Integrated Soil Management Practices in Rehablitating Degraded Lands in Ofute Catchment, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Soil degradation in the form of soil erosion and soil fertility decline is the main problem of the study area which had influenced the environmental quality and productivity of land. Loss of vegetation cover, drought and climatic change were another recently prevailed environmental problem which further affects the livelihoods of rural people and the production potential of the area. The socio-economic as well as the demographic data that have relevance to the study was collected and both the indigenous and modern soil management practices are explored using questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interview. A number of indigenous soil management practices were practiced in the catchment such as fallowing, crop rotation, contour farming, traditional stone bunds, traditional ditches, plantations and traditional cut-off drains. On the other hand, currently introduced modern soil management practices like fanaya juu, soil bunds, improved cut-off drains, grass strips, check dams and basins are practiced by households in the study catchment. The survey results showed that age, gender, family size, educational status, annual income, farm size, farm land distance, soil fertility, slope and severity of soil erosion were among the major factors that influence the implementation of soil management practices. Formulating appropriate plan and strategies for controlling deforestation, applying area closure method of land management practices in steep slope areas, encouraging locally perceived indigenous knowledge of farmers on soil management, and appropriate design and maintenance of modern soil management practices are critically recommended to recover rapid destruction of resources and soil degradation in the study area. Assessing the impact of climatic variability on crop production and loss of crop species and analyzing the slope factors for measuring rate of soil degradation by researchers for the future became the suggested research gaps in the study area.

Keywords: Integrated soil management practices, soil erosion, degraded lands and rehabilitation