Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia

Land restoration is considered to be the remedy for 21st century global challenges of land degradation. As a result, various land restoration and conservation efforts are underway at different scales. Ethiopia is one of the countries with huge investments in land restoration. Tremendous land managem...

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Autores principales: Abera, Wuletawu, Tamene, Lulseged D., Tibebe, Degefie, Adimassu, Zenebe, Kassa, Habtemariam, Hailu, Habtamu, Mekonnen, Kindu, Desta, Gizaw, Sommer, Rolf, Verchot, Louis V.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102501
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author Abera, Wuletawu
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Tibebe, Degefie
Adimassu, Zenebe
Kassa, Habtemariam
Hailu, Habtamu
Mekonnen, Kindu
Desta, Gizaw
Sommer, Rolf
Verchot, Louis V.
author_browse Abera, Wuletawu
Adimassu, Zenebe
Desta, Gizaw
Hailu, Habtamu
Kassa, Habtemariam
Mekonnen, Kindu
Sommer, Rolf
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Tibebe, Degefie
Verchot, Louis V.
author_facet Abera, Wuletawu
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Tibebe, Degefie
Adimassu, Zenebe
Kassa, Habtemariam
Hailu, Habtamu
Mekonnen, Kindu
Desta, Gizaw
Sommer, Rolf
Verchot, Louis V.
author_sort Abera, Wuletawu
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Land restoration is considered to be the remedy for 21st century global challenges of land degradation. As a result, various land restoration and conservation efforts are underway at different scales. Ethiopia is one of the countries with huge investments in land restoration. Tremendous land management practices have been implemented across the country since the 1970s. However, the spatial distribution of the interventions has not been documented, and there is no systematic, quantitative evidence on whether land restoration efforts have achieved the restoration of desired ecosystem services. Therefore, we carried out a meta‐analysis of peer‐reviewed scientific literature related to land restoration efforts and their impacts in Ethiopia. Results show that most of the large‐scale projects have been implemented in the highlands, specifically in Tigray and Amhara regions covering about 24 agro‐ecological zones, and land restoration impact studies are mostly focused in the highlands but restricted in about 11 agro‐ecological zones. The highest mean effect on agricultural productivity is obtained from the combination of bunds and biological interventions followed by conservation agriculture practices with 170 % and 18% increases, respectively. However, bunds alone, biological intervention alone, and terracing (Fanya Juu) reveal negative effects on productivity. The mean effect of all land restoration interventions on soil organic carbon is positive, the highest effect being from “bunds + biological” (139%) followed by exclosure (90%). Reduced soil erosion and runoff are the dominant impacts of all interventions. The results can be used to improve existing guidelines to better match land restoration options with specific desired ecosystem functions and services. While the focus of this study was on the evaluation of the impacts of land restoration efforts on selected ecosystem services, impacts on livelihood and national socio‐economy have not been examined. Thus, strengthening socio‐economic studies at national scale to assess the sustainability of land restoration initiatives are an essential next step.
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spelling CGSpace1025012025-11-12T06:51:12Z Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia Abera, Wuletawu Tamene, Lulseged D. Tibebe, Degefie Adimassu, Zenebe Kassa, Habtemariam Hailu, Habtamu Mekonnen, Kindu Desta, Gizaw Sommer, Rolf Verchot, Louis V. land restoration land degradation landscape conservation ecosystem services ecological restoration Land restoration is considered to be the remedy for 21st century global challenges of land degradation. As a result, various land restoration and conservation efforts are underway at different scales. Ethiopia is one of the countries with huge investments in land restoration. Tremendous land management practices have been implemented across the country since the 1970s. However, the spatial distribution of the interventions has not been documented, and there is no systematic, quantitative evidence on whether land restoration efforts have achieved the restoration of desired ecosystem services. Therefore, we carried out a meta‐analysis of peer‐reviewed scientific literature related to land restoration efforts and their impacts in Ethiopia. Results show that most of the large‐scale projects have been implemented in the highlands, specifically in Tigray and Amhara regions covering about 24 agro‐ecological zones, and land restoration impact studies are mostly focused in the highlands but restricted in about 11 agro‐ecological zones. The highest mean effect on agricultural productivity is obtained from the combination of bunds and biological interventions followed by conservation agriculture practices with 170 % and 18% increases, respectively. However, bunds alone, biological intervention alone, and terracing (Fanya Juu) reveal negative effects on productivity. The mean effect of all land restoration interventions on soil organic carbon is positive, the highest effect being from “bunds + biological” (139%) followed by exclosure (90%). Reduced soil erosion and runoff are the dominant impacts of all interventions. The results can be used to improve existing guidelines to better match land restoration options with specific desired ecosystem functions and services. While the focus of this study was on the evaluation of the impacts of land restoration efforts on selected ecosystem services, impacts on livelihood and national socio‐economy have not been examined. Thus, strengthening socio‐economic studies at national scale to assess the sustainability of land restoration initiatives are an essential next step. 2020-01-15 2019-08-13T16:08:34Z 2019-08-13T16:08:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102501 en Limited Access application/pdf Wiley Abera, W.; Tamene, L.; Tibebe, D.; Adimassu, Z.; Kassa, H.; Hailu, H.; Mekonnen, K.; Desta, G.; Summer, R.; Verchot, L. (2020) Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia. Land Degradation & Development 31(1) p. 37–52 ISSN: 1099-145X
spellingShingle land restoration
land degradation
landscape conservation
ecosystem services
ecological restoration
Abera, Wuletawu
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Tibebe, Degefie
Adimassu, Zenebe
Kassa, Habtemariam
Hailu, Habtamu
Mekonnen, Kindu
Desta, Gizaw
Sommer, Rolf
Verchot, Louis V.
Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia
title Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia
title_full Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia
title_short Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia
title_sort characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in ethiopia
topic land restoration
land degradation
landscape conservation
ecosystem services
ecological restoration
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102501
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