The Successful Soil Conservation Methods in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

Soil conservation is the protection of fertile top soil from erosion by wind and water and the replacement of nutrient in the soil and it is the combination of the appropriate land use and a management practice that promotes the productive and sustainable use of erosion and other forms of land degradation. It has become an integral part of land use and receives support within a social and economic environment which is conductive to the maintenance and improvement of soil capital. The grass strips, bench terraces, and fanya juu reduced soil loss by 40, 76 and 88%, respectively, compared to the land without those structures. In the Anjeni area of Ethiopia, graded soil bund reduced soil loss by 40% as compared with untreated plots.  An annual soil loss from crop lands with level soil bunds reduced by 51% when compared to the control plot. In Debre Mewi, Ethiopia, Stone bunds and soil bund reduced soil loss by 72.9 and 83.7% respectively as compared to non-treated land.  In northern Ethiopia, especially in Tigray, Stone bund is effective in reducing soil loss by 68% particularly at its early age. In the central highlands of Ethiopia, the soil bund reduced the yield of barley by 7% when the spaces occupied by the structures are taken into account and otherwise increased yield by 1.7%. Agro-forestry is also one of the practices mainly used in Ethiopia at the low land areas where Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is well integrated with the cultivated crops and considered as an important component of the farm. The vetiver system reduces soil loss from farm land by 90% and reduces rainfall runoff by 70%.  Rotating the major cereals, after legumes or oil a crop is mainly used for soil fertility maintenance, weed and disease control.

Keywords: Agroforestry, conservation, Erosion, soil bund, Soil, stone bund, terrace,

DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/84-02

Publication date: April 30^th 2022