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Impacts of Integrated Watershed Management Interventions on Land Use/Land Cover of Yesir Watershed in Northwestern Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw

    (Institute of Land Administration, Debre Markos University (DMU), Debre Markos 269, Ethiopia)

  • Mulutesfa Alemu Desta

    (Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Office, Bure Zuria District, Bure, Ethiopia)

  • Reinfried Mansberger

    (Institute of Geomatics, BOKU University, Peter Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria)

Abstract

Since 2002, numerous sustainable land management (SLM) interventions have been implemented in Ethiopia, such as agroforestry, area closure, forage development, gully rehabilitation, and conservation agriculture. In addition, watershed-based developments contributed comprehensively to a better use of existing natural resources. This study determined the impact of Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) on land use/land cover for the Yesir watershed in Northern Ethiopia. Supervised image classification algorithms were applied to a time series of Landsat 5 (2002) and Landsat 8 (2013 and 2022) images to produce land use/land cover maps. A Geographic Information System was applied to analyze and map changes in land use/land cover for settlements, agricultural land, grazing land, and land covered with other vegetation. In focus group discussions, the time series maps were analyzed and compared with the integrated watershed management practices to analyze their impacts. The results document that integrated watershed management practices have contributed to a significant change in land use/land cover in the study area over the past 20 years. The quantitative analysis of land use/land cover between the years 2002 and 2022 only revealed a downward trend in agricultural land. Considering the value of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a biophysical feature for the increase of green mass, this indicator also documents an improvement in land use/land cover with regard to sustainable land management and consequently poverty alleviation.

Suggested Citation

  • Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw & Mulutesfa Alemu Desta & Reinfried Mansberger, 2024. "Impacts of Integrated Watershed Management Interventions on Land Use/Land Cover of Yesir Watershed in Northwestern Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:7:p:918-:d:1421186
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hailu, Alemenesh & Mammo, Siraj & Kidane, Moges, 2020. "Dynamics of land use, land cover change trend and its drivers in Jimma Geneti District, Western Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Alelgn Ewunetu & Belay Simane & Ermias Teferi & Benjamin F. Zaitchik, 2021. "Land Cover Change in the Blue Nile River Headwaters: Farmers’ Perceptions, Pressures, and Satellite-Based Mapping," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-25, January.
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    Cited by:

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