Roles of watershed management interventions in enhancing woody plant species diversity and vegetation restoration: Evidence from Ethiopia’s Central Highland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20372/gc99ag35Keywords:
Watershed management; Woody plant species diversity; Vegetation restoration; Vegetation structureAbstract
Watershed management (WSM) has emerged as a key strategy for rehabilitating degraded lands, conserving biodiversity, and enhancing agricultural productivity in developing coun- tries. However, the contribution of WSM to biodiversity conservation and vegetation restora- tion has little been assessed in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the role of WSM in biodiversity conservation and vegetation restoration, using the highly degraded Central Ethiopian Highland region as a case study site. In this study, it was hypothesized that good watershed management enhances woody plant species diversity and restores vegetation. The research involved a comparative analysis of two micro-watersheds: Laga-Gur (well-treated) and Laga-Jaldu (less-treated), which share similar agroecological and biophysical characteris- tics but differing in degree of management intervention. The study used field vegetation in- ventory and key informant interview as primary data sources. A total of twenty-four sample plots, each covering an area of 20m * 20m (400m2), were systematically set up along transect lines to evaluate vegetation status. Additionally, subplots measuring 5m * 5m (25m2) and 1m
* 1m (1m2) were established within the main plots to inventory shrubs and herbaceous plants, respectively. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics like frequencies and percentages and inferential statistics like t-test. The comparative analysis of vegetation status revealed that the Laga-Gur watershed (well-treated) had significantly higher overall mean diversity (3.482) and richness (42) and higher evenness (0.774) of woody plant species than the Laga-Jaldu wa- tershed (less-treated) with 2.701, 25, and 0.727 respectively, highlighting the positive impact of watershed interventions on biodiversity conservation. On the other hand, the vegetation community distribution showed the order of seedling < sapling < trees/shrubs in both wa- tersheds indicating the poor vegetation regeneration status in the study area. The study result underscored the significance of watershed management interventions in boosting woody plant species diversity and overall ecological functioning. Therefore, strengthening watershed man- agement initiatives is essential for conserving biodiversity in the central highlands of Ethiopia and other regions of the country.
References
Abi, M., Kessler, A., Oosterveer, P., & Tolossa, D. (2020). How farmers’ characteristics influence spontaneous spreading of stone bunds in the highlands of ethiopia: A case study in the girar jarso woreda. Environmental Development and Sustainability, 22, 317–335. https : / / doi . org / 10 . 1007 / s10668-018-0203-2
Abunie, A. A., & Dalle, G. (2018). Woody species diver- sity, structure, and regeneration status of Yemrehane Kirstos Church Forest of Lasta Woreda, North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. International Journal of Forestry Research, 2018, 5302523. https://doi.org/10.1155/ 2018/5302523
Ahuja, S., Ahuja, S., & Ahuja, U. (2024). Carissa carrandas l. and c. spinarum l. Scholarly Academic Journal of Biosciences, 6, 121–144. https://doi.org/10.36347/sajb.2024.v12i06.002
Akhtar, N., Syakir Ishak, M. I., Bhawani, S. A., & Umar, K. (2021). Various natural and anthropogenic factors responsible for water quality degradation: A review. Water, 13(19), 2660.
Aragaw, H. S., Nohr, D., & Callo-Concha, D. (2021). Nutritional potential of underutilized edible plant species in cof- fee agroforestry systems of yayu, southwestern ethiopia. Agroforestry Systems, 95(6), 1047–1059. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10457-021-00626-6
Argaw, T., Abi, M., & Abate, E. (2023). The impact of watershed development and management practices on rural liveli- hoods: A structural equation modeling approach. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 9(1), 2243107. https://doi.org/10. 1080/23311932.2023.2243107
Arshed, A. B., Masood, M., Zafar, M. A., Nabi, G., & Iqbal, M. (2023). Effective management of the watershed in re- sponse to historical climate change using a gis-based multi-criteria decision analysis (mcda). Journal of Water and Climate Change, 14(9), 3178–3202. https://doi.org/ 10.2166/wcc.2023.215
Asmamaw, M. (2011). The role of area closure for soil and woody veg- etation rehabilitation in kewot district, north shewa [Mas- ter’s thesis, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia] [Retrieved from https://projectng.com/topic/en11735/].
Asnake, B. (2024). Land degradation and possible mitigation mea- sures in ethiopia: A review. Journal of Agricultural Exten- sion and Rural Development, 23–29. https://doi.org/http:
//www.academicjournals.org/JAERD
Ayalew, T., & Alemu, S. (2021). Woody plant species diversity of dembeza natural forest, enebsae sarmider district, north western ethiopia. Journal of Plant Sciences, 9(4), 175–181. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20210904.17
Bekele-Tesemma, A. (2007). Useful trees and shrubs for ethiopia: Identification, propagation and management for 17 agro- climatic zones. RELMA in ICRAF Project, World Agro- forestry Centre, Eastern Africa Region Nairobi.
Berhanu, A., Demissew, S., Woldu, Z., & Didita, M. (2017). Woody species composition and structure of kuandisha afromon- tane forest fragment in northwestern ethiopia. Journal of Forestry Research, 28, 343–355. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11676-016-0329-8
Berlie, A. B., & Belay Ferede, M. (2021). Practices and challenges of integrated watershed management in the amhara region of ethiopia: Case study of gonji kolela district. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 64(13), 2410–
https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1873750 Birhanu, B. Z., Desta, G., Cofie, O., Tilahun, S. A., & Mabhaudhi,
T. (2024). Restoring degraded landscapes and sustain- ing livelihoods: Sustainability assessment (cum-review) of integrated landscape management in sub-saharan africa. Frontiers in Climate, 6, 1338259. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fclim.2024.1338259
Bishaw, D. (2022). Assessing the constraints of watershed man- agement practices of smallholder farmers evidence from hidabu abote woreda of north shewa zone in oromia re- gion, ethiopia. Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change,
(2). https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7617.1000631
Cao, Z., Wang, S., Luo, P., Xie, D., & Zhu, W. (2022). Watershed eco- hydrological processes in a changing environment: Op- portunities and challenges. Water, 14(9), 1502. https : / / doi.org/10.3390/w14091502
Cheng, Z., Aakala, T., & Larjavaara, M. (2023). Elevation, aspect, and slope influence woody vegetation structure and com- position but not species richness in a human-influenced landscape in northwestern yunnan, china. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 6, 1187724. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/ffgc.2023.1187724
Chikamai, B., Eyog-Matig, O., & Mbogga, M. (2004). Review and appraisal on the status of indigenous fruits in eastern africa (tech. rep.) (Available online at: https : / / www . citypopulation.de/en/ethiopia/admin/).
Dinko, D. H., & Bahati, I. (2023). A review of the impact of cli- mate change on water security and livelihoods in semiarid africa: Cases from kenya, malawi, and ghana. Climate Risk Communications Journal, 1, 107–118. https://doi.org/10. 1162/crcj_a_00002
Ekka, P., Patra, S., Upreti, M., Kumar, G., Kumar, A., & Saikia, P. (2023). Land degradation and its impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. In Land and environmental man- agement through forestry (pp. 77–101). Elsevier.
Gambella Journal of Water, Agriculture and Organization (GJWAO). (2010). Annual report on natural resource man- agement and environmental protection in gambella region (tech. rep.). GJWAO. Gambella, Ethiopia.
Gashu, K., & Muchie, Y. (2018). Rethink the interlink between land degradation and livelihood of rural communities in chilga district, northwest ethiopia. Journal of Ecology and Envi- ronmental Sciences, 42, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s41610-018-0077-0
Gebirehiwot, H. T., Kedanu, A. A., Guangel, A. A., & Adugna, M. T. (2023). Floristic composition, structure, and regeneration status of woody plant species in hurubu natural forest, north shewa, oromia region, ethiopia. Journal of Land- scape Ecology. https://doi.org/10.2478/jlecol-2023-0005
Gebregergs, T., Teka, K., Taye, G., Gidey, E., & Dikinya, O. (2021). Status and challenges of integrated watershed manage- ment practices after-project phased-out in eastern tigray, ethiopia. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-021-01108-5
Gebreselassie, S., Kirui, O. K., & Mirzabaev, A. (2016). Economics of land degradation and improvement in ethiopia. In Eco- nomics of land degradation and improvement–a global assessment for sustainable development (pp. 401–430). Springer.
George-Williams, H. E., Hunt, D. V., & Rogers, C. D. (2024). Sus- tainable water infrastructure: Visions and options for sub- saharan africa. Sustainability, 16(4), 1592. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/su16041592
Getahun, Y. S., Tesfay, F., Kassegne, A. B., & Moges, A. S. (2024). Geospatial based soil loss rate and land degradation as- sessment in debre berhan regio-politan city, upper blue nile basin, central ethiopia. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 15(1), 2359993. https : / / doi . org / 10 . 1080 / 19475705.2024.2359993
Habtu, S. (2024). Revitalizing key conditions and integrated water- shed management to mitigate land degradation and sus- tain water availability for agriculture in semi-arid regions: A case study of ethiopia. Qeios. https://doi.org/10.32388/ 6X185Z.2
Hedberg, I. (1996). Flora of ethiopia and eritrea. The Biodiversity of African Plants: Proceedings XIVth AETFAT Congress, 22– 27.
Hedberg, I., & Edwards, S. (1989). Flora of ethiopia, volume 3: Pit- tosporaceae to araliaceae. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University.
Hu, G., Zhang, Z., Wu, H., & Li, L. (2023). Factors influencing the distribution of woody plants in tropical karst hills, south china. PeerJ, 11, e16331. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj. 16331
Huang, Y., Li, X., Liu, D., Duan, B., Huang, X., & Chen, S. (2024). Evaluation of vegetation restoration effectiveness along the yangtze river shoreline and its response to land use changes. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 7611. https://doi.org/ 10.1038/s41598-024-58188-3
Kang, Y., Zhang, K., Zhang, Y., & Zhao, L. (2024). Hydrological re- sponse to vegetation restoration and urban sprawl in typi- cal hydrologic years within a semiarid river basin in china. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12, 1410918. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1410918
Kent, M., & Coker, P. (1992). Vegetation description and analysis: A practical approach. Belhaven Press.
Kirui, O. K., & Mirzabaev, A. (2014). Economics of land degradation in eastern africa (tech. rep.). ZEF Working Paper Series.
Koricho, H. H., Shumi, G., Gebreyesus, T., Song, S., & Fufa, F. (2021). Woody plant species diversity and composition in and around debre libanos church forests of north shoa zone of oromiya, ethiopia. Journal of Forestry Research, 32, 1929–1939. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-020-01241-4
Li, J., Zhao, C., Peng, Y., Hu, Y., & Yuan, X. (2018). Edge effects on tree growth and species diversity in forests of different types and ages. Polish Journal of Ecology, 66(3), 239–249. https://doi.org/10.3161/15052249PJE2018.66.3.004
Luck, G. W., Chan, K. M., & Fay, J. P. (2009). Protecting ecosystem services and biodiversity in the world’s watersheds. Con- servation Letters, 2(4), 179–188. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1755-263X.2009.00064.x
Masresha, G., Deribie, A. G., & Walle, G. C. (2023). Woody species composition, structure, and regeneration status of Gosh- Beret dry evergreen forest patch, South Gondar Zone, Northeast Ethiopia. International Journal of Forestry Re- search, 2023, 5380034. https : / /doi.org/10.1155/2023/ 5380034
Meena, V. S., Gora, J. S., Singh, A., Ram, C., Meena, N. K., Rouphael, Y., & Kumar, P. (2022). Underutilized fruit crops of indian arid and semi-arid regions: Importance, conservation and utilization strategies. Horticulturae, 8(2), 171. https://doi. org/10.3390/horticulturae8020171
Mekonnen, A. B., Wassie, W. A., Ayalew, H., & Gebreegziabher,
B. G. (2022). Species composition, structure, and regen- eration status of woody plants and anthropogenic distur- bances in zijje maryam church forest, ethiopia. Scientifica, 2022(1), 8607003. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8607003
Menhinick, E. F. (1964). A comparison of some species-individuals diversity indices applied to samples of field insects. Ecol- ogy, 45(4), 859–861. https://doi.org/10.2307/1934933
Mersha, A. N., de Fraiture, C., Masih, I., & Alamirew, T. (2021). Dilemmas of integrated water resources management im- plementation in the awash river basin, ethiopia: Irrigation development versus environmental flows. Water Environ- ment Journal, 35(1), 402–416. https://doi.org/10.2166/ wp.2015.049
Mishra, R. K., & Agarwal, R. (2024). Sustainable forest land man- agement to restore degraded lands. In S. N. Kulshreshtha
(Ed.), Sustainable forest management surpassing climate change and land degradation (Vol. 19). Springer.
Moges, D. M., & Bhat, H. G. (2020). Watershed degrada- tion and management practices in north-western high- land ethiopia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(10), 664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08628-
Mondal, S., & Palit, D. (2022). Challenges in natural resource man- agement for ecological sustainability. In Natural resources conservation and advances for sustainability (pp. 29–59). Elsevier.
Muir, C., Smith, A. C., & Agrawal, A. (2023). Climate change, degradation, and land acquisitions: Evaluating inequali- ties among competing interests for suitable cropland in ethiopia. Ecology and Society, 28(1). https://doi.org/10. 5751/ES-13934-280146
Naji, T. A., Teka, M. A., & Alemu, E. A. (2024a). Designing a frame- work to analyze the impact of watershed development on socioeconomic development: Integrating literature, the- ory, and practice. GeoJournal, 89(5), 223. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10708-024-11223-2
Naji, T. A., Teka, M. A., & Alemu, E. A. (2024b). Enhancing water- shed management in developing countries: Insights from ethiopia. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 131. https : / /doi . org/10.1007/s43621-024-00334-y
Negasa, D. J. (2020). Major constraints of watershed management practices in ethiopia and ways forward. International Jour- nal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 8(4), 70–76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20200804.11
Nzeyimana, L., Danielsson, Å., Andersson, L., & Gyberg, V. B. (2023). Success and failure factors for increasing sub- saharan african smallholders’ resilience to drought through water management. International Journal of Wa- ter Resources Development, 39(2), 273–293. https://doi. org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1991285
Perez, C., & Tschinkel, H. (2003). Improving watershed management in developing countries: A framework for prioritising sites and practices (tech. rep.). Overseas Development Institute. Razafindratsima, O. H., Brown, K. A., Carvalho, F., Johnson, S. E., Wright, P. C., & Dunham, A. E. (2018). Edge effects on components of diversity and above-ground biomass in a
tropical rainforest. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55(2), 977–
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12985
Retallack, M. (2021). The intersection of economic demand for ecosystem services and public policy: A watershed case study exploring implications for social-ecological re- silience. Ecosystem Services, 50, 101322. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.ecoser.2021.101322
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication (Vol. 11). University of Illinois Press.
Sharma, N., Kumar, V., Gupta, N., Shekhar, P., & Kaur, P. S. (2023). Traditional importance, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicological attributes of the promising medicinal herb carissa spinarum l. Separations, 10(3), 158. https:// doi.org/10.3390/separations10030158
Solomon, N., Birhane, E., Tilahun, M., Schauer, M., Gebremed- hin, M. A., Gebremariam, F. T., & Newete, S. W. (2024).
Revitalizing ethiopia’s highland soil degradation: A com- prehensive review on land degradation and effective man- agement interventions. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00282-7
Sørensen, T. (1948). A method of establishing groups of equal am- plitude in plant sociology based on similarity of species content and its application to analyses of the vegetation on danish commons. Biologiske Skrifter, 5(4), 1–34.
Tadesse, A., & Hailu, W. (2024). Causes and consequences of land degradation in ethiopia: A review. International Journal of Scientific and Qualitative Analysis, 10(1), 10–21. https:// doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsqa.20241001.12
Tang, Z., Zhou, Z., Wang, D., Luo, F., Bai, J., & Fu, Y. (2022). Im-
pact of vegetation restoration on ecosystem services in the loess plateau, a case study in the jinghe watershed, china. Ecological Indicators, 142, 109183. https : / /doi . org /10 . 1016/j.ecolind.2022.109183
Tefera, M. L., Carletti, A., Altea, L., Rizzu, M., Migheli, Q., & Sed- daiu, G. (2024). Land degradation and the upper hand of sustainable agricultural intensification in sub-saharan africa-a systematic review. Journal of Agriculture and Ru- ral Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 125(1), 63–
https://doi.org/10.17170/kobra-202403129757
Tesfa, A., & Mekuriaw, S. (2014). The effect of land degradation on farm size dynamics and crop-livestock farming system in ethiopia: A review. Open Journal of Soil Science, 2014. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2014.41001
Tesfahunegn, G. B., & Ayuk, E. T. (2021). Opportunities and chal- lenges to adopting sustainable watershed management in- terventions: An overview of experiences from ethiopia. In A nexus approach for sustainable development: Inte- grated resources management in resilient cities and multi- functional land-use systems (pp. 165–183). Springer.
Tiki, L., Tadesse, M., & Yimer, F. (2015). Effects of integrating dif- ferent soil and water conservation measures into hillside area closure on selected soil properties in hawassa zuria district, ethiopia. Journal of Soil Science and Environmen- tal Management, 6(10), 268–274. https://doi.org/10.5897/ JSSEM15.0513
Tilahun, Z. A. (2019). Role of watershed management for reducing soil erosion in ethiopia. International Journal of Scientific Research in Civil Engineering, 3(5), 66–77.
Vásquez-Grandón, A., Donoso, P. J., & Gerding, V. (2018). Forest degradation: When is a forest degraded? Forests, 9(11), 726. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9110726
Wagley, M. P., & Karki, M. (2020). Ecosystem-based integrated and participatory watershed management. In Nature-based so- lutions for resilient ecosystems and societies (pp. 51–68). Springer.
Wassie, K. B., Walle, G. C., & Alemnew, A. T. (2024). Woody species composition, structure and regeneration status of alka for- est beyeda district, north gondar zone, amhara region, northern ethiopia. BMC Plant Biology, 24(1), 1105. https:
//doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05822-x
Wassie, S. B. (2020). Natural resource degradation tendencies in ethiopia: A review. Environmental Systems Research, 9(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40068-020-00194-1
Watanabe, S., Maesako, Y., & Inada, T. (2024). Spatial pattern of woody plant species richness and composition in pri- mary warm temperate evergreen forest in kasugayama hill, japan. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 26570. https : / /doi . org/10.1038/s41598-024-77438-y
Wayesa, G., Kidane, M., Tolessa, T., & Mammo, S. (2025). Impacts of land use/land cover dynamics on ecosystem services in jimma rare district, western ethiopia. Sustainable Environ- ment Research, 11(1), 2436231. https://doi.org/10.1080/
2024.2436231
Woldearegay, M., Woldu, Z., & Lulekal, E. (2018). Species di- versity, population structure and regeneration status of woody plants in yegof dry afromontane forest, northeast- ern ethiopia. European Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 6(4).
Woldemariam, G., Demissew, S., & Asfaw, Z. (2016). Woody species composition, diversity and structure of kumuli dry evergreen afromontane forest in yem district, southern ethiopia. Journal of Environment and Earth Science, 6(3), 53–65.
Yaebiyo, G.-m., Tesfay, Y., & Assefa, D. (2015). Socio-economic im- pact assessment of integrated watershed management in sheka watershed, ethiopia. Journal of Economics and Sus- tainable Development, 6(9), 202–212.
Yigeremu, A., & Woldearegay, M. (2022). Woody species diver- sity, composition, and regeneration status of abbo sacred forest, southern ethiopia. The Scientific World Journal, 2022(1), 9112578. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9112578
Zhang, C., & Li, Y. (2016). Verification of watershed vegetation restoration policies, arid china. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 30740. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep30740
Zhang, H., Zhang, H., Liu, Y., & Dong, G. (2024). Accounting for ecosystem service flows in water security assessment: A case study of the yiluo river watershed, china. Applied Ge- ography, 172, 103421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.
103421
