregions, soils on older substrata of uplands are generally highly leached lithosols in South Africa and by laterites and the process of podzolization in southern Australia; they have been exposed to weathering since the Paleozoic or even the Precambrian. Soil erosion is the main drivers in the world and Ethiopia in particular. The Kidus Yared peak is situated near the middle of the shield volcano. /AvgWidth 441 and river banks have been identified as the most erosion vulnerable areas. 2018. Soil erosion risk and sediment yield assessment with universal soil loss equation and GIS: in Dijo watershed, Rift valley Basin of Ethiopia, $$ {\mathbf{R}}\, = \,{\mathbf{0}}. Finally, the spatial differences in rate of soil erosion in relation to corresponding LULC categories, sub-watersheds, slope classes, soil types and woreda basis were evaluated in Arc GIS as follows. Using the empirical equations, the sediment yield at the watershed outlet was calculated as follows. They are a World Heritage Site and include the Simien Mountains National Park. Xerosols having an argillic B horizon; a calcic or gypsic horizon may underlie the B horizon, Other Xerosols having a gypsic horizon within 125 cm of the surface, Other Xerosols having a calcic horizon within 125 cm of the surface. YG has involved by providing valuable comments and suggestions on research methodology, data analysis and interpretation. PHAEOZEMS (H)Other soils having a mollic A horizon. Discussed further in Frederick J. Simoons, "Snow in Ethiopia: A Review of the Evidence", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Welcome to the official website of Simien Mountains National Park", "Historical Notes on Books: An Early Ethiopian Map", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Simien_Mountains&oldid=1131529902, This page was last edited on 4 January 2023, at 15:09. The characteristics of soil, watershed topography (gently sloping and sloping), lack of vegetation cover, cultivation of steep slope without engineering measures, free grazing and sand extraction contributed for moderate soil erosion. Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Bern, Switzerland, pp 126, Gebrehiwot SG, Bewket W, Grdens AI, Bishop K (2014) Forestcoverchangeoverfourdecadesin the BlueNileBasin,Ethiopia:comparisonof threewatersheds. variables were used as input model parameters/variables. Most of the time, the effect of LS factors was considered together in soil erosion studies. 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