Land cover transformation exerts adverse effects on the environment. This study examined the changes in land cover in the Semen Bench District of southwest Ethiopia from 1986 to 2018, as well as its implications for soil physico-chemical properties. A mixed-method approach was employed, integrating remote sensing (RS) and geospatial data with soil physico-chemical analysis and key informant interviews. Landsat images were processed using ERDAS IMAGINE 2015, and the land use land cover (LU/LC) map was classified using a supervised method employing the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) algorithm. The classification accuracy was 90%, 87.5%, and 90% for the years 1986, 2001, and 2018, respectively, with corresponding kappa coefficients of 0.87, 0.83, and 0.87. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to assess differences in soil parameters across various land uses, utilizing SAS software (Version 9.3). The findings indicated that agroforestry and settlements increased by 95% and 428.7%, respectively, while forestland and cropland decreased by 38.6% and 96%, respectively, primarily driven by the expansion of cash crops such as coffee, khat, and eucalyptus, as well as population growth. Significant changes (P<0.05) were observed in soil bulk density, soil organic matter, soil pH, available phosphorus, total nitrogen, exchangeable cations, cation exchange capacity, and electrical conductivity, due to land cover change. Conversely, soil texture remained unaffected (P>0.05) by these transformations. Consequently, it is essential to develop sustainable natural resource management plans to combat deforestation and the decline in soil fertility.
| Published in | American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering (Volume 8, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12 |
| Page(s) | 65-78 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Land Use Land Cover, Landsat, Soil Physic-Chemical Property
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APA Style
Gubila, M., Regassa, A., Legess, G., Mulatu, K. (2024). Land Use Land Cover Change and Its Effect on Selected Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Southwest Ethiopia. American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, 8(3), 65-78. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12
ACS Style
Gubila, M.; Regassa, A.; Legess, G.; Mulatu, K. Land Use Land Cover Change and Its Effect on Selected Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Southwest Ethiopia. Am. J. Environ. Sci. Eng. 2024, 8(3), 65-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12
AMA Style
Gubila M, Regassa A, Legess G, Mulatu K. Land Use Land Cover Change and Its Effect on Selected Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Southwest Ethiopia. Am J Environ Sci Eng. 2024;8(3):65-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12,
author = {Mesfin Gubila and Alemayehu Regassa and Gudina Legess and Kassahun Mulatu},
title = {Land Use Land Cover Change and Its Effect on Selected Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Southwest Ethiopia
},
journal = {American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering},
volume = {8},
number = {3},
pages = {65-78},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajese.20240803.12},
abstract = {Land cover transformation exerts adverse effects on the environment. This study examined the changes in land cover in the Semen Bench District of southwest Ethiopia from 1986 to 2018, as well as its implications for soil physico-chemical properties. A mixed-method approach was employed, integrating remote sensing (RS) and geospatial data with soil physico-chemical analysis and key informant interviews. Landsat images were processed using ERDAS IMAGINE 2015, and the land use land cover (LU/LC) map was classified using a supervised method employing the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) algorithm. The classification accuracy was 90%, 87.5%, and 90% for the years 1986, 2001, and 2018, respectively, with corresponding kappa coefficients of 0.87, 0.83, and 0.87. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to assess differences in soil parameters across various land uses, utilizing SAS software (Version 9.3). The findings indicated that agroforestry and settlements increased by 95% and 428.7%, respectively, while forestland and cropland decreased by 38.6% and 96%, respectively, primarily driven by the expansion of cash crops such as coffee, khat, and eucalyptus, as well as population growth. Significant changes (P0.05) by these transformations. Consequently, it is essential to develop sustainable natural resource management plans to combat deforestation and the decline in soil fertility.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Land Use Land Cover Change and Its Effect on Selected Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Southwest Ethiopia AU - Mesfin Gubila AU - Alemayehu Regassa AU - Gudina Legess AU - Kassahun Mulatu Y1 - 2024/09/26 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12 T2 - American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering JF - American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering JO - American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering SP - 65 EP - 78 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2578-7993 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20240803.12 AB - Land cover transformation exerts adverse effects on the environment. This study examined the changes in land cover in the Semen Bench District of southwest Ethiopia from 1986 to 2018, as well as its implications for soil physico-chemical properties. A mixed-method approach was employed, integrating remote sensing (RS) and geospatial data with soil physico-chemical analysis and key informant interviews. Landsat images were processed using ERDAS IMAGINE 2015, and the land use land cover (LU/LC) map was classified using a supervised method employing the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) algorithm. The classification accuracy was 90%, 87.5%, and 90% for the years 1986, 2001, and 2018, respectively, with corresponding kappa coefficients of 0.87, 0.83, and 0.87. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to assess differences in soil parameters across various land uses, utilizing SAS software (Version 9.3). The findings indicated that agroforestry and settlements increased by 95% and 428.7%, respectively, while forestland and cropland decreased by 38.6% and 96%, respectively, primarily driven by the expansion of cash crops such as coffee, khat, and eucalyptus, as well as population growth. Significant changes (P0.05) by these transformations. Consequently, it is essential to develop sustainable natural resource management plans to combat deforestation and the decline in soil fertility. VL - 8 IS - 3 ER -
Bench Sheko Zone Agriculture Development Department, Mizan Teferi, Ethiopia
Department of Natural Resource Management, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
Center for Environmental Science, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Department of Natural Resource Management, Mizan Tepi University, Mizan Teferi, Ethiopia
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