Hamere Yohannes

Land evaluation is a foundation for sustainable land resource planning and management. In Ethiopia, national economic development is highly dependent on agriculture. And, the productivity of the land is low as a result of land degradation due to mismanagement of the land and intensive cultivation; this situation is worse in Ethiopian Highlands like Andit Tid watershed. Therefore, matching crop requirement with resource available through land suitability analysis has become an urgent need to sustain the productivity of agricultural land in the study area. This study aimed to address land suitability analysis by using geographical information system-based multi-criteria approach in Andit Tid watershed. The analysis of land suitability for major crops (wheat and barley) revealed that, though, there are slight variation in suitable classes for each crop, most part of the watershed was moderately suitable for both crops with 266.55 ha (77.42%) and only very small part of the land 2.43 ha (0.51%) was highly suitable for both crops. On the other hand, 9.3 ha (2%) and 3.6 ha (0.77%) of the land was marginally suitable and not suitable for both wheat and barley crops, respectively. The main limiting factors for land suitability were soil depth, texture, temperature, slope and erosion hazard. The spatial distribution showed that most of the cultivation currently practised in marginally suitable land in the lower part of the watershed. Most of the land parcel being used against its suitability potential in study area. Thus, land-use pattern needs to be modified based on its suitability potential.

Forests provide important ecological and environmental benefits. They serve as natural sinker of atmospheric CO₂ to mitigate climate change. In Ethiopia although, there is significant forest resource, the studies on carbon stock potential and factors that affect this potential have not been well studied. This study was done with the aim of estimating carbon stock potential and related factors that affect carbon sequestration in Gedo forest. Data was collected from 10m x 20m plot along transect in systematically stratified forest part. The forest had total mean carbon stock of 523.64 ± 29 ton ha^-1 with aboveground biomass (281 ± 23.34 t C ha^-1)and belowground biomass 56.1 ± 4.66 t C ha^-1), litter biomass (0.41 ± 0.008 t C ha^-1), deadwood biomass (2.37 ± 1.33 t C ha^-1) and soil organic carbon (183.69 ± 6.17 t C ha^-1). Spatial distribution of the carbon stock varied along environmental gradient. Altitude has inverse relation with aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, deadwood carbon and total carbon density. Altitude also has significant effect on all carbon pool except litter biomass and soil organic carbon. More aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and total carbon were found in the middle altitude and lower carbon was found in the upper altitude. Soil organic carbon and litter biomass carbon decreases with altitude. Deadwood biomass carbon pool was found only in lower altitude. Based on overall result it is concluded carbon sequestration in a forest ecosystem is determined by altitudinal gradient.