Yirgu Teshome
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2022 May 25;8(6):e09536. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09536. eCollection 2022 Jun.
Soil erosion is a serious and continuous environmental problem in the highlands of Ethiopia, particularly, in the study watershed. The purpose of the study was to assess potential annual soil loss and factors affecting the adoption of soil and water conservation technologies in the Domba watershed. In the study, rainfall data, satellite imageries, and digital soil map were used to determine the RUSLE factors. In addition, household data was used to assess contributing factors to erosion hazards in the area. Furthermore, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation along with Remote Sensing Techniques, Geographical Information System, multiple regression model was used in analysing the data to find out the contributing factors for the severe soil erosion in the study area. The study result revealed that the estimated annual soil loss of the watershed was ranging between 0 to 95 t ha - y -. Degraded mountain ranges of Sule and Gana kare-Woyza ridges contributed majority (more than 82%) soil loss in the watershed. This part of the watershed was categorized under severe erosion intensity class and levelled in priority list for intervention measure. The study further showed that there exists a strong positive relationship (r = 0.874) between adoption of improved SWC measures and the independent variables used in the study at 0.05 significant level. Among these variables, plot area, plot distance to residence and perception of erosion problem significantly but negatively influences adoption of improved SWC practices. The study further showed that above 77.6% of the variance of adoption of SWC measures were explained by eleven variables used in the study. Therefore, to revert the severity of soil erosion, both government and non-government institutions should enhance timely and proper management measure in the study watershed.
土壤侵蚀是埃塞俄比亚高地一个严重且持续存在的环境问题，特别是在研究流域。本研究的目的是评估多姆巴流域潜在的年土壤流失量以及影响水土保持技术采用的因素。在该研究中，利用降雨数据、卫星图像和数字土壤图来确定通用土壤流失方程（RUSLE）中的各个因子。此外，还使用了家庭数据来评估该地区侵蚀危害的促成因素。此外，运用修订后的通用土壤流失方程，结合遥感技术、地理信息系统和多元回归模型对数据进行分析，以找出研究区域严重土壤侵蚀的促成因素。研究结果表明，该流域估计的年土壤流失量在0至95吨/公顷·年之间。苏勒山脉和加纳卡雷 - 沃伊扎山脊等退化山脉造成了该流域大部分（超过82%）的土壤流失。该流域的这一部分被归类为严重侵蚀强度等级，并在干预措施的优先清单中列为重点。研究进一步表明，在0.05的显著水平下，采用改良的水土保持措施与研究中使用的自变量之间存在很强的正相关关系（r = 0.874）。在这些变量中，地块面积、地块到住所的距离以及对侵蚀问题的认知对改良水土保持措施的采用有显著的负面影响。研究还表明，研究中使用的11个变量解释了水土保持措施采用方差的77.6%以上。因此，为了扭转土壤侵蚀的严重程度，政府和非政府机构都应在研究流域加强及时和适当的管理措施。
